shanghai, to

shanghai, to. To be shanghaied, said of a sailor in the days of sail when he was shipped against his will, usually under the influence of drink or drugs, as one of the crew of a ship. The practice was especially prevalent in the USA during the 19th century at a time when the reputations of many masters and their ‘bucko’ mates made normal recruitment unlikely. The sailors were delivered to the ships by crimps.

The term comes from the USA, but its origin is obscure. It might possibly have arisen from the Australian word ‘shanghai’, meaning catapult, in that the unfortunate seamen were catapulted off to sea as soon as they were made insensible.