Pirates are a thieving lot. That is how we compiled this of words. Enjoy.

Account: Going on the Account, embarking on a cruise of piracy

Acts of Pardon, or Grace: A grant of amnesty given to reformed pirates.

Addled: Mad, insane, or just stupid. An "addlepate" is a fool.

Admiral: From the arabic "Amir", lord or commander, with the article "al" as in "Amir-al-bahr", commander of the sea. The buccaneers often called the captain in charge of a fleet of pirate ships the Admiral.

Adrift: At the mercy of the wind and tide. In naval slang it means being late, overdue or absent from place of duty.

Affy-Davy: Slang for Affidavit, or oath

Aft: Short for "after." Toward the rear of the ship.

Ahoy: call to attract attention, something akin to 'Hello, there!'

Akbar: An Arabic title meaning "very great", often applied to Barbary corsair captains e.g. Akbar Khan.

Albatross: The largest of web footed birds, called the Cape sheep by sailors from it's frequenting of the Cape of Good Hope. It was said to sleep in the air with no apparent movement of it's wings. Sailors say to shoot one is fatal. Privateer George Shelvocke shot an albatross while rounding Cape Horn in 1720, and was dogged by bad weather for the rest of his voyage.

Algerine: Like a tangerine, but more bitter. A Barbary corsair from the port of Algiers

Ali Raja: A Tamil pirate captain who operated in the Indian ocean in the middle ages. The name means "King of the sea", and is thought by some experts to be the origin of "jolly rodger".

All adrift: Naval slang, means in an aimless and confused state of mind.

All ship shape and Bristol fashion: Everything stowed and the ship in every way ready for sea, thus to be completely organized and ready. Derives from the port of Bristol's reputation for efficency in the days of sail.

All standing: A nautical expression meaning fully equiped, or all sails set. To be brought up all standing, is to be taken by surprise. To turn in all standing, is to go to your hammock or bunk fully dressed.

Anchor: A heavy iron hook used for mooring a vessel to the sea bed. the slang name for the anchor was "the mud'ook"

Anchor watch: A watch kept when the vessel is at anchor as a precaution against dragging etc.

Angel: An English gold coin copied from the French "angl", minted from 1465 to the reign of Charles I. Valued at 6s 8d and later at 10s, it bore the figure of the angel Michael slaying the dragon, and was ofetn worn as a good luck charm.

Arrgh!: What pirates say whilst pillaging and plundering, to show that they are really serious and that this is not just a weekend hobby

Arse: The General Discription of the Glutias Maximus or the Hind end of Both Man and Woman and several animal classes. Yer Blooming Arse!

Articles: A set of articles were a contract drawn up by a company of pirates before the outset of a voyage. They set down the rules for the company and how the ship was to be run, but most importantly they stated how any plunder taken was to be divided up amongst the members of the company.

Avast: Used by seamen as a warning, literally "look out", but often used by pirates as a greeting e.g. "Avast there ye old seadog".

Avast ye varmint: Stop right there young man because you're in big trouble.

Avast!: "Hey!" Could be used as "Stop that!" or "Who goes there?"

Bachelor's Wife: a mistress or girlfriend

Backstays: Ropes from the mast heads to the sides of a ship, to help support the mast when under the strain of the sails in a strong breeze.

Barbarossa: The most famous of the Barbary corsairs. This red bearded pirate was named Arouj, he was the son of a Greek Christian potter. He became a Muslim when the Turks overran his home of Mitylene, and enlisted on board a Turkish privateer. Soon he was given command of his own ship, and at once chose to go off on his own. He made an agreement with the Bey of Tunis, who provided him with a home port and a market for his loot in exchange for 20% of the profits. Within a short time his exploits and his flaming red beard earned him notoriety and the name of "Barbarossa".

Barbary Coast: The coast of North Africa, and especially the ports of Tunis, Tangeirs, Algeirs and Salee.

