To get you ready for Friday - Here be some phrases that ye need know if ye want to not be mistaken for no landlubber!
Ahoy Used to hail a ship or a person or to attract attention.
Arr! / Argh / Arrgh! / Yarr! / Harr! etc. A general piratical term - can be used with anything.
Avast! Used as a command to stop or desist.
Belay Used in the imperative as an order to stop.Belay there!
Blimey! Used to express frustration.
Bucko A friend.
Dead men tell no tales Phrase explaining why pirates leave no survivors.
Gangway! Used to clear a passage through a crowded area.
Hang the jib To look ill-tempered or annoyed. To pout.
He’s gone to Davy Jones’s locker He is dead. (Davy Jones's locker is also the bottom of the sea)
Me hearties My Comrade; boon companion; good fellow; a term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors. Captains often refer to their entire crew this way.
Shiver me timbers! An expression of surprise.
Sink me! An expression of surprise.
Smartly Quickly.
Splice the Mainbrace! To have a Drink, or perhaps several.
Yo-ho-ho Completely meaningless, but fun to say.
Important Piratey Words
Here are some simple words every tried and true Pirate of the High Seas should know:
Aye Yes. Aye, aye captain!
Me My. Me ship is the biggest brig in the port!
Ye You Ye be walking the plank!
Aft Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship.
Bilge That part of a ship's hull or bottom which is broadest and most nearly flat, and on which she would rest if aground. Also - Stupid talk or writing; nonsense.
Bilge Pump A pump to draw the bilge water from the gold of a ship.
Bilge Water Water which collects in the bilge or bottom of a ship or other vessel. It is often allowed to remain till it becomes very offensive.
Clap of Thunder A strong drink.
Fore Short for "forward". Toward the front end of the ship.
Mast A tall vertical spar, sometimes sectioned, that rises from the keel or deck of a sailing vessel to support the sails and the standing and running rigging.
Mizzenmast The hindmost mast of a three-masted vessel.
Poop deck The deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the mizzenmast aft.
Port A seaport or the left side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow.
Prow The "nose" of the ship.
Rigging The arrangement of masts, spars, and sails on a sailing vessel.
Spars A wooden or metal pole used to support sails and rigging.
Starboard The right side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow.
People Words
Are ye a landlubber or a corsair? Read on if ye don't know.
Buccaneer A robber upon the sea; a pirate;a term applied especially to the piratical adventurers who made depredations on the Spaniards in America in the 17th and 18th centuries (Caribbean Pirates).
Corsair A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from any government, to seize booty on sea or land (Mediterranean Pirates).
Deadlights Yer eyes, lad!
Hand One who is part of a group or crew.
Jack A flag or a sailor; showing how sailors would refer to thier ship's colors as one of the crew
Jack o' Coins The paymaster or Quartermaster.
Jack o' Cups The First Mate.
Jack o' Staves The First Lieutenant.
Jack o' Swords The Bosun.
Jack Ketch A public executioner or hangman. To Dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.
Jack Tar A popular colloquial name for a sailor (also called Jack Afloat).
Lad A young man.
Landlubber or lubber A person who lives and works on land or an inexperienced sailor; a sailor on the first voyage.
Lass A girl or young woman.
Matey Sociable; friendly. A way to address another pirate you are familiar with.
Messdeck lawyer A know-it-all.
On the Account Living the life of a pirate. If you are Going On The Account, you are becoming a pirate.
Privateers A ship privately owned and crewed but authorized by a government during wartime to attack and capture enemy vessels.
Scallywag A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
Scurvy Vile; mean; low; vulgar; contemptible. Ye Scurvy Dogs!
Sprogs Raw, untrained recruits or children.
Squiffy A buffoon.
Sutler A supplier.
Swab A sailor, often a lout.
Object Words
Ye know what thar things be? Piratey objects!
Booty Goods or property seized by force or piracy.
Cat O’Nine Tails An instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle used to flog offenders on the bare back.
Chantey, Shantey, Shanty A song sung by sailors to the rhythm of their movements while working.
Cutlass A short heavy sword with a curved single-edged blade, once used as a weapon by sailors.
Deadlights Eyes.
Doubloons A gold coin formerly used in Spain and Spanish America.
