At sunrise we will dance the hempen jig
Ahoy, mateys!
In honour of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I've decided to put together this little "pirate dictionary", so now you too can learn how to talk like a true freebooter*.
*A real pirate.
Ahoy = Used to greet people.
Avast! = Technically means "Stop!", but is often used as an interjection to mean "Hey", as in "Stop what you're doing, I want to tell you something". Not to be confused with "ahoy", which is just a general greeting.
Matey/mate = A friend.
Shiver me timbers! = An expression of shock or disbelief.
Batten down the hatches = Prepare the ship for an upcoming storm. Battens are long strips of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, and the hatches are the openings in the deck of a ship or submarine, so "batten down the hatches" means "put strips of wood/metal etc. over the hatches to prevent water from getting in and flooding the ship".
Landlubber = Basically anyone who isn't a pirate or sailor. A corruption of "land lover".
Pieces of eight = Coins. Historically, a "piece of eight" was a Spanish dollar, equivalent to eight Spanish reales, hence the name.
"Splice the mainbrace" used to mean "repair the ship's rigging", but now means "give the crew an extra ration of rum". See below entries for further details.
Braces = Ropes that control the angle of the yards on a ship. The mainbrace is the largest and heaviest of these, and therefore the most difficult to repair, so once repaired it was customary to offer the crew an extra ration of rum as a reward. In time, the phrase "splice the mainbrace" changed to actually mean "let's all have a drink to celebrate", and then to an actual order meaning "give everyone an extra rum ration".
Yard = In sailing, a spar on a mast from which sails are set.
Spar = A pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail.
Splice = To form a semi-permanent joint between two pieces of rope or two ropes by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. If the mainbrace was snapped, i.e. by being shot with a cannonball or something, it would have to be spliced in order to be repaired, which given the size and weight of the mainbrace was one of the most difficult repair jobs on a ship, usually handled by the strongest members of the crew.
Booty = Whatever valuables pirates managed to steal from others, i.e. jewellery, coins, etc.
Scurvy = A nasty disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. When used as an adjective, it means lowly or disgusting (because the symptoms of actual scurvy were not that pleasant to look at).
Aye = Yes
Aye aye = Understood/Affirmative (basically saying you will comply with an order)
Doubloons = Another word for coins. Again, historically, doubloons were Spanish coins, specifically a two-escudo or 32-real gold coin (the name comes from the Spanish doblón, meaning "double").
Grog = Technically rum that's been diluted with water, but in pirate slang refers to any alcoholic drink.
Keelhauling = A form of punishment in which the offending sailor is tied to a line that is looped beneath the ship, thrown overboard on one side of the ship and then dragged (hauled) along the ship's keel (the part of a ship that protrudes below a boat along the central line). They can either be keelhauled horizontally, from port to starboard or vice versa, or lengthways, from bow to stern.
Port = The ship's left, which is not necessarily your left.
Starboard = The ship's right.
Bow = The front of a ship. Pronounced like the verb (as in "The Japanese like to bow"), not like the weapon or hair accessory. The "starboard bow", for example, is the right-hand side of the front of the ship.
Stern = The back of the ship.
Aft = Towards the front of the ship, as in "Go aft to the bow".
Fore = Towards the rear of the ship, as in "Go fore to the stern."
Give them no quarter = Basically means "Show them no mercy" or "Kill them even if they surrender".
Blow the man down = Kill him. Whatever you do, don't confuse it with "Blow me down!", which is an expression of shock or surprise.
There (sometimes "thar") she blows! = Hey look, there's a whale over there! (No, really, that's what it means. I'm serious.)
Ho = No, it's not a pirate prostitute, it roughly means "over there" or "sighted", as in "Land ho!"
Pillage = To rob and loot a town, ship, etc.
Plunder = As a verb, it means to pillage. As a noun, it means loot obtained by plundering.
