By Kate Miller-Wilson, B.A. , Staff Writer
Do you want to pick up some lingo for Talk Like A Pirate Day? Whatever the reason, learning some pirate terms can be useful and fun. Read on, me hearties!
Glossary of Pirate Terms and Phrases
If you think that there are only a few pirate terms and phrases to learn, you are absolutely mistaken! We've provided a vocabulary list of 75 fascinating pirate sayings (although many more pirate idioms abound), and you will see that there is quite a bit more to talking like a pirate than running around saying "Aarrr!"
We have included the pirate phrases, as well as the modern English translation of that phrase.
Pirate Greetings and Exclamations
Learn to say “hello” the pirate way!
ahoy - hello
Avast ye! - Stop and pay attention!
blimey - something said when one is in a state of surprise
heave ho - instruction to put some strength into whatever one is doing
Savvy? - a question that means, “Do you understand?”
Shiver me timbers! - an expression used to show shock or disbelief
Sink me! - an exclamation of great surprise
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 lingo?
bilge-sucking - an insult indicating someone drank dirty bilge water from the bottom of the ship
black spot - a death threat (found in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson)
blow the man down - it possibly means getting knocked to the ground or killed (found in a 19th-century sea shanty)
cleave him to the brisket - cut a man nearly in half with a sword
dance with Jack Ketch - to hang (Jack Ketch was slang for the hangman)
dead men tell no tales - the reason given for leaving no survivors
give no quarter - show no mercy; pirates raised a red flag to threaten no quarter
landlubber - a person who is uncomfortable, or not incredibly skilled, at sea
lily-livered - an insult for someone who displays cowardice
keelhaul - a punishment in which someone was dragged back and forth under the ship
mutiny - a situation in which the crew chooses a new captain, sometimes forcibly removing the old one
scallywag - an inexperienced pirate, considered an insult
scurvy dog - an insulting name
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
son of a biscuit eater - an insult
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).
Pirate Slang
Understand what pirates have to say with popular pirate slang.
briney deep - the ocean
cackle fruit - hen's eggs
clap of thunder - a strong alcoholic drink
dance the hempen jig - to be hanged
Davy Jones' locker - mythological place at the bottom of the sea where drowned sailors were said to go
feed the fish - if you lose a sea fight, your body will feed the fish
fire in the hole - a canon that is loaded and ready to fire
hang the jib - to frown or scowl
hearties - friends and comrades
hempen halter - the noose used to hang people
hornswaggle - to cheat, swindle
no prey, no pay - a pirate law meaning the crew didn't get paid but took a share of any loot
peg leg - a wooden leg
run a rig - play a trick
sea legs - when a pirate can walk comfortably on a moving ship
scuttle - to sink a ship
scuttlebutt - a cask of drinking water; slang for gossip
swashbuckler - a daredevil
three sheets to the wind - someone who is quite drunk
Phrases Related to Pirate Ships and Crew
Next time you’re aboard a ship, you’ll be able to speak like a pirate.
abaft, or aft - toward the back of the boat
all hands hoay - everyone on the deck
batten down the hatches - a signal to prepare the ship for an upcoming storm
bilge - the lowest decks of the ship, often filled with water.
binnacle - where the compass is kept on board the ship
black jack - a pirate flag; a large tankard
buccaneer - name for a pirate mainly found in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th centuries
coaming - a surface that prevented water on the deck from dripping to lower levels of the ship
cockswain or coxswain - the helmsman
crow's nest - the place on the ship where the lookout stand is built
duffle - a sailor's belongings and the bag they were carried in
dungbie - rear end of the ship
flibustier - name for the American pirates found around the West Indies during the Golden Age of Piracy
freebooter - a pirate or looter, from the same origin as flibustier, someone who took loot or booty
head - toilet on board the ship
Jacob's ladder - rope ladder that was used to climb aboard ships
Jolly Roger - the famous pirate flag with a skull and crossbones on it
man-o-war - the name used for a pirate ship that is heavily armed and ready for battle
old salt - a sailor that has a great deal of experience on the seas
orlop - lowest deck in the ship where cables are stored
poop deck - deck that is the highest and farthest back
privateer - a sailor sponsored by the government, paid by what he could plunder from an enemy, technically a step up from a pirate
rigging - the lines and ropes that held the sails
seadog - an old sailor or pirate
Pirate Terms About Money and Weapons
Of course, no pirate story would be complete without the right words for weapons and treasure.
booty - treasure or loot
bounty - the reward for a deed
cat o’ nine tails - a whip with nine separate strands on the end
chase gun - a cannon at the prow, or front, of a ship
coffer - a chest full of treasure
cutlass - type of sword used by the pirates
doubloons - Spanish gold coins
pieces of eight - Spanish coins
Talk Like a Pirate
You might be surprised to already know some of the sayings on this list of old pirate terms. Yes, certain pirate expressions have made their way into everyday life. For example, people still often say "three sheets to the wind" about a drunk person at a party, or they will give something the "heave ho."