Grog An alcoholic liquor, especially rum diluted with water.
Hempen Halter The hangman’s noose.
Jolly Roger A black flag bearing a white skull and crossbones; indicates a pirate ship.
Letter of Marque A license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation.
Pieces of Eight An old Spanish silver coin. In Puzzle Pirates, they are gold.
Rope's end A piece of rope; especially, one used as a lash in inflicting punishment.
Six Pounders Cannons.
The Hulks Old or dismasted ships, formerly used as prisons.
Action Words
Know what we pirates are doing? Read on and ye will!
Black Spotted Similar to being black balled, it marks a pirate for death.
Careen To lean (a ship) on one side for cleaning, caulking, or repairing.
Chain Shot Two cannon balls united by a shot chain, formerly used in naval warfare on account of their destructive effect on a ship's rigging.
Chase To engage in pursuit of quarry or the ship being pursued.
Heave To To turn a sailing ship so that its bow heads into the wind and the ship lies motionless except for drifting, in order to meet a storm.
Hornswaggle To cheat.
Keelhaul To haul under the keel of a ship, by ropes attached to the yardarms on each side, used as a punishment.
Marooned To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon.
Overhaul To gain upon in a chase; to overtake.
Scuttle To cut or open a hole or holes in a ship's hull or to sink a ship by this means.
Titivate To clean up or make shipshape.
"To Be Three Sheets in the Wind" Casting out all three sails, causing the ship to shudder and stagger like a drunken sailor.
Walk the plank To be forced, as by pirates, to walk off a plank extended over the side of a ship so as to drown.
Weigh anchor Heave up an anchor in preparation for sailing (can be used for to leave port).
AVAST: A nautical term meaning "What's up?" or "What are you doing?"
Example: "Avast, me matey?"
PIECE OF EIGHT: Spanish silver coin, often cut into pieces to make change.
Example: "We be searching the high seas for Long John Silver's lost Pieces of Eight."
WALK THE PLANK: A dire punishment in which one must walk off a wooden board on the side of a ship and fall into the ocean.
Example: "The scurvy scoundrel stole me favorite pirate hat; I'm going to make him walk the plank!"
DOUBLOON: A gold coin minted by Spain or Spanish colonies, worth about seven weeks' pay for an average sailor.
Example: "I'll be saving my doubloons to buy me own pirate ship. Arrr!"
SHIVER ME TIMBERS!: An expression of surprise or fear.
Example: "Shiver me timbers! I just saw a ghost ship!"
SEA DOG: Experienced sailor.
Example: "Blackbeard is one famous sea dog."
JOLLY ROGER: The pirate flag with its skull and crossbones.
Example: "After looting the island, we left our Jolly Roger behind, flying high in the sky."
SCALLYWAG: Bad person.
Example: "Although Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, his fellow pirates thought he was quite a scallywag."
SEA ROVER: Pirate ship.
Example: "Look! On the horizon, there be a dozen sea rovers heading this way!"
ME HEARTY: My friend.
Example: "Ahoy, me hearty, will ye be helping me look for buried treasure?"
The basics
Ahoy! - "Hello!"
Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."
Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."
Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!
Advanced pirate lingo; or On beyond “Aarrr!”
Beauty – The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by “me,” as in, “C’mere, me beauty,” or even, “me buxom beauty,” to one particularly well endowed. You’ll be surprised how effective this is.
Bilge rat – The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. It’s loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, then, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship. On TLAP Day – A lot of guy humor involves insulting your buddies to prove your friendship. It’s important that everyone understand you are smarter, more powerful and much luckier with the wenches than they are. Since bilge rat is a pretty dirty thing to call someone, by all means use it on your friends.
Bung hole – Victuals on a ship were stored in wooden casks. The stopper in the barrel is called the bung, and the hole is called the bung hole. That’s all. It sounds a lot worse, doesn’t it? On TLAP Day – When dinner is served you’ll make quite an impression when you say, “Well, me hearties, let’s see what crawled out of the bung hole.” That statement will be instantly followed by the sound of people putting down their utensils and pushing themselves away from the table. Great! More for you!
