Pirate Sayings, Jargon and Language
Pirate sayings, pirate lingo and pirate vocabulary are really fun. I can assure you that. So any of your pirate party games would feel more real and will become funnier if you use these pirate words and try to sound like a pirate.
This list is continued from part one of our guide to Pirate Words.
More Pirate sayings
Addled -- Mad, insane, or just stupid. An "addlepate" is a fool.
Aft -- Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship.
Begad! -- By God!
Belay -- Stop that. "Belay that talk!" would mean "Shut up!"
Belaying pin -- A short wooden rod to which a ship's rigging is secured. A common improvised weapon aboard a sailing ship, because they're everywhere, they're easily picked up, and they are the right size and weight to be used as clubs.
Beauty – The best possible of the address pirate sayings for a woman. Always preceded by "me," as in, "C'mere, me beauty," or even, "me buxom beauty," to one particularly well endowed. You'll be surprised how effective this is.
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Bilge! -- Nonsense, or foolish talk. The bilges of a ship are the lowest parts, inside the hull along the keel. They fill with stinking bilgewater -- or just "bilge."
Bilge rat – The bilges or the lowest parts of the ship are loaded with ballast and slimy, reeking water. A bilge rat, in pirate sayings, is a rat that lives in the worst place on the ship. It's 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.
Bilge-sucking -- A very unpleasant adjective and one of the nastier pirate sayings.
Black Spot -- To "place the Black Spot" on another pirate is to sentence him to death, to warn him he is marked for death, or sometimes just to accuse him of a serious crime before other pirates.
Blaggard -- "Blackguard." An insult. Not to use with your friendly pirate words.
Blimey! -- An exclamation of surprise among other pirate sayings expressing such sentiments.
Booty -- Loot.
Bosun -- Boatswain; a petty officer.
Bowsprit -- The slanted spar at a ship's prow.
Brethren of the Coast -- The Caribbean buccaneers called themselves by this name in the 1640-1680 period. During this time, they actually formed a sort of fraternity, and did not (usually) fight each other or even steal from each other. After 1680, a new generation of pirates appeared, who did not trust each other... with good reason.
Briny deep -- The ocean in pirate sayings. Probably no pirate in all history ever used this phrase, but use it anyways specially rolling the r in briny
Buccaneer -- A general term for the Caribbean pirates. One of those pirate words that still stay alive nowadays and that everybody knows.
Bucko -- Familiar term when using pirate sayings. "Me bucko" = "my friend."
Bung hole – 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. That's all. It sounds a lot worse, doesn't it? On TLAP Day – When dinner is served you'll make quite an impression when you say, "Well, me hearties, let's see what crawled out of the bung hole." 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!
Cap'n -- Short for "captain."
Cat o'nine tails, or just "cat" -- a whip with many lashes, used for flogging. "A taste of the cat" might refer to a full flogging, or just a single blow to "smarten up" a recalcitrant hand.
Chandler, or ship-chandler -- see Sutler.
Chantey -- A sailor's work song. Also spelled "shantey" or "shanty."
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Chase -- The ship being pursued. "The chase is making full sail, sir" = "The ship we're after is going as fast as she can."
Chest -- Traditional treasure container.
Corsair -- A more romantic term for pirate. But still a pirate.
Crow's nest -- A small platform, sometimes enclosed, near the top of a mast, where a lookout could have a better view when watching for sails or for land.
Cutlass -- A curved sword, like a saber but heavier. Traditional pirate weapon. Has only one cutting edge; may or may not have a useful point.
Davy Jones' locker -- The bottom of the sea. (Expression commonly used in the Pirates of the Sea movie series)
Deadlights -- Eyes. "Use yer deadlights, matey!"
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Dead men tell no tales -- Standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors.
Dog -- A mild insult within the pirate words, perhaps even a friendly one. Nowadays to call a "dog" to somebody would be a much stronger insult.
Doubloon -- A Spanish gold coin. At different times, it was worth either 4 or 16 silver pesos, or "pieces of eight."
Fair winds! -- Goodbye, good luck!. One of those useful and basic pirate words.
Feed the fish -- What you do when you are thrown into the sea, dead or alive.
Gangway! -- "Get out of my way!"
Godspeed! -- Goodbye, good luck!
Grog -- Generically, any alcoholic drink. Specifically, rum diluted with water to make it go farther.
Grub -- Food. We keep today this among the pirate words for a colloquial way of saying food.
Gun -- A cannon.
Fore, or forrard -- Toward the front end of the ship.
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Flogging -- Punishment by caning, or by whipping with the cat.
Hands -- The crew of a ship; sailors.
Handsomely -- Quickly. "Handsomely now, men!" = "Hurry up!"
Head -- The toilet facilities aboard a modern ship. This will do for modern piratical talk. The toilet facilities aboard an ACTUAL pirate ship do not bear thinking about.
Hornpipe – Both a single-reeded musical instrument sailors often had aboard ship, and a spirited dance that sailors do. On TLAP Day – We are not big fans of the capering, it's not our favorite art form, if you will, so we don't have a lot to say on the subject, other than to observe that the common term for being filled with lust is "horny," and hornpipe then has some comical possibilities. "Is that a hornpipe in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me? Or both?"
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Pirate Party Games
