Spithead

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Spit·head

 (spĭt′hĕd′)
A channel off southern England between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. It connects with the Solent on the west and was formerly used as a rendezvous for the British fleet.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Spithead

(ˌspɪtˈhɛd)
n
(Placename) an extensive anchorage between the mainland of England and the Isle of Wight, off Portsmouth
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Mentioned in
References in classic literature
Spithead was the sergeant from whom Monk had borrowed a piece of tobacco for his supper.
"My lord," replied Spithead, "he told it me, but those devils of French names are so difficult to pronounce for a Scotch throat, that I could not retain it.
"And this man, my lord?" said Spithead, pointing to the fisherman, who, during this conversation, had remained standing and motionless, like a man who sees but does not understand.
"The fleet anchored at Spithead": can anyone want a better sentence for brevity and seamanlike ring?
She had a letter from him herself, a few hurried happy lines, written as the ship came up Channel, and sent into Portsmouth with the first boat that left the Antwerp at anchor in Spithead; and when Crawford walked up with the newspaper in his hand, which he had hoped would bring the first tidings, he found her trembling with joy over this letter, and listening with a glowing, grateful countenance to the kind invitation which her uncle was most collectedly dictating in reply.
1782: The 100-ton battleship HMS Royal George sank off Spithead with the loss of more than 900 lives.
1782: The 100-tonne battleship HMS Royal George sank off Spithead with the loss of more than 900 lives.
Ex-Navy West shouted: "proper title is the Lord West Spithead.
This was the Spithead Review of 1897 as depicted in a remarkable painting by Parker Greenwood.
Former Navy chief Lord West of Spithead told the Telegraph it would be "an absolute disgrace" if Mr Bercow stopped the president from speaking in Parliament.
Byline: COMMENT BY LORD WEST OF SPITHEAD, FORMER FIRST SEA LORD
Ex-First Sea Lord, Labour's Lord West of Spithead, says co-ordination of the "few" ships which Britain has is "fragmented" - and that the lack of boats will have "disastrous" consequences post-Brexit.
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