Which word is the nautical counterpart of 'Mop'?

Which word is the nautical counterpart of 'Mop'?

• A. Swab
• B. Deck
• C. Stairs
• D. Scuttlebutt

Answer: (A)

On a ship, cleaning the deck is described as swabbing the deck. The mop used for that job is called a swab, so the nautical counterpart of a mop is swab. The other terms don’t fit because the deck is the surface being cleaned, stairs isn’t a cleaning term on ships, and scuttlebutt refers to gossip or a water barrel, not cleaning.

On a ship, cleaning the deck is described as swabbing the deck. The mop used for that job is called a swab, so the nautical counterpart of a mop is swab. The other terms don’t fit because the deck is the surface being cleaned, stairs isn’t a cleaning term on ships, and scuttlebutt refers to gossip or a water barrel, not cleaning.