Barbary Corsairs: Moorish privateers who operated from the Barbary coast of North Africa. Working under the protection of the Ottoman empire, the corsairs were commissioned to attack all Christian shipping in the mediterranean. In the 17th century, equipped with ocean going craft, they raided further and further north, raiding the south coasts of Ireland and England and even raiding Iceland on occasion. Charles I levied a ship tax on the citizens of England in an attempt to establish a full time navy to guard the channel against these pirates, but it was not until the rule of Oliver Cromwell that the corsairs were cleared from the waters of Britain. Not all of the Barbary corsairs were Muslim, many were Jews and renegade Christians, especially from Greece and the Balkans.

Barker: Slang name for a pistol.

Begad!: By God!

Belay: Stop that. "Belay that talk!" would mean "Shut up!"

Belay: To belay something means to tie it down or make it fast, but in pirate slang "Belay that" means to stop what you are doing.

Belaying pin: A large wooden pin inserted into the ship's rail to which can be tied off parts of the rigging. But as anyone who has watched a pirate film will know they make excellent weapons for knocking the film's hero over the head.

berth: Berth - A space for a ship to dock or anchor.

Bilbo: A rapier or sword, so called from Bilbao, in Spain, once famous for it's finely tempered blades.

Bilboes: A bar of iron with sliding fetters attached to it, by which means mutinous sailors or prisoners were linked together.

Bilge: Dirty stinking water found slopping about in the lowest parts of a vessel, a mixture of rain and sea spray that has worked it's way down through the vessel. In pirate slang "bilge" can be used to mean rubbish, and also to mean lies for example, "Arrgh!, he be talking nothing but bilge!".

Bilged on his own anchor: When a ship is holed by it's own anchor whilst hoisting it aboard. In pirate slang it means "scoring an own goal", or "hoist by his own petard".

Bilge-sucking: A very uncomplimentary adjective.

Black dog: A common name in the 18th century for a counterfeit silver coin made of pewter double washed.

Black Flag: The pirates flag, the skull and crossbones or jolly rodger. In the UK is also the name of a pirate re-enactment group. In the US is also a brand of insecticide.

Black Ivory: Negro slaves.

Black Spot: A death threat among pirates made of a black spot or mark on a scrap of paper with more specific detail sometimes written on the other side; referred to in the story Treasure Island.

Blackbirder: Slang name for a slave ship, or a captain of a slave ship.

Blackbirds: Indentured labourers, or negro slaves.

Blaggard: "Blackguard." An insult.

Bleeding: In the 17th and 18th centuries doctors used to believe that there was little that could not be cured by the patient losing a little blood, and would use a lancet to open a vein at the least excuse. Pirates used to hold a similar view but in their case they preferred to use a cutlass rather than a lancet.

Blimey!: An exclamation of surprise.

Blow me down!: You don't say? How surprising.

Blow me tight!: Naval slang, an expletive.

Blue Peter: The masthead lookout in Arctic waters.

Bluejackets: Slang name for sailors.

Blunderbuss: A scatter gun with a short bell mouthed barrel, which fired a charge of buckshot. It had an effect like a sawn-off shotgun. Usually carried by stagecoach guards, they were also very popular amongst pirates as they were excellent for clearing the decks of an enemy vessel. There were also blunderbuss pistols, a smaller version that could be fired one-handed.

Blunt: A slang term for money.

Boarding pike: A short spear about five or six feet long, usually carried on warships in racks around the base of the masts, used to repel boarders.

bonny lass: Bonny Lass - A pretty young girl or sweetheart.

Boot neck: Naval slang for a member of the Royal Marines, so called because of the leather stocks they wore around their necks. This was also the origin of the nickname of the U.S. Marines, The "Leathernecks".

Boot topping: A hurried or partial careening, by only scraping the parts that could be reached without beaching the vessel.

Booty: Treasure, coins, jewels, gold candlesticks etc. Pirates would amass a chest full and then rattle it around, hence the expression "shake your booty"

Booty: Loot.

Bosun: Boatswain; a petty officer.

Bosun: Officer in charge of sails, rigging, Anchors and associated gear, more than anyone else on board, he is responsible for the actual day to day running of the ship.

Bowsprit: The slanted spar at a ship's prow.

Brace: Rope attached to the yards, for trimming sail.

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.

Brigantine: A two masted vessel, fully square rigged on the foremast, and a fore and aft rigged mainmast with square sails on the main topmast. Not to be confused with a Brigandine, which was a medieval coat of armour.

