For almost the entirety of the
Oceanic Era, tideriders and
atoll dwellers believed the
ocean was a living entity and the source of human life. For the atoll dwellers in particular, there were two manifestations of the ocean that directly affected them: storms and
tides.
The practices of ocean worship declined from the beginning of the
Volcanic Era and were no longer mentioned in any island records beyond 1000 Vol. Nevertheless, aspects of the old beliefs remain in our many common expressions invoking the tides.
- thank your birthing tide
There are some superstitions that attach meaning to the phase, direction, and strength of the nearest tide at the moment of your birth. When those conditions reoccur, that is supposed to be a time of good luck.
- tides know
This one is referring to the old belief that the tides were the ocean's way of communication with humans. Ten thousand years ago,
Tide Readers were supposed to know how to interpret the condition of the tide in order to understand what the ocean's moods were.
- by the half-moon tide, by the high tide, by the tides
Different tides have different significance, depending on who you ask. A high tide means a comfortable depth in harbor; an outgoing tide is a help to a boat leaving an island; a tide at the half-faced moon phases is gentler in its extremes.
- tides in and out
Since there are only two brief moment in the tide cycle when it changes direction, referring to both directions of tide at once is a comment on how something is, or should be, inevitable. Excluding the turning points allows for the unlikely possibility that it might not have happened.
- Tides!
The word "tides" itself is often used as a general-purpose swear word. It's short and satisfying to say.
- cursed storm tide
The most dangerous tides are the ones that accompany giant rotating ocean storms. Although they aren't related to the moon phases directly, a storm tide that coincides with a normal high tide can cause severe devastation. This expression pops out easily if it seems like the worst possible thing has just happened.
- tides take them all
"Tides take" is a quick way to wish someone bad luck in everything. It started as a tiderider curse intended to make someone's boat meet exactly the wrong tide wherever and whenever it is near land.
- tide-forgotten, tideforsaken
Every shore that touches the ocean experiences tides. To call something "tideforsaken" or similar is to suggest something is so insignificant or meaningless that the tide doesn't know it exists.
- tides be gentle, calm tides carry you, good tides carry you
These are all variations of a slightly sorrowful, possibly final farewell. It is a way of wishing someone peaceful circumstances for the rest of a life you don't expect to see.
This is my favorite take on the"Slang or a language associated with a religion or belief" prompt. I've been wanting to add some verisimilitude to my sapient undersea creature's societies and this is good inspiration. Tides bring negative things too, it might be interesting to see some more negative phrases.
Thank you, I'm so glad you liked it! After the judging period I plan to reorganize the article--tidy up the definitions, expand on the examples, come up with some more entries. I'm sure there are other negative expressions, but the ocean cultures see the tides as more beneficial than not, so it won't be an even split. Thanks also for following The Ocean! Fair warning, I don't update much outside of challenges and I split my attention between three worlds, but this is the one I'm actively trying to write in.