Items taken:
Cast detect magic
potion - magic
Light crossbow bolts (3); - magic
tidewater - magic
masterwork cat-o’-nine-tails*,
light crossbow with 10 bolts,
amulet - magic
bracers - magic
shackles - magic,
leather drinking cup,
betting stash of 100 sp and 200 gp
potion - magic
potion - magic
leather armor,
punching dagger, poisoned
masterwork handaxe carved with notches
shortbow with 12 arrows in leather quiver with a buttoned shutter to protect them from the elements.
whip
boatswain’s call
corked dark green bottle containing 8 doses of oil of taggit
six gold teeth worth 5 gp each
hefty waxed coat with many hidden pockets
leather snuff box with a diamond stud worth 100 gp containing 1 dose of dark reaver powder
silver wedding ring worth 25 gp, 14 pp, 29 gp
Time for Manny to start brewing alchemist's fire to toss!
Might need ammunition for the catapult, so are you the engineer?
As you will be getting some new crew mates, any ideas for names is appreciatied.
Soren "Shiny" verassian Human warrior
A medium sized black haired chelish man.
Perfectly average stats.
Once a Chelish bastard of a low ranking noble house,
His Paranoia is nearly correct about one person being a Succubus! But just nearly since she is something else!
Vladislav "Vlad" Vladislavovich Human Bloodrager
A tall, broad shouldered, muscular and blond Irriseni, Strong, charismatic, not very intelligent or wise.
Irriseni exile who claims to descent from one Rurik, the longest standing heroes fighting against Baba Yagas invasion of Irrisen. Is a big axe for hire, and has several smaller axes for every day tasks such as cutting meat in a kitchen.
Has a fairly sunny personality, "At least no part of my body is currently freezing off, and I can look into a mirror without an ice witch looking back out!". When asked about how he got all of these axes, he was on a ship that took a military supply transport full of axes. He would actually prefer swords normally but he got used to it.
Correctly pronouncing his full Name "Vladimir Vladislavovich Rurikid" gets a +2 to diplomacy checks involving him, but requires a successfull DC 15 linguistic check if you dont speak Irriseni.
Unfortunately for Vlad, the Irriseni government set strict quotas for political enemies to be murdered by baba yagas agents, per year, and while far from a priority, he is visible and talks a lot. Fight of an assassination attempt and gain his loyalty!
Askold "Beerfiend" Magnusson. Human Skald
A Kellid exile of Sarkoris, is seeking to be able to taste and brew every single type of booze in the multiverse. Cayden follower, is named Beerfiend because of his innate ability to disappear the contents of Beerbarrels. Charismatic, intelligent, not dextrous or wise, above average str and con.
Find the mythic omni booze! Booze so great that whoever you give it to will perform one mighty task.
His own plan is to give it to Nocticula, so she murders Baphomet and Deskari, and thus frees his homeland. This may or may not work, since she may or may not be planning to do that anyway, and getting the omnibooze for free is nice.
The names, back stories and even the side quest ideas are great but all your crew have the same class and stats:
Shipmate CR 1/2
XP 200
Human expert 1/warrior 1
N Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses Perception +4
Defense
AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex, +1 dodge)
hp 11 (2 HD; 1d8+1d10+2)
Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +2
Offense
Speed 30 ft.