Briny deep: The ocean. Probably no pirate in all history ever used this phrase, but don't let that stop you, especially if you can roll the R in "briny"!

Broadside: The simultaneous firing of all the cannons down one side of a vessel was known as a broadside. Despite what you may have seen in pirate films, pirates did not do this very often, because if they sank an enemy vessel all the treasure she may be carrying would go down with her. Pirates preferred to spray an enemy vessel with musket fire and swivel guns to clear their upper decks in preparation to boarding her.

Brulot: (French) A fire ship.

Buccaneer: A name for pirates operating in the Caribbean, named after the hunters who lived on Hispaniola and supplied dried meat, "Boucan" to passing ships. Also the price of corn in a fancy American restaurant.

Bucko: Familiar term. "Me bucko" = "my friend."

Button ale: A beverage made of ale or beer mixed with butter sugar and cinnamon.

Cable: Arope or chain.

Cable's length: 100 fathoms, or one tenth of a nautical mile.

CANISTER or CASE SHOT: 12 or so small round shot in a metal can, which broke up when fired scattering the shot over the deck of an enemy ship.

Cap'n: Short for "captain."

Capstan: A revolving post worked by men walking around and pushing on horizontal levers, used for winding in an anchor cable of hoisting heavy sails.

Captain: The head of a pirate crew, he was usually elected by majority vote and could only be deposed by the same method. During a battle the captain had total command and nobody could question his orders, however out of battle most important decisions would be put to a vote. Under most sets of pirate articles a Captain would be entitled to three whole shares of the loot. In some cases especially in the "Buccaneering era" of the late 17th century a captain would own his own vessel, and would set out to recruit his own crew in this case he would normally claim at least 50% of any loot taken.

Captain of the heads: In naval ships the rating incharge of the "heads" or lavatories. The name "heads" arises from the original position of the ship's latrines, right forward in the beakhead or heads of the ship.

Careening: The waters of the Caribbean are very warm, and weed grows quickly on the bottoms of boats, making them slow and difficult to steer. The sea is also infested with the Teredo worm, a shellfish which attaches itself to the hull of a vessel and eats through the wood. therefore every month or two the ships had to be careened, that is they were run ashore on a sandy beach, the guns and stores taken out, and then by means of ropes attached to the masts and to trees onshore or the ships anchor on the beach, the vessel would be hauled over onto it's side. Most pirates could not afford to sheath their ships with lead or copper plates, so they had to scrape and patch the hull and then paint it with pitch or tallow. This was a job that was universally hated by all seamen but for pirates it also left them very vulnerable to attack while their ships lay beached like this.

Carpenter: In the days of wooden ships a carpenter was vital for the maintenance of a vessel. As a specialist in the crew a pirate carpenter would usually be entitled to one and one half shares of any loot. A carpenter was such an important member of a crew that if a pirate ship did not have one the would often "press" or kidnap one from a prize vessel.

Carronade: A short gun of large calibre, like a mortar. First made in 1779 at the Carron iron foundry in Scotland. Carronades were chiefly used on ships to enable heavy shot to be thrown at close range.

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.

Cat out of the bag: Old navy slang meaning that the cat of nine tails had been taken out of it's bag and someone was in for serious trouble.

Caulker: A stiff glass of spirits, preferably brandy, taken to round off a drinking session.

CHAIN SHOT: Two small round shot linked by a length of chain. This was used to slash through the rigging and sails of an enemy ship so that it could no longer manoeuvre. Because the projectile was a good deal smaller than the bore of the gun, chain shot was inaccurate and only used af close ranges.

Chandler, or ship-chandler: see Sutler.

Chantey: A sailor's work song. Also spelled "shantey" or "shanty."

Chase: The ship being pursued. "The chase is making full sail, sir" = "The ship we're after is going as fast as she can."

Chase Guns: Most guns on board a vessel would be mounted so as to fire out of the side of the vessel in a "broadside", however many vessels especially pirates had a pair of cannon mounted in the bows of a ship to fire forward. these were called "chase guns" or "bow chasers", as they were used while pursuing an enemy vessel to try and put a shot into her rigging and slow her down.

