Bollard
A mooring bollard is a short, strurdy post, made of wood or iron, for fastening ropes or cables (mooring). When bollards come in pairs, they are also called bitts. Single bollards are usually found mounted on a quay. Bitts are found on quays too, but are also mounted on deck on a ship's or boat's bow.
The shape of a billard or bitt can vary. Some are mushroom shaped, while others are more or less straight cylinders, often with a short cross rod.
For spanking
Aboard ships, including training ships, a boy who was to be punished informally (for a minor offense) was sometimes bent over the bitt and then given a number of strokes, for example with a rope's end or a cane, on his posterior.
An alternative (where available) was to use a capstan for this purpose. Capstans are bigger and higher than bitts.
For more formal chastisement, the "kissing the gunner's daughter" position was employed.
See also
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