Show a leg

A genuine Royal Navy wake-up call. When women were permitted to stay aboard ship while docked in port, the boatswain's morning call for the crew to rise became a problem: a female visitor was allowed to remain in the hammock while the men had to get up and begin work. "Show a leg" let the watch tell at a glance whose leg was poking out, smooth and stockinged meant stay put, hairy and bare meant get moving, without an argument at dawn.