Melee scimitar +2 (1d6+1/18–20) or
dagger +2 (1d4+1/19–20)
Ranged composite longbow +2 (1d8+1/×3)
Statistics
Str 13, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 9
Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Profession [sailor])
Skills Acrobatics +5, Climb +5, Craft (ships) +3, Perception +4,
Profession (fisherman) +4, Profession (sailor) +8, Survival +4,
Swim +5
Languages Common
Gear masterwork studded leather, daggers (2), composite
longbow (+1 Str) with 20 arrows, scimitar
Boon A shipmate can smuggle a small item onto or off of
a ship, or help PCs get on or off of a ship by creating
a distraction for any other watchers (–4 on Perception
checks to notice the PCs for up to 1 minute).
pirates and sailors such as: Eustass Kid (Eustace the Monk, Bootstrab Bill (William Kidd), Xavier Drake (Sir Francis Drake), Basil Hawkins (Basil Ringrose and John Hawkins), Capone Bege (Al Capone and William Le Sauvage), Jewelry Bonney (Anne Bonny), Urouge (Aruj and Oruç Reis), Alvida (Awilda), Bartolomeo (Bartholomew Roberts), Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy), Blackbeard (Edward Teach), Cavendish (Thomas Cavendish), Big Mom (Charlotte Badger), Gold Roger (Olivier Levasseur), Lafitte (Jean Lafitte), Roronoa Zoro (François l'Olonnais), Silvers Rayleigh (Sir Walter Raleigh), Thatch (Edward Thatch), Yorki (Calico Jack), Zeff and Sanji ("Red Legs" Greaves), Trafalgar Law (Edward Low), Barbarossa (Hayreddin Barbarossa), Scratchmen Apoo, Chui A-poo, Emporio Ivankov, Frank N. Furter, Norio Imamura, and Monkey D. Luffy.
Straw Hats, Bellamy Crew, Arlong crew, Bliking crew names and personae
Are you looking for names or statblocks?
Are you looking for names or statblocks?
.
We have stat blocks, just names and races. Personality would be great also.
We are getting ready for the Total Eclipse here. First one of my lifetime. Last eclipse I was in, it never went dark.
Bellamy crew they lost their captain.
"Big Knife" Sarquiss ("Sarkies") is a blue-haired bespectacled man who is Bellamy's first mate[ch. 223].
Eddy is the Bellamy Pirates' navigator. He is voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya in the original Japanese version. In the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Andy Baldwin in episodes 149 and 150 and by Zach Bolton in Episode 207.
Muret is the Bellamy Pirates' doctor.
Hewitt is the Bellamy Pirates' cook.
Rivers is the Bellamy Pirates' sniper. He is voiced by Masaya Takatsuka in the original Japanese version and by Patrick Seitz in the Funimation dub.
Ross is the Bellamy Pirates' swordsman. He is voiced by Osamu Ryutani in the original Japanese version. In the Funimation dub, he is voiced by Scott Cantrell in earlier appearances and by Tyson Rinehart starting in Episode 207.
Mani: The Bellamy Pirates' combatant. She is voiced by Brigette Goudeau in the Funimation dub.
Senti "Sekal" Kalu
Senti is a human male garundi, off the coast of Osirion. A hard worker, if a little dense. He does not shy away from difficult decisions. He has always had a dim view of pragmatism, believing that tough choices are for tough people. With that in mind, he likes to go for the straightforward solution, which can cause more problems to arise if the situation is delicate.
Itza "Chicken" Olara
Itza is a male halfling, originally hailing from Cheliax. Itza was never a brave one, and he jumped at the opportunity to escape the slave cages. During the escape, Itza was forced to kill one of his pursuers. He ended up in the Shackles as a shipwright's helper. Recently, he was told that someone from his past caught wind of his location, and decided to change the scene.
Isebran "White-Eye" Firegut
Born in the Mana Wastes, this male dwarf had at some point in his life decided that living in a cave is not for him. He picked up a backpack and walked into the desert. Eventually, the desert turned into mountains, and that into lush jungles. Isebran continued moving west, until he found himself standing knee-deep in an ocean with a great storm raging in the distance. Walking along the shore, he found a town and, despite the warnings, chartered a boat west into the Shackles. Here, he found work as an alchemist and a powder monkey.
Very good, Finally someone has excellent ideas.
I would be happy with everyone's suggestions
Mikaela "Blinged Hussar" Wolodjeovski
Once a cavallerist in Restov, she got cursed by a Fae to have horses freak out whenver she is close. Decided to switch tacks to being a pirate, since her drawback of repelling horses matters much less here.
While she will likely never wear the wings of Rostlands heavy hussar cavalry, she can substitute for bling what she lacks wingwise.
Has short cropped hair and is a capable duelist, although not fully swordlord trained. Refers to Aaron "Pepe Pew pew" as "designated Succubus bait".
