Arrr me hearties, it be international pirate day...

Today would have been my Grandad’s 100th birthday. Unfortunately he never made it through the century and the excitement of receiving a birthday wish from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. My grandad died at the notable age of 92 back in May 2013. 

I’m not sure what Harry Maurice Eve would have made of the last 6 months, his generation had lived through much worse times than we are currently enduring but I’m sure the lockdowns and social distancing would have irritated him. 


So this Blog today is dedicated to a man who quite literally I wouldn’t be here without and who is missed by all who knew him. 

My Grandad shares his birthday with an international awareness day. The 19th September is International Talk like a Pirate Day!  In a world which is often so serious this day can add the suggestion of some levity. 

This day was the brainchild of two Albany, Oregan gentlemen called Mark Summers and John Baur. The story goes that whilst playing racquetball in 1995 one of them exclaimed ‘arrrrh’ and the day was born. 

The celebration of pirates could be seen by some as controversial. Modern day pirates are dangerous murderers and criminals, armed with machine guns and other modem weapons causing fear, intimidation and misery amongst honest seafaring travellers. The organisers of International Talk Like a Pirate day are keen to distance the day from these pirates and instead mark the romanticised view of the Golden Age of Piracy 1650-1730. The time of pirates such as Blackbeard, Jack’Calico’ Rackham, Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Captain Kidd. 



Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Captain Jack Sparrow of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean films is probably what most people would associate the golden age to have been like, without of course the supernatural elements. In reality life on the high seas would have been hard with long periods of boredom, disease, risk, betrayal and of course the very high risk of being caught and executed. Most of the pirate captains were well educated, they needed to be able to read maps, communicate and maintain ledgers. The crew needed to be kept content to ensure the ship sailed and fought well avoiding possibilities of mutiny. 

On board Queen Anne’s Revenge Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach, commanded a crew of over three hundred managing between them forty cannons. To keep a large number of people fed, watered and paid required great skill, organisation,  discipline and rules. 


So today, to remember these romantic villains who often sailed on both sides of the law depending on which country or royal was in control, it is time to learn some pirate sayings.

Here are a few taken from: https://reference.yourdictionary.com/resources/pirate-terms-phrases.html to help develop your piratical vocabulary. 

Pirate Greetings and Exclamations

Learn to say “hello” the pirate way!

  1. ahoy - hello

  2. Avast ye! - Stop you!; pay attention!

  3. blimey - something said when one is in a state of surprise

  4. heave ho - instruction to put some strength into whatever one is doing

  5. Savvy? - a question that means, “Do you understand?”

  6. Shiver me timbers! - an expression used to show shock or disbelief

  7. Sink me! - an exclamation of great surprise

  8. yo ho ho - possibly from yo-heave-ho, a chant when doing strenuous work, but also can be used to call attention to the speaker

Pirate Insults, Threats, and Dark Omens

Need to threaten or insult someone in pirate? 

  1. bilge-sucking - an insult indicating someone drank dirty bilge water from the bottom of the ship

  2. black spot - a death threat (found in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)

  3. blow the man down - it possibly means getting knocked to the ground or killed (found in a 19th-century sea shanty)

  4. cleave him to the brisket - cut a man nearly in half with a sword

  5. dance with Jack Ketch - to hang (Jack Ketch was slang for the hangman)

  6. dead men tell no tales - the reason given for leaving no survivors

  7. give no quarter - show no mercy; pirates raised a red flag to threaten no quarter

  8. landlubber - a person who is uncomfortable, or not incredibly skilled, at sea

  9. lily-livered - an insult for someone who displays cowardice

  10. keelhaul - a punishment in which someone was dragged back and forth under the ship

  11. mutiny - a situation in which the crew chooses a new captain, sometimes forcibly removing the old one

  12. scallywag - an inexperienced pirate, considered an insult

  13. scurvy dog - an insulting name

  14. shark bait - If you're made to walk the plank, chances are you'll be shark bait. Also, a dying sailor whose body will soon be thrown into the sea

  15. son of a biscuit eater - an insult

  16. walk the plank - A punishment, probably more myth than truth, which entails making someone walk off the side of the ship along a plank. The person's hands were often tied so he couldn't swim and drowned (and then fed the fish).

But if you want some more you can check out the pirate translator at https://lingojam.com/PirateSpeak. 

Finally for today back to my Grandad. He could well have been a pirate. He lost his arm during the war and had a false arm that he could attach different implements. He had a knife, a hand, a handle for fishing. Perhaps he had a hook and an eye patch???

'ay grandad. 'appy 100th birthday. Me mate. 

Comments

  1. Hever19 September 2020 at 20:23

    He did have a hook, but I never saw him use or even attach it 😳

    ReplyDelete

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