In honour of Talk Like a Pirate Day, I've decided to put together this little "pirate dictionary", so now you too can learn how to talk like a true freebooter*.
*A real pirate.
Ahoy = Used to greet people.
Avast! = Technically means "Stop!", but is often used as an interjection to mean "Hey", as in "Stop what you're doing, I want to tell you something". Not to be confused with "ahoy", which is just a general greeting.
Matey/mate = A friend.
Shiver me timbers! = An expression of shock or disbelief.
Batten down the hatches = Prepare the ship for an upcoming storm. Battens are long strips of wood, metal, fibreglass etc., used for various purposes aboard ship, and the hatches are the openings in the deck of a ship or submarine, so "batten down the hatches" means "put strips of wood/metal etc. over the hatches to prevent water from getting in and flooding the ship".
Landlubber = Basically anyone who isn't a pirate or sailor. A corruption of "land lover".
Pieces of eight = Coins. Historically, a "piece of eight" was a Spanish dollar, equivalent to eight Spanish reales, hence the name.
"Splice the mainbrace" used to mean "repair the ship's rigging", but now means "give the crew an extra ration of rum". See below entries for further details.
Braces = Ropes that control the angle of the yards on a ship. The mainbrace is the largest and heaviest of these, and therefore the most difficult to repair, so once repaired it was customary to offer the crew an extra ration of rum as a reward. In time, the phrase "splice the mainbrace" changed to actually mean "let's all have a drink to celebrate", and then to an actual order meaning "give everyone an extra rum ration".
Yard = In sailing, a spar on a mast from which sails are set.
Spar = A pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fibre used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail.
Splice = To form a semi-permanent joint between two pieces of rope or two ropes by partly untwisting and then interweaving their strands. If the mainbrace was snapped, i.e. by being shot with a cannonball or something, it would have to be spliced in order to be repaired, which given the size and weight of the mainbrace was one of the most difficult repair jobs on a ship, usually handled by the strongest members of the crew.
Booty = Whatever valuables pirates managed to steal from others, i.e. jewellery, coins, etc.
Scurvy = A nasty disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. When used as an adjective, it means lowly or disgusting (because the symptoms of actual scurvy were not that pleasant to look at).
Aye = Yes
Aye aye = Understood/Affirmative (basically saying you will comply with an order)
Doubloons = Another word for coins. Again, historically, doubloons were Spanish coins, specifically a two-escudo or 32-real gold coin (the name comes from the Spanish doblón, meaning "double").
Grog = Technically rum that's been diluted with water, but in pirate slang refers to any alcoholic drink.
Keelhauling = A form of punishment in which the offending sailor is tied to a line that is looped beneath the ship, thrown overboard on one side of the ship and then dragged (hauled) along the ship's keel (the part of a ship that protrudes below a boat along the central line). They can either be keelhauled horizontally, from port to starboard or vice versa, or lengthways, from bow to stern.
Port = The ship's left, which is not necessarily your left.
Starboard = The ship's right.
Bow = The front of a ship. Pronounced like the verb (as in "The Japanese like to bow"), not like the weapon or hair accessory. The "starboard bow", for example, is the right-hand side of the front of the ship.
Stern = The back of the ship.
Aft = Towards the front of the ship, as in "Go aft to the bow".
Fore = Towards the rear of the ship, as in "Go fore to the stern."
Give them no quarter = Basically means "Show them no mercy" or "Kill them even if they surrender".
Blow the man down = Kill him. Whatever you do, don't confuse it with "Blow me down!", which is an expression of shock or surprise.
There (sometimes "thar") she blows! = Hey look, there's a whale over there! (No, really, that's what it means. I'm serious.)
Ho = No, it's not a pirate prostitute, it roughly means "over there" or "sighted", as in "Land ho!"
Pillage = To rob and loot a town, ship, etc.
Plunder = As a verb, it means to pillage. As a noun, it means loot obtained by plundering.
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