- Feb 12, 2007
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Avast, me Hearties! Today, September 19th, is Talk Like A Pirate Day!
Arrrrr!!!!
Helpful hints:
The basics
Pirate lingo is rich and complicated, sort of like a good stew. There are several other sites that offer glossaries that are pretty good, and you can find some of them on our links page.
But if you just want a quick fix, a surface gloss, a "pirate patina," if you will, here are the five basic words that you cannot live without. Master them, and you can face Talk Like a Pirate Day with a smile on your face and a parrot on your shoulder, if that's your thing.
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 âAarrr!â
Once you've mastered the basics, you're ready to start expanding your pirate vocabulary. Try these for starters
Beauty â The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by âme,â as in, âCâmere, me beauty,â or even, âme buxom beauty,â to one particularly well endowed. Youâll be surprised how effective this is.
Bilge rat â The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. Itâs 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 â A lot of guy humor involves insulting your buddies to prove your friendship. Itâs 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 â 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. Thatâs all. It sounds a lot worse, doesnât it? On TLAP Day â When dinner is served youâll make quite an impression when you say, âWell, me hearties, letâs see what crawled out of the bung hole.â 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 â 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 arenât prepared to be picky about that, either. Call your beer grog if you want. We wonât stop you! Water aboard ship was stored for long periods in slimy wooden barrels, so you can see why rum was added to each sailorâs water ration â to kill the rancid taste. On TLAP Day â Drink up, me hearties! And call whatever youâre 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 youâre holding, keelhaul him!
Hornpipe â Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day â We are not big fans of the capering, itâs not our favorite art form, if you will, so we donât have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is âhorny,â and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. âIs that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?â
Lubber â (or land lubber) This is the seamanâs 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 â More likely than not, you are a lubber 364 days of the year. But not if youâre 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 â Do something quickly. On TLAP Day â âSmartly, me lass,â 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
(We came up with these in an effort to interest The Other Dave (Letterman) in TLAPD. His staff liked 'em, but alas, his show was"dark" the week of Sept. 19.)
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 I fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlinâ, Iâm 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 âŚ
1. Prepare to be boarded.....
International Talk Like A Pirate Day - How To Do It
Arrrrr!!!!
Helpful hints:
The basics
Pirate lingo is rich and complicated, sort of like a good stew. There are several other sites that offer glossaries that are pretty good, and you can find some of them on our links page.
But if you just want a quick fix, a surface gloss, a "pirate patina," if you will, here are the five basic words that you cannot live without. Master them, and you can face Talk Like a Pirate Day with a smile on your face and a parrot on your shoulder, if that's your thing.
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 âAarrr!â
Once you've mastered the basics, you're ready to start expanding your pirate vocabulary. Try these for starters
Beauty â The best possible pirate address for a woman. Always preceded by âme,â as in, âCâmere, me beauty,â or even, âme buxom beauty,â to one particularly well endowed. Youâll be surprised how effective this is.
Bilge rat â The bilge is the lowest level of the ship. Itâs 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 â A lot of guy humor involves insulting your buddies to prove your friendship. Itâs 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 â 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. Thatâs all. It sounds a lot worse, doesnât it? On TLAP Day â When dinner is served youâll make quite an impression when you say, âWell, me hearties, letâs see what crawled out of the bung hole.â 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 â 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 arenât prepared to be picky about that, either. Call your beer grog if you want. We wonât stop you! Water aboard ship was stored for long periods in slimy wooden barrels, so you can see why rum was added to each sailorâs water ration â to kill the rancid taste. On TLAP Day â Drink up, me hearties! And call whatever youâre 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 youâre holding, keelhaul him!
Hornpipe â Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day â We are not big fans of the capering, itâs not our favorite art form, if you will, so we donât have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is âhorny,â and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. âIs that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?â
Lubber â (or land lubber) This is the seamanâs 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 â More likely than not, you are a lubber 364 days of the year. But not if youâre 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 â Do something quickly. On TLAP Day â âSmartly, me lass,â 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
(We came up with these in an effort to interest The Other Dave (Letterman) in TLAPD. His staff liked 'em, but alas, his show was"dark" the week of Sept. 19.)
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 I fired me cannon through your porthole?
4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?
3. Ya know, darlinâ, Iâm 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 âŚ
1. Prepare to be boarded.....
International Talk Like A Pirate Day - How To Do It
i bet about 45 percent of Scotland is on board with this today...arrrrggggg
