UnBooks:Bloopy's Pirate Dictionary

English

A

Abaft

On or to the aft.

Ahoy

A call used in hailing or greeting people.

Arrr

An interjection used by pirates. Also: Yarrr.

Athwartships

Across the ship, at right angles to the keel or centreline of the boat.

Avast

Stop, halt.

Aye

Yes.

B

Be

Used instead of "am" or "are", ex. "They be", "I be", "You be", etc.

Belay

To delay or stop doing something, used as a command.

Belay pin

A large pin used to secure running rigging on a ship and also useful as a club for fighting.

Bilge Rat

Rats found in the often filthy bottom of a ship, also used as an insult.

Binnacle

A box or case which houses the compass upon the deck.

Bitter End

The last part of a rope or last link in a chain.

Blackjack

A black and white Jolly Roger flag.

Black Jack

Large drinking cups made of leather and stiffened with tar.

Black Spot

A death threat.

Boo Box

Chest where pirates that make mistakes get sent.

Booty

Goods or treasure seized from victims or the enemy. Also loot, plunder, spoils.

Boucan

A knife used by buccaneers, mainly for hunting.

Bounty

The reward offered for the capture of a pirate or criminal.

Buccaneer

Pirates based in the Caribbean.

Bumboo

A drink of the West Indies made with watered rum and flavored with sugar and nutmeg.

By the Powers!

An exclamation, uttered by Long John Silver in Treasure Island.

C

Cackle Fruit

Chicken eggs.

Captain Of The Head

The person who gets toilet cleaning duty.

Careen

To turn a ship on its side (possibly on a beach) for cleaning or repairs.

Cat O' Nine Tails

A whip with nine knotted cords attached to a handle. It got its name from the scratch-like marks which it left on one's back.

Chain Shot

Two cannonballs connected by a chain and fired.

Clap Of Thunder

A strong drink.

Commandeer

To steal or take command of a ship.

Commission

A government's payment to a privateer for attacking and plundering an opposing country's ships.

Corsair

A privateer who operated in the Mediterranean.

Crows' nest

A small platform at or near the top of a mast. Used by a look out for land or other ships and flags carried on a ship.

Crusadoes

Portuguese coin.

Cutlass

A short sword used for cutting not just enemies, but also ropes and so on.

Cutthroat

A ruthless pirate with few loyalties.

D

Daalder

Dutch coin.

Davy Jones

Said to be an evil fiend who presides over all evil spirits of the deep.

Davy Jones' Locker

The bottom of the ocean, where dead pirates go.

Deniers

French coin.

Derelict

An abandonded ship at sea.

Doubloons

Spanish coin.

Dredgie

A ghost of a pirate, dead by betrayal.

Drivelswigger

Someone who speaks too many nautical terms.

Ducat

Danish coin.

Dungbie

Rear end.

F

Fiddler's Green

The sailor heaven where pirates be goin' when they die.

Filibuster

Another name for a buccaneer.

Flotsam

Floating remnants of a shipwreck.

Freebooter

Another name for a pirate or buccaneer.

Furner

A ship which be yer own, not one ye steal an' plunder.

G

Gibbet

Public gallows used for displaying hanged criminals, including pirates.

Gilguy

A term used to describe an object for which the correct name has been forgotten.

Glory Hole

Steward's Quarters.

Grog

Used to describe any beverage, usually alcoholic, but often one made from rum, water, and perhaps lime juice.

Guineas

English coin.

Gully

A big knife with numerous uses on board a ship, and often handy during mutinies.

H

Hang The Jib

To look ill-tempered or annoyed.

Hardtack

A hard, stale biscuit eaten onboard ships.

Head

A ship's toilet or washroom.

Hempen Halter

A noose used to hang someone.

Hogshead

A large barrel or cask, usually holding some alcoholic drink.

Holy Stone

A sandstone used to scrub the deck.

Hornswoggle

To cheat or defraud. Sometimes spelt Hornswaggle.

I

Ilanun Pirates

Pirates of the Philippines.

J

Jack

A flag or a sailor

Jack O' Coins

The paymaster or quartermaster.

Jack O' Cups

The first mate.

Jack O' Staves

The first lieutenant.

Jack O' Swords

The bosun (boatswain).

Jacob's Ladder

A rope ladder hung down the side of a ship.

