Cutty-sark (witch) Cutty-sark (witch) "Cutty sark" is 18th-century Scots for "short chemise" or "short undergarment". Hyphenated, Cutty-sark was a nickname given to the witch Nannie Dee, a fictional character created by Robert Burns in his "Tam o' Shanter", after the garment she wore. The figurehead of the tea clipper "Cutty Sark" is named after the character and a brand of Scotch whisky is named in turn for the ship. "Cutty" or "cuttie" (the diminutive form of "cuttit", from Early Middle English "cutte", "kutte", "cute" "ugly") is "short" or "stumpy". "Sark" or "serk" (from Old English "serc"; Old Norse "serk") is a "shift",
Blackadder (clipper) the new ships based upon "The Tweed". Although similar below the water and of very similar size, the two ships looked somewhat different from "Cutty Sark". Maudsley and Co. were contracted to construct the ship, although they were an engineering company relatively inexperienced with whole ship design. This was not dissimilar to Willis' choice in builders for "Cutty Sark" which was also a new and inexperienced company, which in that instance became bankrupt before "Cutty Sark" was completed. The contract was signed in June 1869 and the ship launched March 1870, to the highest Lloyds standards and using the best