close quarters
close quarters (idiomatic expression)
(US) /ˌkloʊz ˈkwɔːrtərz/ · (UK) /ˌkləʊz ˈkwɔːtəz/
Meanings
- Immediate contact or close range, especially physical proximity.
- A very small or cramped space where people or things are confined.
- A situation of being very or uncomfortably close to someone or something, often lacking privacy.
- Being physically near enough for close observation or study.
- In military use, fighting at very short range, often hand-to-hand.
Synonyms: confined space; cramped conditions; tight quarters; immediate contact; close range; hand-to-hand combat.
Example Sentences
- The two wrestlers came into close quarters on the mat, leaving no room to escape.
- The sailors lived in close quarters on the old ship for months at sea.
- The family spent the whole winter in close quarters inside their small cabin.
- The reporter watched the royal parade at close quarters from the press stand.
- The soldiers trained for combat in close quarters, practicing bayonet drills.
Origin and History
Several competing theories exist regarding the origin of “close quarters,” but there are three main explanations most often discussed.
Nautical Defense Theory
One of the most widely accepted explanations is that “close quarters” began as a nautical term. On ships, carpenters built heavy wooden barriers across the deck, fitted with loopholes for muskets and sometimes small powder chests. These barriers were used as a last line of defense if the vessel was boarded. The enclosed space behind these defenses was called the “close-quarters.” Sailors would retreat there and fire on the enemy, making it both a literal closed space and a desperate fighting position. Over time, the name of the structure passed into language as a phrase meaning tight or confined conditions.
Military Combat Theory
Another explanation places the origin in military language, where “at close quarters” described the brutal conditions of hand-to-hand combat. In this sense, the phrase did not mean a structure but the minimum distance between two fighters. To fight “at close quarters” meant to be so near the opponent that long-range weapons were useless and survival depended on immediate contact. This usage spread through soldiers’ and sailors’ speech and helped give the phrase its enduring association with nearness, danger, and intensity.
Linguistic Development Theory
A third view highlights a natural linguistic shift. The adjective “close” originally carried the meaning of “shut in” or “enclosed,” which easily applied to the defensive barriers or cramped compartments on a ship. Over time, as the phrase left its technical naval and military setting, speakers began to interpret “close” in its modern sense of “near.” This produced the broader meaning of “close quarters” as any cramped or uncomfortable nearness to another person, whether in combat, in a household, or in everyday situations.
Early Usage in English
The phrase “at close quarters” is documented in English as early as the sixteenth century in the sense of direct, hand-to-hand combat. An early example appears in George Gascoigne’s The Fruites of Warre (1577):
“To fight at close quarters is the greatest trial of a soldier’s courage.”
This passage illustrates how the phrase was already tied to personal, immediate conflict in the late sixteenth century.
A Seventeenth-Century Imprint
A 1686 London imprint, Astro-Meteorologica, Aphorisms and Discourses… by J. Goad, is often cited as containing one of the earliest instances of “close quarters.” While bibliographic records confirm the publication details, surviving digitized copies make it difficult to identify a clear and extractable quotation in modern form. This has led to some debate among scholars over whether to consider this the earliest legitimate printed usage.
The Eighteenth-Century Maritime Dictionary
A more concrete and unambiguous example appears in 1769 in An Universal Dictionary of the Marine by William Falconer. The entry defines “close-quarters” as strong wooden barriers fitted across a merchant ship, complete with loopholes for firing small arms and powder-chests for defence. Falconer’s dictionary includes the following:
“Close-quarters, certain strong barriers of wood stretching across a merchant-ship in several places. They are used as a place of retreat when a ship is boarded by her adversary, and are therefore fitted with several small loop-holes, through which to fire the small arms, whereby the ship’s crew may defend themselves and annoy the enemy.”
This printed entry confirms the phrase’s technical, nautical sense in eighteenth-century English.
Evolution of the Sense
The meaning of “close quarters” gradually broadened beyond ships and combat. While originally tied to shipboard defense and fighting at short range, it eventually came to describe any condition of extreme proximity. This included cramped living conditions, uncomfortable nearness to others, and later the general figurative sense of being in unavoidable closeness.
Country of Origin
The phrase “close quarters” originated in England, rooted in British maritime and military traditions. From its nautical beginnings in naval defense to its military and eventually civilian contexts, it developed into the familiar idiom still in use today.
Origin Summary
The history of “close quarters” reveals a layered evolution. The phrase likely began in British naval terminology, where it described physical defensive structures on ships. In parallel, the adverbial use “at close quarters” was recorded in English military writing from the sixteenth century. By the late eighteenth century, the term had been clearly codified in maritime dictionaries. Over time, its sense expanded into everyday English to mean any situation of uncomfortable or unavoidable nearness.
Variants
- in close quarters
- at close quarters
- close-quartered (adjective)
- close-quarter (adjective)
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