KING-FISH. The Zeus luna. Carteret took one at Masafuero 51⁄2 feet long, and weighing 87 lbs. Also, the Scomber maximus of the West Indies.
KING-FISHER. The Alcedo ispida; a small bird of brilliant plumage frequenting rivers and brooks, and feeding upon fish, which it catches with great dexterity. (See [Halcyon].)
KING JOHN'S MEN. The Adullamites of the navy.
KING'S BARGAIN: Good or Bad; said of a seaman according to his activity and merit, or sloth and demerit.
KING'S BENCHER. The busiest of the galley orators: also galley-skulkers.
KING'S HARD BARGAIN. A useless fellow, who is not worth his hire.
KING'S LETTER MEN. An extinct class of officers, of similar rank with midshipmen. The royal letter was a kind of promise that if they conducted themselves well, they should be promoted to the rank of lieutenant.
KING'S OWN. All the articles supplied from the royal magazines, and marked with the broad arrow. Salt beef or junk.
KING'S PARADE. A name given to the quarter-deck of a man-of-war, which is customarily saluted by touching the hat when stepping on it.
KINK. An accidental curling, twist, or doubling turn in a cable or rope, occasioned by its being very stiff, or close laid, or by being drawn too hastily out of the coil or tier in which it was coiled. (See [Coiling].)—To kink. To twist.