Speak Like a Pirate
Keys to Speaking Like a Pirate
(How to Win New Friends and Influence Pirates)
- Learn and use key Pirate words, definitions and phrases
- Learn and use Pirate insults. Recommended for friendly company only, never in any crowds.
- Use “arr” and “arghh” as multipurpose words, e.g. “Aarrgh! Learning this new language is not easy.”
- Throw in yarr, garr at times for extra measure
- Stress and extend your r’s, e.g. “The Fearrred Captain Roberts.”
- Drop key g’s and v’s from yer vocabulary, e.g. “beginnin’, speakin’, Ne’errr”
- Switch an occasional a for select e’s. For example, “Thar be Pirates like us!”
- Drop the f in “of”. For example, “Gi’ me the strongest ‘clap o’ thunder’ ye got.”
- Use me instead of my: “Me Pirate Speech is improvin’ e’ry day!”
- Use be instead of am: “I be speakin’ Pirate!”
- Use ye and yer in lieu of you, your and you’re
- Don’t forget to frequently add colorful adjectives, e.g. bloody, notorious, treacherous
- Make sure to slur your words together
- For added influence: Use yer best raspy voice
- For extra effect: Grit your teeth, growl, and talk through one side of yer mouth
Pirate Phrases
"Ahoy Matey" - friendly greeting
"Ahoy matey! Let’s trouble the water!"
"Arrr!" - exclamation of interest or dismay
"Avast ye scurvy dogs" - stop and pay attention
"Batten down the hatches" - prepare for a storm
"Belay yer Carousin’" - stop messing around, keep your celebrations to a quiet roar
"Beware all ye who enter" - proceed with caution
"Dead men tell no tales" - the story telling stops here
"Down the hatch!" - drinking salutation
"Drink and the devil took care of the rest"
"Fair weather and following seas" - have a good day
"Fair winds t’ ye" - goodbye and have a good day
"Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest"
"Fire in the hole!" - cannon loaded and ready to fire
"Give ‘em a broadside volley" - simultaneous firing of cannons from the side of a ship
"Here be treasure, matey"
"Heave ho!" - pulling a rope or heavy object, quick dismissal from a ship or joint
"Hoist the Colors"! - raise the Jolly Roger flag
"I be ruler of the seven seas!"
"I be the scourge of the seven seas!"
"I’ll have ye swingin’ from the yardarms!"
"I’ll see ye measured for chains"
"Keep a weather eye open" - pay attention to changes or developments
"Let’s trouble the water!"
"Loaded to the gunwales" - too much grog
"Loot is first and wimmen second. Because if ye have the first ye’ll have the second, but if ye have the second ye won’t have the first for long!"
"May your anchor be tight, your cork be loose, your rum be spiced, and your compass be true"
"May your blade always be wet, and powder dry"
"Me hearties" - giving due respect to a person for bravery or other admirable qualities
"Obey the captain or learn to swim"
"Pillage and plunder!"
"Prepare to be boarded!"
"Rattle me bones" - upsetting event
"Sail ho!" - a ship is in view
"Savvy?" - do you understand
"Scupper that!" - exclamation of anger or derision, throw overboard
"Shiver me Timbers" - an exclamation of surprise
"Show a leg" - wake a sleeping pirate
"Shut yer flap" - please be quiet
"Sink me!" - an exclamation of surprise
"Splice the mainbrace" - drinks for everyone
"Son of a biscuit eater" - explanation of annoyance, an insult
"Tell it to the parrot" - to spread gossip
"Thar be no time for lily-livered complainin’"
"Three sheets to the wind" - too much grog, one sheet is a little tipsy, four is passed out
"Under a black flag we sail and the sea shall be our empire"
"Under a black flag we sail"
"Walk the plank, ye scallywag"
"We be Pirates!"
"Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen" - get underway, raise anchor and unfurl the sails
"What’s the latest scuttlebutt?"
"Yar Harrr! Thar be pirates we know!!"
"Ye lily livered Scalliwags!"
"Ye scurvy dog"
"Ye son of a biscuit eater"
"Yer walking the plank"
"Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"
Pirate Definitions
Bilge Rat - an insult
Bounty - reward promised for the capture of a pirate
Booty - treasure, money, jewels, material obtained by plundering or pillaging
Briny Deep - the ocean
Bum-squabbled - wrecked, discomfiture and defeat, crestfallen
Cape Horn Fever - faking illness to get out of work
Chanty - pirates singing in unison
Clap of thunder - strong alcoholic drink
Davy Jones’ Locker - graveyard at the bottom of the sea
Doubloons - Spanish gold coins
Freebooter - pirate, roaming scoundrel sailing the seas in search of spoils or plunder
Grog - watered down rum (4:1) with cane sugar, citrus juice and nutmeg
Hang the jib - frown, pout
Hornpipe - a single reed musical instrument
Hornswaggling - swindle something, usually money, out of someone
Jolly Roger - flag with skull and crossbones
Keelhaul- a form of severe punishment
Landlubber - Someone unfamiliar with seamanship
Letter of Marque - government license that authorized a privateer to attack and capture a pirate
Lily-livered - an insult, no courage, weak and cowardly
Loot - goods of value seized in war, appropriated illegally often by force or violence
No prey, no pay - pirate crew paid only with plundered loot
Old salt - an experienced pirate
Pieces of eight - the Spanish dollar, a silver coin worth eight pieces, or bits, can be broken into 8 pieces to give change, e.g., “two bits” = quarter of a dollar
Privateer - a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war
Rapscallion - a scoundrel
Run a rig - to play a trick
Scallywag - a villainous or bothersome person
Scurvy dog - an insult
Scuttlebutt - gossip
Sea dog - an old pirate
Sea legs - walking comfortably on a moving ship
Swashbuckler - a daredevil
Ter flounder - to sink
Translate Modern Phrases into Pirate Speak
Time to depart this party, or the premises: "Abandon ship!"
Can you order a coffee? "Fetch me a Java!"
Good morning: "Ahoy mateys!"
OMG: "Shiver me Timbers!"
Let’s go: "Sail Ho!"
Check it out: "Avast!"
I’m confused: "Arrr, I be bum squabbled!"
Time to pay your taxes: "Aarrrgh!"
Hail a taxi: "Ahoy!"
Housecleaning: "Swab the decks"
Stop messing around: "Belay yer carousin’!"
Sales pitch in business: "Give ‘em a broadside volley!"
Let’s go to market with that idea: "Time to plunder!"
Have a good day: "Fair Winds t’ ye"
Look for a good deal: "Keep a weather eye open"
Let's Vacation in the Caribbean: "Set yer course for the Spanish Main!"
Wake up: "Show a leg!"
Ready or not here I come: "I be the scourge of the 7 seas!"
Order a strong drink: "Give me a clap o’ thunder!"
Let’s get the party started: "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!"
You’re out of control, please leave: "Give him the Heave Ho!"
WTF: "Aargh!"
LOL: "Yo ho ho!"
IDK: "I be Bum squabbled"
LMAO: "Yo ho ho!"
BFF: "Me hearty!"
