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A comment on Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”. Parent comment

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by rcthompson on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @12:33AM (#35624269)
The advantage of using separate words for the frame of reference of the boat is that you can still use left and right with their normal meanings as well.
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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by InCityDreams on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @12:39AM (#35624293)
"It'll be starboard side, hung up on the left."
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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by usrbinbash on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @03:34AM (#35625393)
But I can also say:

"I'm on the left side of the boat, and hold an apple in my left hand." The boat has a clearly distinguishable bow and stern, so it provides a frame of reference.

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by rcthompson on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @07:43AM (#35626957)
"Left side of the boat" is a lot more syllables than "port". And using different words makes it less likely that the listener will be confused by multiple uses of the same word to mean different things.
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