Chebec: These small light galleys were used by the Barbary corsairs in the 17th century. They were typically small, shallow draughted and with a unique concave shape to the bows, lateen rigged and also propelled by oars they were very fast. due to the oars amidships all their cannon were concentrated at the bows and stern.

Chest: Traditional treasure container.

Chocolate: "Pirates don't like chocolate", due to the rise in popularity of chocolate drinking in the 17th century, the Spanish colonies of South America sent boatloads of cacao beans back to Spain. At this time only the Spanish knew the secret of how to turn cacao beans into chocolate, so pirates were rather miffed when they captured shiploads of these "worthless" beans, they are reported to have thrown boat loads of them overboard in disgust.

Clacker: Navy slang for a pie, or any dish cooked in pastry.

Clap of Thunder: powerful drink

Clove Hitch: a sailor's knot, by which one rope is connected to another or round a pole.

Codpiece: Best served in a parsley sauce, most ships carried dried cod as part of their stores.

Colours: The flags worn by a vessel to show her nationality or allegiance, the colour for most pirates was black.

commandeer: Commandeer - To take arbitrarily or by force.

Cook: A cook on a pirate ship was usually an injured or disabled member of the crew, who being no longer able to fight or participate in the sailing of the ship, was given the job of ships cook so that he could still claim a one half share of the loot. Actual culinary abilities seldom played any part in the selection of a pirate cook, so don't expect any high class cuisine on board a pirate vessel. In fact it has often been said of pirate cooks that they put the quease into cuisine.

Cooper: Virtually all the stores including drinking water, in a sailing vessel in the 17th and 18th centuries were stored in barrels. So a cooper was a vital member of the crew for making and repairing the barrels. as a specialist member of a pirate crew a cooper would get one and one half shares of any loot taken. If pirates did not have a cooper on board they would "press" one from a prize vessel.

Corsair: Name for a pirate operating in the Mediterranean. The most famous were the Barbary Corsairs, Muslim pirates who operated from Algiers, Tunis, Salee and other ports on the north African coast.

Crack Jenny's Tea Cup: To spend the night in a house of ill repute

Creole: Originally a person of Spanish parentage born in the Caribbbean, as against those of mixed blood, new immigrants, negros and aboriginals. Comes from the Spanish word "criadillo", bred or brought up.

Crib: Thieves slang for a house or dwelling, also slang for petty theft.

Crimp: Pirate slang for a swindler, also used for a member of a naval press gang.

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.

Crusadoes: Portuguese gold coins.

Cut and Run: Slang, to make a hasty exit. Literally to cut the anchor cable and run before the wind.

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.

Cutter: A small one masted vessel usually propelled by oars, rigged with a fore and aft mainsail, foresail and jib. Often carrie onboard a larger vessel as a lifeboat.

Cutting a feather: A ship moving at speed is said to cut a feather in allusion to the shape of the ripple set up by the bow wave.

Daalder: A Dutch silver coin

Daddle: Slang term for a hand, e.g. "Tip us yer Daddle", shake hands

Dago: Derogatory name for a Spaniard, comes from Diego.

Damn yer eyes: An expression much used by pirates, not always as an insult, but just used to punctuate every sentence.

Davy Jones' locker: The bottom of the sea.

Davy Jones' Locker: Many different meanings , one is a general term used for anything lost at sea ( even people ) , another is a fiend who ruled all the evil creatures of the sea and was often seen up in the rigging before a hurricane , the last one I found was "a pirates hell" and opposite of that hell is Fiddler's Green a "sailors haven "

Dead Eye: A round wooden block with three holes used to lengthen a rope in the rigging, also a term used to describe a pirate with one eye.

Dead Lights: Slang name for eyes.

Dead Man's Chest: Pirate slang for a coffin.

Dead men: Empty bottles, so called because the "spirit" has departed from them. Hence the expression "Down among the dead men let him lie" i.e. leave him under the table with the empty bottles.

Dead men tell no tales: Standard pirate excuse for leaving no survivors.

Deadlights: Eyes. "Use yer deadlights, matey!"

