Wheelhouse

From The Jolly Contrarian
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Towards more picturesque speech


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Wheelhouses,” so sayeth Wiktionary, “are the small enclosed parts of a bridge which historically held the ship’s steering wheel”.

By extension of stone dead metaphor, one’s wheelhouse is one’s interest, competence or preference — ones bag, baby—articulated in a way that only an American would not respond to with a roundhouse slap upside the head.

Known in commonwealth sailing circles as a “cockpit”, which is a much better name for the place where you would find the sort of gent who uses the expression “wheelhouse”.