Ye Talk Like A Pirate Day primer, matey!
ARR! Today is international Talk Like A Pirate Day. What’s great about today is that it’s a lot like Saint Patrick’s Day: instead of everyone being Irish for the day, we get to be a pirate; also, it’s an excuse to drink! So if you want to have the best chances to freak out middle management, your pastor, or your grandparents with your dextrous use of pirate lingo, the UK headquaters of the event have this excellent lexicon of typical pirate words and their contextual usage.
Startin’ Rules
- Double up on all your adjectives and you’ll be bountifully bombastic with your phrasing. Pirates never speak of “a big ship”, they call it a “great, grand ship!” They never say never, they say “No nay ne’er!”
- Drop all your “g”’s when you speak and you’ll get words like “rowin’”, “sailin’” and “fightin’”.
- Dropping all of your “v”’s will get you words like “ne’er”, “e’er” and “o’er”.
Instead of saying “I am”, sailors say, “I be”. Instead of saying “You are”, sailors say, “You be”. Instead of saying, “They are”, sailors say, “They be”. Ne’er speak in anythin’ but the present tense!
Vocabulary
In which ye’ll find words submitted by many pirates o’er the years, an’ which comprise a loose piratical dictionary.
Ahoy: Hey!
Avast: Stop!
Aye: Yes
Black spot: to be ‘placin’ the black spot’ be markin’ someone for death.
Booty: treasure
Buccanneer: a pirate who be answerin’ to no man or blasted government.
By the Powers!: an exclamation, uttered by Long John Silver in Treasure Island!
Cat o’ nine tails: whip for floggin’ mutineers
Corsair: a pirate who be makin’ his berth in the Med-…Medi-…that sea ‘tween Spain and Africa, aye!
Davy Jones’ Locker: the bottom o’ the sea, where the souls of dead men lie
Doubloons: pieces of gold…
Fiddlers Green: the private heaven where pirates be goin’ when they die.
Furner: a ship which be yer own, not one ye steal an’ plunder.
Gentlemen o’ fortune: a slightly more positive term fer pirates!
Go on the account: to embark on a piratical cruise
Grog: A pirate’s favorite drink.
Jack: a flag or a sailor
Jolly Roger: the skull and crossbones, the pirate flag!
Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin’ this.
Landlubber: “Land-lover,” someone not used to life onboard a ship.
Lass: A woman.
Lily-livered: faint o’ heart
Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk
Matey: A shipmate or a friend.
Me hearty: a friend or shipmate.
Me: My.
Pieces o’ eight: pieces o’ silver which can be cut into eights to be givin’ small change.
Privateer: a pirate officially sanctioned by a national power
Scallywag: A bad person. A scoundrel.
Scurvy dog!: a fine insult!
Shiver me timbers!: an exclamation of surprise, to be shouted most loud.
Son of a Biscuit Eater: a derogatory term indicating a bastard son of a sailor
Sprogs: raw, untrained recruits
Squadron: a group of ten or less warships
Squiffy: a buffoon
Swaggy: a scurvy cur’s ship what ye be intendin’ to loot!
Swashbucklin’: fightin’ and carousin’ on the high seas!
Sweet trade: the career of piracy
Thar: The opposite of “here.”
Walk the plank: this one be bloody obvious.
Wench: a lady, although ye gents not be wantin’ to use this around a lady who be stronger than ye.
Wi’ a wannion: wi’ a curse, or wi’ a vengeance. Boldly, loudly!
Yo-ho-ho: Pirate laughter
Avast! Lots more over at yarr.org.uk, ye squiffy sprogs!
Square Rigging: Squaresails– provided more sail area, but more complicated to rig and more difficult to control at smaller sizes than
Fore-and-aft rigging: Lateen, or traingular sails among other types. Common in small vessels and pleasure craft.
Futtock: One of the pieces of the frames– “ribs”– of a ship.
Toptimber: Uppermost futtock.
False Keel: A relatively thin row of planks along the underside of the keel to protect the important member from damage.
Deadwood: timbers between keelson and floor, esp. near stern.
Mainsail: Lowest and largest sail on a square-rigged mast. Followed (from bottom to top) by topsail, topgallantsail (topga’n’s’l), Royal, and Sky.
Gripe: Foremost timber at “foot” of bow. Protects stem from damage, much like false keel.
Counter: Overhanging region at stern– below poop deck.
Limber hole: Holes drilled in lowest part of floor timbers to allow bilgewater to flow to collection point.
Beam: Athwarthships stabilizing members. Also supported decks.
Carling: Longitudinal stabilizing members. Wedged by beams.
Ledges: Athwartship stabilizing members wedged by carlings. Almost exclusively found on warships.
Mast Partners: Chocks which held mast in place between beams.
Foremast: First mast from bow to stern.
Mainmast: Second mast. Usually largest.
Mizzenmast: Third mast. Usually last.
Jigger: Fourth mast present in some vessels. Often fore-and-aft rigged.
Ship: Three or more masts, all square-rigged.
Barque: Three masts, mizzen fore-and-aft.
Barquentine: Three Masts, main and mizzen fore-and-aft.
Brig: Two masts, both square-rigged.
Brigantine: Two masts, main fore-and-aft.
Schooner: Two masts, all at least partly fore-and-aft. Quintessential American ship.
Lugger: Curious rig, best described perhaps as square fore-and-aft sails. Square sails off-center of mast; required very skilled crew and captain, but could provide incredible power. Sails could be “butterflied,” with alternating sails reaching over alternating sides of craft to catch absolute maximum of wind. Favorite of smugglers.
I really need to find something better to do with my time.