How to talk like a Pirate

Oooaarrgghhh me hearties! Avast ye landlubbers!! Shiver me timbers. Want to know how to talk like a pirate? Here we can give you some common sayings and pirate phrases. We have a much more comprehensive selection on our website.

Ahoy! - Hello!
Arrrr! - A piratical grunt that can mean just about anything from "I agree" to "Boo!" to "Hmmm"....
Avast ye landlubbers! - Avast means "Stop" or "Stay" and lubber is a clumsy person, so a landlubber is someone who's as clumsy on a ship as a person who's never been to sea.
Aye! - "Yes, I agree"
Aye-Aye! - "Right away"
Davey Jones's Locker - Davey Jones is a sailor's name for the evil spirit of the deep as well as a term for death. His locker is where unlucky ships or people go when they sink or die at sea.
Dead Man's Chest - An island in the Bahamas where Blackbeard abandoned 15 of his own men.
Freebooter - This term for a pirate is from the dutch language meaning "free plunder"
Grog - A very popular drink made from rum and water, named for Admiral Edward Vernon who got the nickname "Old Grog" from a grogham coat he wore.
Kiss the Gunner's daughter - To be flogged aboard ship.
Me hearty - A friend or shipmate
Sea legs - Sailors get "sea legs" when they've been at sea so long that they never get sea sick.
Scuppers - Holes pierced in the upper deck to give surplus water a place to drain.
Shiver me Timbers - A shiver is a splinter. Timbers are the wood of the ship. If a ship suddenly hit something, it's timber's were shivered! Pirates used this as a term of surprise or shock.
Tip the black spot - To make a death threat by giving someone a piece of paper marked with a black smudge.


Did you know that every year on 19th September, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day? A huge festival is held in Florida to celebrate the occasion, but pirate wannabes are now celebrating this day all over the world... Talk Like a Pirate Day is gaining new fans each year...