batten down the hatches

From the practice aboard a ship of sealing hatches to prevent water getting below-decks in a storm by using covers secured by strips of material, called battens, firmly attached to the frame of the hatch opening.

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batten down the hatches (third-person singular simple present battens down the hatches, present participle battening down the hatches, simple past and past participle battened down the hatches)

1. (idiomatic) To prepare for trouble.

• Other determiners (eg, these, those, all the) and modifiers (eg, virtual, financial) can modify hatches.