I have lots of pet peeves. Recently, I've seen one of them popping up quite a bit, and that is the phrase "anchors away." I am here to enlighten those of you who may not know, so that you won't make this mistake in the future. The correct term is not "away," meaning "aside," absent" or "distant;" it is "aweigh." These are particularly tricky homophones. The definition of the correct term "aweigh" is as follows, "(when speaking of an anchor) just free of the bottom." This means when the order is given to "weigh anchor," that is, to heave up the anchor in order to set sail, when it has broken free from the sea floor and is no longer holding the ship in place, it is "aweigh." You see now why the word "away" makes no sense.
At any rate, I just wanted to set the record straight about these words. Maybe one day if you're playing a game of trivia with your friends, you can wow them with your knowledge. But hey, if you don't believe me, check it out on the US Navy's webpage, which includes the lyrics to the Navy's official song "Anchors Aweigh."
Sources: http://www.dictionary.com/ and http://www.navy.mil/
Photo is a public domain image obtained from: http://www.reusableart.com/
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