Grog – An alcoholic drink, usually rum diluted with water, but in this context you could use it to refer to any alcoholic beverage other than beer, and we aren’t prepared to be picky about that, either. Call your beer grog if you want. We won’t stop you! Water aboard ship was stored for long periods in slimy wooden barrels, so you can see why rum was added to each sailor’s water ration – to kill the rancid taste. On TLAP Day – Drink up, me hearties! And call whatever you’re drinking grog if you want to. If some prissy pedant purses his lips and protests the word grog can only be used if drinking rum and water, not the Singapore Sling you’re holding, keelhaul him!
Hornpipe – Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day – We are not big fans of the capering, it’s not our favorite art form, if you will, so we don’t have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is “horny,” and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. “Is that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?”
Lubber – (or land lubber) This is the seaman’s version of land lover, mangled by typical pirate disregard for elocution. A lubber is someone who does not go to sea, who stays on the land. On TLAP Day – More likely than not, you are a lubber 364 days of the year. But not if you’re talking like a pirate! Then the word lubber becomes one of the more fierce weapons in your arsenal of piratical lingo. In a room where everyone is talking like pirates, lubber is ALWAYS an insult.
Smartly – Do something quickly. On TLAP Day – “Smartly, me lass,” you might say when sending the bar maid off for another round. She will be so impressed she might well spit in your beer.
Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day
10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?
8. Come on up and see me urchins.
7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.
6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.
5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.
2. Well blow me down?
And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …
1. Prepare to be boarded.
Bonus pickup lines (when the ones above don't work, as they often won't)
They don’t call me Long John because my head is so big.
You’re drinking a Salty Dog? How’d you like to try the real thing?
Wanna shiver me timbers?
I’ve sailed the seven seas, and you’re the sleekest schooner I’ve ever sighted.
Brwaack! Polly want a cracker? … Oh, wait. That’s for Talk Like a PARROT Day.
That’s the finest pirate booty I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Let's get together and haul some keel.
That’s some treasure chest you’ve got there.
Ahoy Used to hail a ship or a person or to attract attention.
Arr! / Argh / Arrgh! / Yarr! / Harr! etc. A general piratical term - can be used with anything.
Avast! Used as a command to stop or desist.
Belay Used in the imperative as an order to stop.Belay there!
Blimey! Used to express frustration.
Bucko A friend.
Dead men tell no tales Phrase explaining why pirates leave no survivors.
Gangway! Used to clear a passage through a crowded area.
Hang the jib To look ill-tempered or annoyed. To pout.
He’s gone to Davy Jones’s locker He is dead. (Davy Jones's locker is also the bottom of the sea)
Me hearties My Comrade; boon companion; good fellow; a term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors. Captains often refer to their entire crew this way.
Shiver me timbers! An expression of surprise.
Sink me! An expression of surprise.
Smartly Quickly.
Splice the Mainbrace! To have a Drink, or perhaps several.
Yo-ho-ho Completely meaningless, but fun to say.
Important Piratey Words
Here are some simple words every tried and true Pirate of the High Seas should know:
Aye Yes. Aye, aye captain!
Me My. Me ship is the biggest brig in the port!
Ye You Ye be walking the plank!
Aft Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship.
Bilge That part of a ship's hull or bottom which is broadest and most nearly flat, and on which she would rest if aground. Also - Stupid talk or writing; nonsense.
Bilge Pump A pump to draw the bilge water from the gold of a ship.
Bilge Water Water which collects in the bilge or bottom of a ship or other vessel. It is often allowed to remain till it becomes very offensive.
Clap of Thunder A strong drink.
Fore Short for "forward". Toward the front end of the ship.
Mast A tall vertical spar, sometimes sectioned, that rises from the keel or deck of a sailing vessel to support the sails and the standing and running rigging.
Mizzenmast The hindmost mast of a three-masted vessel.
Poop deck The deck forming the roof of a poop or poop cabin, built on the upper deck and extending from the mizzenmast aft.
Port A seaport or the left side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow.
Prow The "nose" of the ship.
Rigging The arrangement of masts, spars, and sails on a sailing vessel.
Spars A wooden or metal pole used to support sails and rigging.
Starboard The right side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow.
People Words
Are ye a landlubber or a corsair? Read on if ye don't know.
