Subject:
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My pirate lexicon.
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lugnet.pirates
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Sun, 23 Apr 2000 03:13:06 GMT
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Today's contribution to the Pirate Lego community... my official pirate
lexicon. I'm taking a crew to the Bahamas in June and we'll be
performing/ministering/building at an orphanage with my little skit production
known as "Swashbuckler's Island." To help my drama team get into character, I
compiled the below. Any feedback, corrections, are appreciated.
Markus
How to Talk Like a Pirate
It's easy to be a swashbuckling buccaneer. You only need to understand
the rules of speech. The vast majority of this material was taken from
fictional literary sources, videos, internet junk, and etc., implying that
this is more "Hollywood lingo" or pirate mythos, and not necessarily all that
historically accurate. I must give credit to Sid Fleischmann, an awesome
author who wrote alot of cool pirate books that I got lots of colorful
material from.
A Few "Grammar" Rules for Pirate Lingo
Start with a Cockney accent, the fun English accent
Say "ye" instead of "you"
Say "me" instead of "my" e.g. "Taste me steel, ye old shark"
Drop the "h" frequently in strong "h"-words like him and his e.g. "This
is 'im, Captain, the thief"
Don't say "no" but say "nay",
Don't say "yes" but say "aye" (pronounced like "eye")
Don't use the word "it" but drop the "i" and attach the "T" to the next word
e.g. " 'twas quite an evening" , " 'tis time for sleep" (like in
Christmas songs)
Use the term "pray" instead of "please" e.g. "Pray, hand me that pistol"
Use "be" instead of "is" e.g. "There be treasure on this island"
Use singular case of verb frequently for plural usage e.g. "They wants a fair
wind"
Drop the "f" in the word "of" e.g. "bit o' luck", "pack o' thieves"
Try an "a" and drop the "g" on "ing" verbs e.g. "He's a-scrubbin' the pots"
Use "nary" instead of "none" or "zero" or "hardly" e.g. "There be nary a soul
on board"
Replace "thought" with the word "thunk" e.g. " 'E thunk 'e left me peg leg in
the crow's nest"
When talking numbers, tell the tens place last, e.g. "four and twenty" or "one
hundred six and forty"
What Pirates Call One Another
buccaneers
cutthroats
sea-dogs
seafaring men,
sea men
Collected Pirate Name Calling (and other non-niceties)
bloodsucker, codfish, shark, vulture, cannibal
landlubber - civilian (one of those losers who live on land, couldn't survive
on the high seas)
long legged sea worm
scoundrel - trouble maker
scurvy rogue/ scurvy hearted - mean rebellious guy
whelp - literally a "young dog"
wretches -
hen-hearted numbskull - coward (isn't that fun)
scurvy-necked,
bilge headed cabbage
scrawny keel-nosed jailbird
sniveling bilge rat
swivel-eyed, mutinous scum
belly-aching turnip
mutineering sack of bones
swab
Positive Names and words
comrade
hearties - friends "Ahoy, me hearties"
jolly - high spirited
mates - friends/associates
rascal - harmless trouble maker; the good kind
shipmate
Unofficial Pirate Dictionary (if it ain't defined, it's either obvious or I
don't know)
afore - before
Ahoy - "Hey there!" - a sailor's call.
aloft - above
Articles - Contract signed by sailors when joining the crew of a ship. It set
out shipboard rules and the sailor's share of the profits.
as true as a church bell - a cool pirate cliche' for honesty
Avast! - Stop
Blazes! Blast Ye! By Thunder! - common pirate interjections
babes - babies, little ones
band - a group or bunch
be quick about it
beggarly - ragged and tattered looking
bloodthirsty - thirsty for blood (duh)
Blow - Short, intense gale or storm.
booty - the treasure and valuable stuff that pirates steal or plunder
Captain - A person elected by the pirate crew and in charge of battles.
cast off - leave port
castaway - someone or something abandoned (or marrooned)
cast your eyes - look
Cat-o'-nine-tails A whip made from knotted ropes. Sailors were flogged with
this whip to punish them for misdeeds.
clatterwacking - making all kinds of noise (me heart is clatterwacking)
colors - flag
combing the sea - searching the oceans for
cutlass - sword
dainty - feminine, wimpy, beautiful (but positive when related to a "dainty
lass")
a day befitting such a grand occasion - a great day for this wonderful event
Davy Jones' Locker - The bottom of the sea, or the grave of sailors drowned at
sea.
doubloon - old Spanish coins (see also pieces of eight)
ducats - (duk' ut) old European coins, good pirate treasure
Earrings and Eyepatches - Decorations favoured by pirates to make themselves
look fierce and unruly
farthings and coppers - small change for pirates
fetch - to get "Fetch me the map"
"a fiddlesticks end" - piratey for "baloney"
flagon - bottle (also cask, and hogshead)
flogging - hit with a stick of whip, usually 39 times, typical pirate
punishment
for sure and certain - absolutely positively
free as a seabird
gets wind of - hears about
gibberish - speech (nonsensical or at least too much)
gold dinars (from the Red Sea) - pirate treasure
golden guineas - currency/money/treasure
green - new e.g. "He's a bit green"
Grommet Apprentice sailor, or ship's boy.
have a notion - have an idea
have a go - try
heavy-hearted - sad
high spirited - energetic
henceforth - from now on
me hide - my body
hoist - to lift (see usage in ship terminology)
hot as pitch
jabbering - talking
jigamaree - a trick
jigameered - fooled
Jolly Roger The flag flown by all pirate ships. The Jolly Roger is a white
skull and crossbones on a black background.
joshing - lying
a king's ransom - alot of money
knavery - mischief
lads and lasses - boys and girls
Land ho! A sailor's call when land is sighted.