Jetsam

Objects thrown overboard to lighten a ship when it is in trouble.

Jettison

To throw goods overboard.

Jolly Roger

A pirate flag with a skeleton or skull and cross-bones.

Jub

Short for landlubber.

K

Kaper

A Dutch pirate.

Keelhaul

A form of punishment where the victim was attached to a rope and hauled under the keel of a ship, dragging them down under one side and up the other.

L

Landlubber

Someone who is clumsy and awkward at sea and prefers staying on land.

Lass

A woman, usually a young or fair woman.

Lily Livered

A coward.

Limeys

A derogatory or humourous term used to describe sailors, because they drank lime juice to prevent scurvy.

Loot

Stolen goods or treasure.

Louis D'or

French coin.

M

Marlinspike

A tool similar to an ice pick and used to separate strands of rope. Also a popular weapon among mutineers.

Maroon

To leave someone stranded, usually on a desert island.

Matey

A shipmate or a friend.

Me

My.

Me hearty

A friend or shipmate.

Messdeck Lawyer

A know-it-all.

Moidore

A Portuguese coin.

Monkey

A small cannon.

Mutiny

When the crew rises up against the authority onboard a ship and takes control.

P

Picaroon

A rascal, or humourous name for a pirate.

Piece Of Eight

A type of Spanish coin.

Pillage

To seize goods, usually from a merchant ship.

Pirate

Someone who raids a merchant ship, or the act of doing so.

Plunder

The act of stealing goods from a merchant ship, or the actual goods stolen.

Powder Monkey

The boy who brings the gunpowder to the gunner.

Privateer

A pirate or ship endorsed by a particular country's government.

Prize

An enemy ship captured in battle.

Q

Quarter

Mercy granted on condition of surrender.

S

Salmagundi

A meal made from whatever meats, fish, vegetables, spices, etc. are available.

Scallywag

A deceitful or unreliable person.

Scurvy

A disease caused by a deficiency of vitamin C, often due to long trips at sea. Also used to describe someone in an insulting or humourous way.

Scuttle

To sink a ship on purpose.

Scuttle Butt

A far-fetched or untrue story.

Sea Dog

An old sailor.

Sea Lawyer

A seaman who is prone to argue a lot.

Shanghaied

Kidnapped and usually forced to work on a ship. Named after people's experiences of waking up and finding themselves in Shanghai.

Six-pounders

Cannons.

Smartly

Quickly.

Sprogs

Untrained recruits or children.

Squiffy

A buffoon, drunk, or idiot.

Swabbie

A person who mops the decks using a swab (a mop made from rope threads).

Swashbuckle

To act as a swashbuckler, or to have a sword fight.

Swashbuckler

A sword-wielding ruffian or bully, named for the sound of swords clashing.

T

Thar

There.

The Flying Dutchman

A legendary ghost ship said to be doomed to sail the seven seas forever.

Turn turtle

To capsize.

W

Walk the plank

To be forced, usually by pirates, to walk out along a plank extended from the side of a ship, until falling in the sea.

Wench

A woman of ill repute, a woman of no use or a disagreeable woman.

Wi' a wannion

With a curse, or with a vengeance.

Y

Ye

You.

Yellow Jack

A flag used to indicate an illness aboard a ship.

Yo-ho-ho

Meaningless saying used by pirates, most likely when singing or drunk.

Phrases

Dance the hempen jig.

To be hanged.

Dead men tell no tales.

Killing someone is the best way to keep secrets.

I'll see you to Davy Jones.

A threat to kill someone.

Loaded to the gunwales. (pron. gunnels)

Drunk.

Shiver me timbers!

An expression of shock or disbelief.

Splice the mainbrace.

To have a drink or three.

Swing the lead.

To be slacking off or lazy.

To be in Davy's Grip.

To be close to death or frightened.

To be on the account/to go on the account.

To be a pirate.

To dance with Jack Ketch.

To be executed.

To have the Davys (or the Joneseys).

To be frightened.

To take a caulk.

To take a nap.

With a will.

To perform a task with urgency.

German

L

Landratten

Landlubbers, land rats.

Spanish

Phrases

No hay Moros a la costa.

The coast is clear.

Sources

• Privateer Dragons of the Caribbean
• Redbeard Bob's Jolly Roger Pirate Journal
• The Pirate's Realm

See also

• The Pirate Dictionary by Terry Breverton