Buccaneer A robber upon the sea; a pirate;a term applied especially to the piratical adventurers who made depredations on the Spaniards in America in the 17th and 18th centuries (Caribbean Pirates).
Corsair A pirate; one who cruises about without authorization from any government, to seize booty on sea or land (Mediterranean Pirates).
Deadlights Yer eyes, lad!
Hand One who is part of a group or crew.
Jack A flag or a sailor; showing how sailors would refer to thier ship's colors as one of the crew
Jack o' Coins The paymaster or Quartermaster.
Jack o' Cups The First Mate.
Jack o' Staves The First Lieutenant.
Jack o' Swords The Bosun.
Jack Ketch A public executioner or hangman. To Dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.
Jack Tar A popular colloquial name for a sailor (also called Jack Afloat).
Lad A young man.
Landlubber or lubber A person who lives and works on land or an inexperienced sailor; a sailor on the first voyage.
Lass A girl or young woman.
Matey Sociable; friendly. A way to address another pirate you are familiar with.
Messdeck lawyer A know-it-all.
On the Account Living the life of a pirate. If you are Going On The Account, you are becoming a pirate.
Privateers A ship privately owned and crewed but authorized by a government during wartime to attack and capture enemy vessels.
Scallywag A deceitful and unreliable scoundrel.
Scurvy Vile; mean; low; vulgar; contemptible. Ye Scurvy Dogs!
Sprogs Raw, untrained recruits or children.
Squiffy A buffoon.
Sutler A supplier.
Swab A sailor, often a lout.
Object Words
Ye know what thar things be? Piratey objects!
Booty Goods or property seized by force or piracy.
Cat O’Nine Tails An instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle used to flog offenders on the bare back.
Chantey, Shantey, Shanty A song sung by sailors to the rhythm of their movements while working.
Cutlass A short heavy sword with a curved single-edged blade, once used as a weapon by sailors.
Deadlights Eyes.
Doubloons A gold coin formerly used in Spain and Spanish America.
Grog An alcoholic liquor, especially rum diluted with water.
Hempen Halter The hangman’s noose.
Jolly Roger A black flag bearing a white skull and crossbones; indicates a pirate ship.
Letter of Marque A license to a private citizen to seize property of another nation.
Pieces of Eight An old Spanish silver coin. In Puzzle Pirates, they are gold.
Rope's end A piece of rope; especially, one used as a lash in inflicting punishment.
Six Pounders Cannons.
The Hulks Old or dismasted ships, formerly used as prisons.
Action Words
Know what we pirates are doing? Read on and ye will!
Black Spotted Similar to being black balled, it marks a pirate for death.
Careen To lean (a ship) on one side for cleaning, caulking, or repairing.
Chain Shot Two cannon balls united by a shot chain, formerly used in naval warfare on account of their destructive effect on a ship's rigging.
Chase To engage in pursuit of quarry or the ship being pursued.
Heave To To turn a sailing ship so that its bow heads into the wind and the ship lies motionless except for drifting, in order to meet a storm.
Hornswaggle To cheat.
Keelhaul To haul under the keel of a ship, by ropes attached to the yardarms on each side, used as a punishment.
Marooned To put ashore on a deserted island or coast and intentionally abandon.
Overhaul To gain upon in a chase; to overtake.
Scuttle To cut or open a hole or holes in a ship's hull or to sink a ship by this means.
Titivate To clean up or make shipshape.
"To Be Three Sheets in the Wind" Casting out all three sails, causing the ship to shudder and stagger like a drunken sailor.
Walk the plank To be forced, as by pirates, to walk off a plank extended over the side of a ship so as to drown.
Weigh anchor Heave up an anchor in preparation for sailing (can be used for to leave port).
AVAST: A nautical term meaning "What's up?" or "What are you doing?"
Example: "Avast, me matey?"
PIECE OF EIGHT: Spanish silver coin, often cut into pieces to make change.
Example: "We be searching the high seas for Long John Silver's lost Pieces of Eight."
WALK THE PLANK: A dire punishment in which one must walk off a wooden board on the side of a ship and fall into the ocean.
Example: "The scurvy scoundrel stole me favorite pirate hat; I'm going to make him walk the plank!"
