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Do you ever feel STUCK? In 2000, I began looking for answers to some tough questions in my life. I'd searched high & low and finally conceded to search the promises found in the Bible. Those promises have sustained & guided me through the loss of a parent, the struggle with anxiety & depression, the loss of a valued relationship and so much more! I've found joy amid the pain. And, I want to share it with you!

19 September 2014

Talk Like a Pirate Day

My FAVORITE little pirate!
September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day And, we wouldn't want any of our mateys out there to miss out on the fun. Face the fact, you'd be an addlepate not to participate in the celebrations. So... ALL HANDS ON DECK! 

And for ye landlubbers, here's a little help from The Pirate Dictionary:

To start with, of course, say "ye" for you, "me" for my or mine, and don't skimp on the "ahoy" and "arrrrr!"

Addled - Mad, insane, or just stupid. An "addlepate" is a fool.
Aft - Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship.
Ahoy - Hello!
Avast! - Hey! Could also be used as "Stop that!" or "Who goes there?"


Begad! - By God!
Belay - Stop that. "Belay that talk!" would mean "Shut up!"
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-sucking - A very uncomplimentary adjective.


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.
Blimey! - An exclamation of surprise.
Booty - Loot.
Bosun - Boatswain, a petty officer.
Bucko - Familiar term. "Me bucko" = "my friend."
Cap'n - Short for "captain."
Cat o'nine tails - 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.
Chantey - A sailor's work song. Also spelled "shantey" or "shanty."
Corsair - A more romantic term for pirate. But still a pirate.
Davy Jones' locker - The bottom of the sea.
Deadlights - Eyes. "Use yer deadlights, matey!"
Dead men tell no tales - Standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors.
Dog - A mild insult, perhaps even a friendly one.
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!
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!
Grub - Food.
Fore, or forrard - Toward the front end of the ship.
Flogging - Punishment by caning, or by whipping with the cat.
Hands - The crew of a ship; sailors.
Handsomely - Quickly. "Handsomely now, men!" = "Hurry up!"
Jack Ketch - The hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.
Jollyboat - A small but happy craft, perhaps even one which is a little dinghy.
Jolly Roger - The pirates' skull-and-crossbones flag. It was an invitation to surrender, with the implication that those who surrendered would be treated well. A red flag indicated "no quarter."
Keelhaul - Punishment by dragging under the ship, from one side to the other. The victim of a keelhauling would be half-drowned, or worse, and lacerated by the barnacles that grew beneath the ship.
Kiss the gunner's daughter - A punishment: to be bent over one of the ship's guns and flogged.
Lad, lass, lassie - A way to address someone younger than you.
Landlubber or just lubber - A non-sailor.
Lights - Lungs. A pirate might threaten to "have someone's lights and liver."
Line - A rope in use as part of the ship's rigging, or as a towing line. When a rope is just coiled up on deck, not yet being used for anything, it's all right to call it a rope.
Lookout - Someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for other ships or signs of land.
Maroon - A common punishment for violation of a pirate ship's articles, or offending her crew. The victim was left on a deserted coast (or, island) with few supplies. That way, no one could say that the unlucky pirate had actually been killed by his former brethren.
Me - A piratical way to say "my."
Me hearties - Typical way for a pirate leader to address his crew.
Matey - A piratical way to address someone in a cheerful, if not necessarily friendly, fashion.
No quarter! - Surrender will not be accepted.
Piece of eight - A Spanish silver coin worth one peso or 8 reales. It was sometimes literally cut into eight pieces, each worth one real.
Pillage - To raid, rob, and sack a target ashore.
Pirate - A seagoing robber and murderer. Contrast with privateer.
Poop deck - The highest deck at the aft end of a large ship. Smaller ships don't have a poop; the highest part aft is the quarterdeck.
Poxy, poxed - Diseased. Used as an insult.
Rope's end - Another term for flogging. "Ye'll meet the rope's end for that, me bucko!"
Rum (noun) - Traditional pirate drink.
Rum (adjective) - Strange or odd. A "rum fellow" is a peculiar person, the sort who won't say "Arrrr!" on Talk Like A Pirate Day.
Sail ho! - "I see a ship!" The sail, of course, is the first part of a ship visible over the horizon.
Salt, old salt - An experienced seaman.
Scurvy - (1) A deficiency disease caused by lack of vitamin C, often afflicting sailors; (2) A derogatory adjective for an epithet, as in "Ye scurvy dogs!"
Sea dog - An experienced seaman.
Shanty - Another spelling for "chantey" - a sea song.
Shark bait - (1) Your foes, who are about to feed the fish; (2) A worthless or lazy sailor; a lubber who is no use aboard ship.
Shiver me timbers! - An expression of surprise or strong emotion.
Sink me! - An expression of surprise.
Smartly - Quickly. "Smartly there, men!" = "Hurry up!"
Splice the mainbrace - To have a drink. Or, perhaps, several drinks.
Spyglass - A telescope.
Starboard - The right side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow.
Sutler - A merchant in port, selling what a ship needed for supplies and repairs.
Swab (noun) - A disrespectful term for a seaman. "Man that gun, ye cowardly swabs!"
Swab (verb) - To clean something. "Swabbing the decks" would be a mild penalty for a disobedient pirate.
Swag - Loot.
Wench - An individual of the female persuasion. "Saucy" is a good adjective to add to this, and if ye can get away with "Me proud beauty,” more power to ye!
Yo-ho-ho - A very piratical thing to say, whether it actually means anything or not.

Don't be rum fellows! Fair Winds me buckos & God Speed!


Okay, it's your turn... Go TALK LIKE A PIRATE!




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