What is "half hitch"

Half \Half\ (h[aum]f), a. [AS. healf, half, half; as a noun, half, side, part; akin to OS., OFries., & D. half, G. halb, Sw. half, Dan. halv, Icel. h[=a]lfr, Goth. halbs. Cf. Halve, Behalf.]

1. Consisting of a moiety, or half; as, a half bushel; a half hour; a half dollar; a half view.

   Note: The adjective and noun are often united to form a compound.

2. Consisting of some indefinite portion resembling a half; approximately a half, whether more or less; partial; imperfect; as, a half dream; half knowledge. Assumed from thence a half consent. --Tennyson. Half ape (Zo["o]l.), a lemur. Half back. (Football) See under 2d Back. Half bent, the first notch, for the sear point to enter, in the tumbler of a gunlock; the halfcock notch. Half binding, a style of bookbinding in which only the back and corners are in leather. Half boarder, one who boards in part; specifically, a scholar at a boarding school who takes dinner only. Half-breadth plan (Shipbuilding), a horizontal plan of one half a vessel, divided lengthwise, showing the lines. Half cadence (Mus.), a cadence on the dominant. Half cap, a slight salute with the cap. [Obs.] --Shak. At half cock, the position of the cock of a gun when retained by the first notch. Half hitch, a sailor's knot in a rope; half of a clove hitch. Half hose, short stockings; socks. Half measure, an imperfect or weak line of action. Half note (Mus.), a minim, one half of a semibreve. Half pay, half of the wages or salary; reduced pay; as, an officer on half pay. Half price, half the ordinary price; or a price much reduced. Half round.

   1. (Arch.) A molding of semicircular section.

   2. (Mech.) Having one side flat and the other rounded; -- said of a file.

      Half shift (Mus.), a position of the hand, between the open position and the first shift, in playing on the violin and kindred instruments. See Shift.

      Half step (Mus.), a semitone; the smallest difference of pitch or interval, used in music.

      Half tide, the time or state of the tide equally distant from ebb and flood.

      Half time, half the ordinary time for work or attendance; as, the half-time system.

      Half tint (Fine Arts), a middle or intermediate tint, as in drawing or painting. See Demitint.

      Half truth, a statement only partially true, or which gives only a part of the truth.
      --Mrs. Browning.

      Half year, the space of six months; one term of a school when there are two terms in a year.

n. (context knots English) A knot or hitch made by passing the end of the rope once around the standing part or other rope.

n. a knot used to fasten a rope temporarily to an object; usually tied double

The half hitch is a simple overhand knot, where the working end of a line is brought over and under the standing part. Insecure on its own, it is a valuable component of a wide variety of useful and reliable hitches, bends, and knots.

Two successive half hitches tied around an object makes up the common clove hitch. Two successive half hitches tied around the standing part a rope is known as two-half-hitches or double half hitch.

One instance where a half hitch stands on its own without additional embellishment is when added to a timber hitch to help stabilize a load in the direction of pull. A timber hitch is tied on the far end of the load to bind it securely and a half hitch made at the forward end to serve as a guide for the rope. In this instance, the half hitch combined with a timber hitch is known as a killick hitch or kelleg hitch.

The knot is attractive to the eye and so is used decoratively for French whipping which is also known as half hitch whipping.

Half Hitch was an American comic strip by Hank Ketcham, in syndication between 1943 and 1945. It was an example of military humor, but unlike most cartoons and comics, focused on the navy, rather than the army. The unnamed character first appeared in The Saturday Evening Post in 1943.

During World War II, Hank Ketcham served in the U.S. Navy. During his service, he created a comic strip for the amusement of his fellow sailors, following the adventures of a short, lecherous sailor and his friends. It was published in The Saturday Evening Post where it became popular. The strip ceased in 1945, but after the great success of Dennis the Menace, Ketcham revived it as Half Hitch. The revival was distributed by King Features Syndicate, running from 1970 to 1975, as described by comics historian Don Markstein:

But in the late 1960s, when there once again was a soldier or a sailor in most families, King Features Syndicate started looking into something new, to tap into the popularity of its Beetle Bailey. Ketcham had proved his own drawing power with Dennis, so they decided on a revival of his diminutive sailor, dubbing him Half Hitch. The new version began as a daily and Sunday on Monday, February 16, 1970. Tho Ketcham's name went on it, this incarnation was written by Bob Saylor and drawn by Dick Hodgins, using a Ketchamesque style. Though King had had some success with pantomimes (e.g., Henry, The Little King), this time Hitch spoke. And so did everybody else in the strip, even a seagull named Poopsy, tho the latter didn't seem interested in talking with anybody but Hitch. The title character was no longer as hapless as before, but he still did many traditional sailor-like things, such as having a girl in every port.

The strip's main character, Half Hitch, was short, rather lazy, and intensely interested in the pursuit of women. Other characters included the ship's stern captain, various NCOs and sailors, and Poopsy, Hitch's pet seagull.