Landlubber A person unfamiliar with the sea and sailing. Lubber is an old word
for someone who is big and clumsy.
learn ya - teach you
lively - get ready
make the rafters sing - make lots of noise
maroon - to abandon someone on an island
Mate - makes sure that the sailors carry out the captain's orders. This person
is also responsible for stowing cargo and organising the crew's work.
may his timbers rest in peace - nice pirate eulogy
merest glimpse - catch a glimpse
merry - happy
monstrous - huge
mutiny - overthrow a captain
peculiar goings-on - strange activities
Peg Leg A nickname for a pirate with a wooden leg.
pieces of eight - unit of money, most popular (see also doubloon)
pillage, plunder, loot - to steal
plaguey - disgusting/ gross
pot of grog - container of pirate's favorite beverage, rum diluted with water
powerful yearning - strong desire
Prize - A captured ship full of treasure
quackery - foolishness
Quartermaster - The Quartermaster was the crew's representative on a pirate
ship. He had almost as much authority as the Captain.
saw fit - seemed right
set your lamps on this - take a hard look at
scurvy - disease from lack of vitamin C
seems to be amiss - seems to be wrong
splendiferous - incredible, fantastic
step lively - walk fast
stout lad - brave boy
stowaway- someone who sneaks aboard a ship without pay or account
strange manner of - unusual type of
string him up from the yardarms - hang him from the mast
squall - cloud burst
Swab - A mop used to wash the decks
"take a fancy to" - enjoy doing
taste me steel - "eat sword, bad pirate guy"
that's the was and wasn't of it - that's the whole story, the rest of the story
touchy as gunpowder -
temperish - easily angered
tender age - young; implying innocence
that oughta put fire under yer bellies - that should get you motivated
a thin slice of luck - real lucky
"To Arms!" - Grab your weapons, we're fighting
toil - to work (usually hard work)
underfoot - in the way "Don't get underfoot, me heartie"
Walk the Plank - A blindfolded prisoner, hands tied to his sides, was forced
to walk a plank over the side of the ship into the sea.
what ails ya? - what's bothering you?
What say ye to that?- Whattaya think
what brand of seaworm would...? What type of person would...
wiley - tricky, sneaky (the original definition)
womenfolk - ladies
Ship Vocabulary
anchors aweigh - lift up the anchors
batten down the hatches- "close the doorways" (trapdoor type openings to be
shut in storms & such)
Bow - Front of ship
brig - ships prison
Castles The raised sections of sailing ships.
crows nest - the area up in the mast where the look-out guy hangs out
Deck The exposed area of the ship where the sailors worked on the sails.
Fo'c's'le Short for Forecastle. A short raised deck at the bow of the ship.
Nowadays, the front part of the ship where the crew lives.
galley - the ship cafeteria
hard over to starboard - sharp turn to right
hoist the gangplank - take up the board that people walk on to enter the boat"
(we're leaving"
hoist the main sails - put up the main sails
hold course - stay in the direction you're going (can also relate to every day
life)
Keel Lowest lengthwise piece of timber under the hull of the ship.
Mast An upright pole which supports a sail. Sailing ships had several masts -
a mainmast, foremast, aftmast and bowsprit.
port - lefthand side of boat Port
quarter-deck - elevated deck where the Captain stands, ship's wheel is here,
overview rest of ship, reserved for ship's officers
raising sail - lifting up the sails, preparing to catch the wind and leave
reef the mainsail - take down the main sail
set sail- get ready to go
ship out - go to sea
starboard - right-hand side of boat
steady as you go - stay on course
stern - rear of ship
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Message has 3 Replies:
 | | Re: My pirate lexicon.
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| Hi Markus! Wow, that was hilarious! Thanks for a great laugh. Me thinks ye might be a true rascal (the positive kind ;-) One thing ye might wan'na add; "Arr" before, after and in the middle of every sentence! Our Improv club had a pirate fit one (...) (25 years ago, 23-Apr-00, to lugnet.pirates)
| | | Re: My pirate lexicon.
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| (...) Arrrr, ye be violatin' the rules awready, ye lubber. This be 'im, Cap'n. Ye be conjugatin' the bloody verb. (...) Aye! Uh, nay, arrr, this be a trick question. (...) Aye-aye, Cap'n. (...) Tisn't! Always be argumentative-like. We pyrates be (...) (25 years ago, 24-Apr-00, to lugnet.pirates)
| | | Re: My pirate lexicon.
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| Markus Wolf wrote in message ... (...) A most worthy and most helpful contribution to the might of the Brikish Empire. Now, I can distribute this list to my men, as a kind of 'Pyrate Recognition Manual', so that when they hear these telltale (...) (25 years ago, 24-Apr-00, to lugnet.pirates)
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