Aaron "Pepe Pew Pew" de St. Cyr
Proud Scion of Galt, although his family was on the losing side of one of Galts many power struggles, resulting in exile. His grandfather was an admiral of that nation during the revolutionary war, before it got landlocked due to chelish and taldane counter attacks.
Plays up the daring musketeer swashbuckler trope for laughs, secretly has a crush of Mikaela.
Vadim "Haircut" Zinchenko
A former Issian river pirate. Sought to move into the big leagues by moving into the open sea, after the new Issian government clamped down on piracy and essentially inducting the river pirates into its navy.
Is incredibly attached to his cossack haircut, and would take debuffs if it is not prim, proper and in good condition. Wields a mean sabre.
Really cool on the NPCs. THis will give us a little reserve for the next time!
Hey gang, roll initiative, we have a big snake
Afraid I can't help you there. In the words of T-Pain:
[larger]"I'm on a boat, mudafugga!"[/larger]
Ah crap--I never leveled Capricia up.
Let's at least roll hps for 4th level now; I'll try to get everything else up ASAP. I know I was planning on taking Weapon Specialization (falcata) for her bonus feat.
d20?
d20?
Nuts you can still help, just delayed to round three to account for the distance. That is if people start taking their actions for round two!
No access to map right now, but Manny is running in to toss his harpoon.
Yeah he needs to get within 50' so next round can can throw it. It is returning btw.
just realized I never added my lesser bracers of archery's +1 bonus to the shortbow attack, fixed that now
Well you never missed by one so it was not an issue.
You manage to rescue the worker who fell in is saved, Rickety deducts
500 gp from the price of the refitting to thank you.
Manny pulls out a skinning knife to get meat for the stew
Welp. There goes the discount.
just realized I never added my lesser bracers of archery's +1 bonus to the shortbow attack, fixed that now
I buy you books and send you to school ;)
snake - it taste like chicken, right??
Vikla does not have kn. planes, but picked up some amusingly wrong information about demons while on an Abyssally influenced ship. As such she will frequently be convinced that tactics that do nothing, or even are outright bad, are very cunning against some types of demons or devils.
1: Succubus
Succubi are annoying winged ladies that like to fly around you, stay out of melee range and hit you with flaming arrows or unholy blights! Valiantly grapple them to stop such shenanigians!
2: Marilith
Mariliths are expert bards because they can play many instruments at the same time! Hit them with silence spells!
3: Schir
They gnaw their halberds because its good eatz! But it turns into bad eatz as the Schir is slain. RUDE.
4: Dretch
Dretch rear end, is processed correctly, can be used as a base for pretty reasonable if overly spicey booze!
5: Incubus:
They are really weak against spells ordering them to get rid of any armor they are wearing!
6: Abrikandidu
They are very weak to roses!
7: Accuser devil
They fear spiders so summon some!
8: Bearded devils
Can be terrorized by displaying a barbers tools, ideally in silver!
Devils in general:
Asking them if they have a "loicense" for their behaviour sometimes gets funny results
9: Warmonger devils
Are obligated to follow through with any knock-knock joke.
I hate to be that kind of player…but tbh I haven’t really been feeling it with this campaign. Not that I think the campaign is bad or anything, I’m just not really vibing. I hate to throw this suddenly, but I think I’m gonna have to step down from this campaign.
I understand. Best of luck with you in your future campaigns. Sorry to see you go.
Do we want to go with five or reruit another player?
Thank you for understanding. May the team face all their advorsaries with their heads held high.
Damn. Good luck in future tables. Hope we didn't make you feel unwelcome or something.
It was fun to play alongside Laroisael. Good gaming going forward!
I'll vote for adding a 6th player.
I really like your character and encourage you to stay, would changing you class help?
Though, if you must, I will miss you.
Recruit more
I have a couple of magic items that I want to throw in but the party is not quite ready for, give it a few more encounters.
We have had a few people with some ideas. Any comments are appreciated.
In terms of overall comments:
--Someone who is str based would be nice.
--There is the common effect that a newly entered character who has wealth per level will be stronger then existing characters, mostly because his wealth is a) actually at his level and b) spend in a more optimal way. Most of Viklas wealth is the boarding pike, an item she never would have bought.
This is definitly in full force here. As we are kind of poor.
--I prefer to have a variety of perhaps half charged wands or scrolls on a character if I am jumping in mid campaign, essentially, if you fill up your wealth by level with partly party utility it lessens the disparity.
