Avast ye, hearties: Tuesday, September 19, is National Talk Like a Pirate Day and you don’t want to look like a scallywag. Captain Syntax shares a few useful phrases in this video so your pirate lingo will sound like that of an old salt, matey. And don’t forget the rum… er, grog.
Pirate Phrases:
Abandon Ship: An order to leave the vessel immediately, usually in the face of some imminent danger
Ahoy: Hello
Avast Ye: A command meaning pay attention or listen
Aye, Aye: Yes, I understand
Batten Down the Hatches: When everything on a ship is tied down to prepare for an approaching storm
Booty: Refers to any ill-gotten goods swiped from another party
Bounty: The reward for capturing a criminal
Briny Deep: The ocean
Carouser: A reckless person who drinks too much
Chantey: A song that sailors sing in unison while working
Clap of Thunder: A strong alcoholic beverage, usually referring to a shot
Davy Jones’ Locker: Graveyard at the bottom of the sea for those killed or drowned
Dead Men Tell No Tales: An expression that means dead people will not betray any secrets. Used as a threat to kill someone, or a way of saying there were no survivors.
Doubloons: Types of gold coins
Fire in the Hole: A cannon is about to be fired
Grog: Diluted rum, but can be used to refer to any alcoholic concoction
Hang the Jib: To pout or frown
Hearties: Friends, comrades
Hornswaggle: To swindle something, usually money, out of someone else
Jolly Roger: The name for the iconic black pirate flag featuring a white skull and crossbones
Lad, lass, lassie: A child or young person
Landlubber: Someone without sailing ability
Loot: Stolen money or possessions
Marooned: To be abandoned with no food, drink or possessions
Me: My
Old Salt: Experienced pirate or sailor
Plunder: To steal
Run a Rig: Play a joke on someone
Scallywag: What an experienced pirate would call a newbie
Scurvy: A derogatory adjective meaning lowly or disgusting
Seadog: A veteran sailor
Shiver Me Timbers: An exclamation of surprise
Sink Me: An exclamation of surprise
Son of a Biscuit Eater: An insult
Thar She Blows: A 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: When someone is forcibly ordered to walk off a wooden board into the sea, resulting in drowning
Wench: A woman
Ye: You
Yo Ho Ho: A jolly expression
