Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Talketh like a Pirate!

Source: Google Images
Ahoy! Me hearties! :D

me was wondering about what should i blog about?! & then i was like 'hey! why not a lil something..like a crash course for the beginners on 'How to be Speakin' Pirate Like' ! :D Sounds fun right?!


Well I am huge, gigantic fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean series & Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow made the Pirate Lingo sound ultra cool & real fun to converse in! I feel it gives your conversation a swagger! :D C'mon lil bit of fun won't do any harm? ryt?! Talkin' like a pirate is total fun & trust me it's really that simple!


So let's brush ya up wit some basic pirate lingo! Savvy?? You say 'Aye!' :D


Startin' Rules


  • So for starters, 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!

Now time for some commonly used pirate phrases!  Pirate lingo is rich and complicated, and several sites offer glossaries that are really pretty good! But over here i am gonna mention the basic phrases, so that it doesn't' get complicated for you guys & you start to get hang of it!


Source: Google Images


Basic Pirate phrases

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh! - exhortation of discontent or disgust

Ahoy! - Hello!

Ahoy, Matey - Hello, my friend!

Ahoy, me Hearties! - the same as saying "Hello, my friends!"

All hand hoay! - comparable to all hands on deck

Avast ye - stop and check this out or pay attention


Aye - yes; an affirmation

Becalmed - The state of a sailing vessel which cannot move due to a lack of wind

Bilge-sucking - insult

Blimey! - exclamation of surprise

Blow me down! - expression of shock of disbelief akin to "Holy Crap!"

Blow the man down - command to kill someone

Booty - treasure

Bring a spring upon her cable - to come around in a different direction

Buccaneer - a pirate

Bucko - a buccaneer

Cat O'Nine Tails - a whip with nine strands

Cleave him to the brisket - to cut across the chest, from one shoulder to the lower abdomen

Corsair - pirates in the Mediterranean Sea

Crow's nest - small platform atop the mast where the lookout stands

Cutlass - short heavy curved bladed sword used by pirates

Davy Jones' Locker - fabled, mythical place at the bottom of the ocean where the evil spirit of Davy 
Jones brings sailor and pirates to die

Dead men tell no tales - phrase indicating to leave no survivors

Doubloons - other coins or found in pirate hoards and stashes

Feed the fish - will soon die

Fire in the hole - A warning issued before a cannon is fired

Hang 'im from the yardarm - punishment of those captured in battle

Head - the pirate ship's toilet

Heave Ho - give it some muscle and push; to come to a halt

Hornswaggle - to defraud or cheat out of money or belongings

Jacob's Ladder - the rope ladder one uses to climb aboard a sloop

Jolly Roger - pirate's flag including white skull and crossbones over a black field

Keelhaul - punishment in which a person where dragged underneath the pirate ship from side to side 
and was lacerated by the barnacles on the vessel

Lad, lass, lassie - a younger person

Landlubber - big, slow clumsy person who doesn't know how to sail

Letters of Marque - letters issue from governments during wartime to privateers endorsing the piracy of another vessel

Man-O-War - pirate's ship outfitted for battle

Me - my

Mizzen - third mast from the bow of the ship on ships that have three or more masts

No prey, no Pay - A common law meaning a crew received no wages, but rather shared whatever loot was taken

Old Salt - an experienced sailor

Pieces of eight - coins or found in pirate stashes

Pillage - rob, sack or plunder

Poop deck - the part of the ship farthest to the back, which is usually above the captain's quarters.  This is not the bathroom.

Privateer - government-sponsored pirates

Rum - pirate's traditional alcoholic beverage

Run a rig - to play a trick.

Run a shot across the bow - warning shot to another vessel's captain

Sail ho! - An exclamation meaning another ship is in view.

Savvy? - do you understand and do you agree?

Scallywag - mild insult akin to rapscallion or rogue

Scurvy dog - the pirate is talking directly to you with mild insult

Scuttle - to sink a ship

Seadog - old pirate or sailor

Shark bait - will soon join Davy Jones' Locker

Shipshape - cleaned up and under control

Shiver me timbers! - comparable to "Holy Crap!"

Son of a Biscuit Eater - insult directed towards someone you don't like

Splice the mainbrace! - give the crew a drink!

Thar she blows! - Whale sighting

Three sheets to the wind - someone who is very drunk. One sheet is mildly drunk and four sheets is 
passed out.

Walk the plank - punishment in which person walks off a board jutting over the side of the ship while at sea. The consequence is drowning and a visit to Davy Jones' Locker.

Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! - pull up the anchor and the sail and let's get going

Ye - you

Yo Ho Ho - cheerful exhortation to demand attention

So folks' these are some of the most typical pirate phrases. If you have a pirate phrase, word, some pirate lingo or a bit of pirate vocabulary that you'd like to share with us, please send it in matey, and we mights just post yer scurvy saying right here.

Guess this is enough to atleast get started & I hope you had fun learning this lingo!

 ....... Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.....
 We extort and pilfer, we filch and sack. 

..Drink up me 'earties, yo ho....
Maraud and embezzle and even highjack
...Drink up me 'earties, yo ho...


Source: Google Images



Signing off & till we meet again, Be good!

Adios Amigos!

Written & Posted by: Olga Mittal

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