A square meal but are you on the fiddle?

In the British navy of the 18th century, ordinary sailors ate their meals from wooden plates, which were often square rather than round. This gave rise to the phrase a 'square meal' although this may have originally been an ironic comment relating to the poor standard of food. 

The plates were flat but with a raised rim called a fiddle which stopped the food from slipping off. A sailor who pushed his food allowance to the limit, filling his plate so full that food overlapped the rim was said to be 'on the fiddle'.

What is grog and how did it get its name?

Grog, the famous drink of the British navy was originally one part rum to four parts water with lemon juice and brown sugar.

It was invented by Admiral Edward Vernon in 1740 as an attempt to reduce drunkenness among sailors by diluting the rum. Lemon juice was added to prevent scurvy and the grog was issued twice daily.

The name grog comes from Vernon, whose nickname was 'Old Grogram' from the waterproof cloak made of grogram fabric that he always wore. Grogram is a coarse fabric of silk mixed with wool or mohair and stiffened with gum.