ˈditty-bag
[Origin obscure: according to Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. it ‘derives its name from the dittis or Manchester stuff of which it was once made’; but no evidence of this is given, nor is anything known of the stuff alleged.]
A bag used by sailors to contain their smaller necessaries.
| c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 81, 1 ditty bag, to contain two dozen of clothes stops, needles, thread, scissors, tape, thimbles, and buttons. 1885 J. Runciman Skippers & Sh. 159 He had a lumpy canvas bag—a dittey-bag they call it—on his shoulders. |
So ˈditty-box, a box serving the same purpose, used by fishermen.
| 1883 Pall Mall G. 2 June Suppl., A ‘ditty-box’ is an American fisherman's receptacle for all sorts of odds and ends together with implements of every-day use. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 198 Fishermen's tools, ‘ditty-boxes,’..coopering tools, [etc.]. |