DOUBLOON: A gold coin minted by Spain or Spanish colonies, worth about seven weeks' pay for an average sailor.
Example: "I'll be saving my doubloons to buy me own pirate ship. Arrr!"
SHIVER ME TIMBERS!: An expression of surprise or fear.
Example: "Shiver me timbers! I just saw a ghost ship!"
SEA DOG: Experienced sailor.
Example: "Blackbeard is one famous sea dog."
JOLLY ROGER: The pirate flag with its skull and crossbones.
Example: "After looting the island, we left our Jolly Roger behind, flying high in the sky."
SCALLYWAG: Bad person.
Example: "Although Sir Francis Drake was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, his fellow pirates thought he was quite a scallywag."
SEA ROVER: Pirate ship.
Example: "Look! On the horizon, there be a dozen sea rovers heading this way!"
ME HEARTY: My friend.
Example: "Ahoy, me hearty, will ye be helping me look for buried treasure?"
The basics
Ahoy! - "Hello!"
Avast! - Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"
Aye! - "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."
Aye aye! - "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."
Arrr! - This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!
Advanced pirate lingo; or On beyond “Aarrr!”
Beauty – The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by “me,” as in, “C’mere, me beauty,” or even, “me buxom beauty,” to one particularly well endowed. You’ll be surprised how effective this is.
Bilge rat – The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. It’s loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, then, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship. On TLAP Day – A lot of guy humor involves insulting your buddies to prove your friendship. It’s important that everyone understand you are smarter, more powerful and much luckier with the wenches than they are. Since bilge rat is a pretty dirty thing to call someone, by all means use it on your friends.
Bung hole – Victuals on a ship were stored in wooden casks. The stopper in the barrel is called the bung, and the hole is called the bung hole. That’s all. It sounds a lot worse, doesn’t it? On TLAP Day – When dinner is served you’ll make quite an impression when you say, “Well, me hearties, let’s see what crawled out of the bung hole.” That statement will be instantly followed by the sound of people putting down their utensils and pushing themselves away from the table. Great! More for you!
Grog – An alcoholic drink, usually rum diluted with water, but in this context you could use it to refer to any alcoholic beverage other than beer, and we aren’t prepared to be picky about that, either. Call your beer grog if you want. We won’t stop you! Water aboard ship was stored for long periods in slimy wooden barrels, so you can see why rum was added to each sailor’s water ration – to kill the rancid taste. On TLAP Day – Drink up, me hearties! And call whatever you’re drinking grog if you want to. If some prissy pedant purses his lips and protests the word grog can only be used if drinking rum and water, not the Singapore Sling you’re holding, keelhaul him!
Hornpipe – Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day – We are not big fans of the capering, it’s not our favorite art form, if you will, so we don’t have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is “horny,” and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. “Is that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?”
Lubber – (or land lubber) This is the seaman’s version of land lover, mangled by typical pirate disregard for elocution. A lubber is someone who does not go to sea, who stays on the land. On TLAP Day – More likely than not, you are a lubber 364 days of the year. But not if you’re talking like a pirate! Then the word lubber becomes one of the more fierce weapons in your arsenal of piratical lingo. In a room where everyone is talking like pirates, lubber is ALWAYS an insult.
Smartly – Do something quickly. On TLAP Day – “Smartly, me lass,” you might say when sending the bar maid off for another round. She will be so impressed she might well spit in your beer.
Top Ten Pickup lines for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day
10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?
9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?
8. Come on up and see me urchins.
7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.
6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.
5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.
2. Well blow me down?
And the number one pickup line for use on International Talk Like a Pirate Day is …
1. Prepare to be boarded.
Bonus pickup lines (when the ones above don't work, as they often won't)
They don’t call me Long John because my head is so big.
You’re drinking a Salty Dog? How’d you like to try the real thing?
Wanna shiver me timbers?
I’ve sailed the seven seas, and you’re the sleekest schooner I’ve ever sighted.
Brwaack! Polly want a cracker? … Oh, wait. That’s for Talk Like a PARROT Day.
That’s the finest pirate booty I’ve ever laid eyes on.
Let's get together and haul some keel.
That’s some treasure chest you’ve got there.
