/ · 1894 Brewer’s · C · Clergymen
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The dislike of sailors to clergymen on board ship arises from an association with the history of Jonah. Sailors call them a kittle cargo, or kittlish cargo, meaning dangerous. Probably the disastrous voyage of St. Paul confirmed the prejudice.
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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.