splitting my jib

[lukre]

A person says annoyed: All this yapping is splitting my jib.

What does it mean "to split someone's jib"?

[Naamplao]

A person says annoyed: All this yapping is splitting my jib.

What does it mean "to split someone's jib"?

I am just guessing here but a jib is a nautical term meaning the small sail at the front of some sailing boats. I would imagine "splitting my jib" means (in nautical terms) to lose the wind that fills this sail...thereby losing the trim of the boat.

So....the person who is annoyed at the talking is using this term as a metaphor for losing his concentration on what he was doing at the time.