The Bitter End

Pirate Patois and other Seafaring Slang

By Captain J. Gary "Gator" Hill

What do you get when you add water, boats and an occasional splash of rum? Instant pirate! Piracy on the high seas goes back to not long after man pushed his first log into the water and started paddling.

When we think of pirates and swashbucklers, it’s usually that golden age from about 1650-1730, that comes to mind. Names like Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Anne Boney, and Errol Flynn. Hold on a second, Errol Flynn wasn’t a pirate, though he played a very convincing one on the big screen.

Although I could spend pages on this subject, I’ll whittle it down to a single one, lest I upset dear editor. Walking the plank is an image that leaps to mind when thinking of pirates. Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, as well as The Goonies and even Peter Pan, all feature this iconic torture. Hate to pop your bubble folks, but this form of execution was extremely rare. It did play well to movie audiences as it built suspense to watch one forced to walk ever-closer to the edge of their demise. (Queue the circling sharks.)

In reality, offenders were likely dispatched with either a round through the head or the quick slash of a cutlass. But by and large, most of the carnage aboard ship was kept to a minimum. Why? It’s hard to find good help. If you felt you were going to be killed, you’d fight to the bloody death to avoid capture.

“Aargh,” says you! “Nay,” says I! I’ll have to plunder yer booty of pirateese. Is that even a word? [If you’re referring to aargh, yes, according to Merriam-Webster, it is now a word. If you’re referring to pirateese, no. It isn’t. ~ Editor] Although Arrgh is commonly associated with pirate-speak [That’s better. ~ Editor] this word showed up and was immortalized by the actor Robert Newton in his classic role of Long John Silver, in Treasure Island.

One might think of pirates as bloodthirsty chaps who ruled their ships with an iron hand (or hook). Once again, not so much. Most captains served under the blessing of the crew and could be voted out. Yes, pirates were mainly democratic. Captains and crew also had competitive benefits packages. They earned paid retirements and even workers comp. Scratching your head over that one? The loss of a finger could yield you 100 pieces of silver, or a slave, as recompense. The loss of a right arm might bring you 600 pieces of silver, or six slaves. And no taxes withheld!

Many tomes could be filled with the fact and fiction that creates the pirate mystique, but we also owe many of our everyday colloquialisms and idioms to our seafaring history. For example, making money "hand over fist" comes from an early sailing term “hand over hand,” used in the Royal Navy and later changed by American sailors to hand over fist. This term comes from advancing up a rigging line to furl and unfurl sails. Today it means to advance one’s status or financial gain.

Another expression, though one that has gone out of style is, “I like the cut of his jib.” Meaning you like the outward appearance of a person. Its roots go back to the 17th and 18th centuries when it was pretty easy to determine a boat’s country of origin by the shape of its jib – the foresail on a boat.

Turning a blind eye, or to intentionally ignore something, also comes from our maritime roots. In 1801 at the Battle of Copenhagen, Admiral Nelson intentionally held his telescope up to his blind eye so he couldn’t see the flag raised by the commander of the fleet instructing him to cease bombardment.

Well mates, it’s time to wrap up this side show we call The Bitter End. Guess I’ll sit back and enjoy another cup of joe, which, by the way, is

a nautical term going back to 1913, when Josephus Daniels took over as Secretary of the Navy. One of the first things he did was remove the officer’s wine mess, as well as all other alcohol from naval vessels; the strongest thing you could have was coffee. Often a toast was made with coffee to “Old Joe.” Sailors carried this back to the civilian world, and we’re enjoying our joe to this day.

I’ve slipped in a couple other maritime terms here. Can you find them? Have any unusual ones you’d like to share? Shoot me an email over the bow!

Till our wakes cross again, peace and love and shrimp and grits. I’ll see you on the water!

The Bounty, a replica of the original 18th century tall ship HMS Bounty, just months before being lost off Cape Hatteras. Photo by Captain Gator

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