1: For a 2.5K gp price, both stagger proof boots and eyes of the eagle offer great utility.
2: A quick runners shirt can save lifes too.
3: We dont currently have spontaneous spellcasters, but Mnemonic vestments can turn a spontaenous spellcaster into someone with a fair bit of flexibility, good fun can be had with a skald or bard or even a bloodrager that kind of gets a once per day spellbook. And then goes on an "Aktually" crusade to show the wizards who is more flexible.
4: I like designing small items, like f.e. a mechanical parrot that allows the owner to cast alter voice and ventriloquism once per day, and who automatically translates any trashtalk you do into the language of whoever you are trashtalking.
Yeah I am being very restrictive on what items people are bringing in. Definitely NOT WBL, 1000 GP is closer to what the average party member has. I know they have more, but you are right, not exactly what they would have taken.
So far have only seen two statted characters. Will keep looking.
orc investigator, Ranger (Tidal Hunter) or keep looking for a another female player?
In terms of overall comments:
--Someone who is str based would be nice.
--There is the common effect that a newly entered character who has wealth per level will be stronger then existing characters, mostly because his wealth is a) actually at his level and b) spend in a more optimal way. Most of Viklas wealth is the boarding pike, an item she never would have bought.
This is definitly in full force here. As we are kind of poor.--I prefer to have a variety of perhaps half charged wands or scrolls on a character if I am jumping in mid campaign, essentially, if you fill up your wealth by level with partly party utility it lessens the disparity.
** spoiler omitted **
You have Emma, and Arcanist is at least part spontaneous
Yes, the party is extremely poor if you don't count the value of the ship. But that the motivator to turn to piracy. You capture 2 to 3 ships and money is a lot less of an issue. Right now feeding the crew is even an issue - 14 GP per day.
Shiver me timbers, that's a lot more than me has.
We could sell Lario! ;)
Damn, good thing we got fridges on the ship, so the supplies won't spoil?
As for the new PC:
-we have arcane and divine casters, so that is covered, kind of
-we have 4 meatbags out of 5 - this should probably be something to think about
-some extra healing capability would be nice, to take some burden off of Vikla's shoulders. This could be another divine caster, or someone that can procure some alchemical healing pots/doodads
But I'm sure we can make anything work. The above are just my thoughts on the matter. If someone wants to bring a paladin to a pirate campaign, game on. It would be interesting, for sure.
Damn, good thing we got fridges on the ship, so the supplies won't spoil?
As for the new PC:
-we have arcane and divine casters, so that is covered, kind of-we have 4 meatbags out of 5 - this should probably be something to think about
-some extra healing capability would be nice, to take some burden off of Vikla's shoulders. This could be another divine caster, or someone that can procure some alchemical healing pots/doodads
But I'm sure we can make anything work. The above are just my thoughts on the matter. If someone wants to bring a paladin to a pirate campaign, game on. It would be interesting, for sure.
Salted pork and crackers will set back a long time. To say nothing of pickled fruits and vegetables. Some nice jams and jellies. Besides, no one says you have to take it all at once. You can figure to be back here fairly regular to squib new acquisitions.
Damn, good thing we got fridges on the ship, so the supplies won't spoil?
As for the new PC:
-we have arcane and divine casters, so that is covered, kind of-we have 4 meatbags out of 5 - this should probably be something to think about
-some extra healing capability would be nice, to take some burden off of Vikla's shoulders. This could be another divine caster, or someone that can procure some alchemical healing pots/doodads
But I'm sure we can make anything work. The above are just my thoughts on the matter. If someone wants to bring a paladin to a pirate campaign, game on. It would be interesting, for sure.
While I think the ranger might be a better fit, the orc investigator does have formulas for clw and Bulls strength.
Captain, your comments. This is your crew
Hello, all!
@GM- thanks for the pick! I’m unclear on your answer about languages. Are you saying that in this game humans don’t get their ethnic language unless they spend a rank on linguistics, or that nobody gets bonus languages for high intelligence in this campaign, or both?
Hello, all!
@GM- thanks for the pick! I’m unclear on your answer about languages. Are you saying that in this game humans don’t get their ethnic language unless they spend a rank on linguistics, or that nobody gets bonus languages for high intelligence in this campaign, or both?
You do get your bonus language for INT of 12 but that is only 1 but the ethnic language still requires a point.
Fresh meat!