Derrick: A type of crane used for hoisting heavy objects, so called from Derrick, the Tyburn hangman of the early 17th century, and also from it's simalarity in shape ot a gibbit.

Devil dodger: Naval slang for a preacher.

Dog: A mild insult, perhaps even a friendly one.

Dogs ahoy !: Equivalent of "Things to kill, straight ahead."

Doldrums: Regions where ships were likly to become becalmed, especially those parts of the oceans near the equator noted for their light winds.

Doubloon: A Spanish gold coin. At different times, it was worth either 4 or 16 silver pesos, or "pieces of eight."

Droger: A West Indian trading vessel.

Ducat: a Danish gold coin.

Duff: Navy slang for a pudding, e.g. figgy duff.

East Indiaman: A very large merchant ship owned by the British, French or Dutch East India companies. Used to carry the wealth of the Orient back to Europe, and hence they were a prime target for pirates operating out of Madagascar. They were built to carry a large number of cannon, up to fifty or more, but as cannons took up valuable cargo space they rarely carried half that number, and therein lay their vulnerability to pirates.

esqudoe: A Spanish coin equivalent to 2 pieces of 8

eunuch: Eunuch - A man or boy whose testes are nonfunctioning or have been removed. An ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine man.

Excise Man or Revenue Man: A customs official, and the bane of any smugglers. The excise man was usually an ex navy or army officer and whilst about his duties was usually accompanied by a troop of dragoons.

Exquemelin: Alexander Exquemelin, a Dutch surgeon of the 17th century who sailed with several buccaneer captains in the Caribbean. In 1678 he published his book "The Buccaneers of America" it is still regarded as the definitive account of the buccaneering era of 1620- 1692.

Eye Patches: A small oval of cloth or leather, worn by one eyed pirates to keep salt spray and seagull shit out of their empty socket. Sometimes worn by two eyed pirates to give them more sea cred.

Fair winds!: Goodbye, good luck!.

Fathom: A measure of six feet used to describe the depth of water.

Feed the fish: What you do when you are thrown into the sea, dead or alive.

Fire ship: A vessel packed full of flammable material and gunpowder, set on fire and sailed towards an enemy fleet, once set on course the crew would leave by boat, or not, depending on how quick they were. Used by Henry Morgan against the Spanish during his raid on Maracaibo.

Flibustier: French name for a pirate, literally a freebooter, later became anglicised to Filibuster.

Floating academy: A convict ship, or prison hulk.

Flogging: Punishment by caning, or by whipping with the cat.

Flogging round the fleet: In the Royal Navy this barbaric punishment consisted of a number of lashes from the cat, administerd alongside every ship present in the fleet, death was a common result. This practice was ceased before the end of the 18th century, but flogging as a punishment was not suspended until 1879.

Flotsam and jetsam: Wreckage and other goods found floating in the sea, flotsam is goods found floating, and jestsam is things thrown overboard. the term also applies to wreckage found on the shore.

Flute: A three masted square rigged merchant vessel. The round sterned, broad beamed and flat bottomed, Dutch designed flutes, made their debut in the early 17th century. The flute was inexpensive to build, cheap to man (only 12-15 crew) and renowned for their cargo capacity, half again that of a similar sized ship with sleeker lines. Flutes ranged the world's sea lanes and became regular prey for pirates.

Fo'c's'le: Slang for Forecastle. Small candlelit room where a pirate used the sopping bucket. (Bathroom)

Fore: The opposite of aft, the front end of a vessel, or as landlubbers put it, "the sharp end".

Fore and Aft Rig: A style of rigging having mainly sails set lengthways and not at right angles to the ships hull, as is the case with square rigged sails. Also known as lateen rigged.

Fore Mast: On a vessel with more than one mast, the foremast is the one nearest to the front of the vessel.

Fore, or forrard: Toward the front end of the ship.

Foretop men: Sailors who worked aloft in the rigging, hoisting and lowering the sails.

Foul anchor: When the ship's cable has taken a turn around the anchor. It was used as a seal by Charles Howard Earl of Nottingham (1536-1626), while Lord High Admiral, later it became the Admiralty crest.

Foul Bottom: A vessel badly in need of careening is said to have a foul bottom, also a term used to describe a particularly flatulent pirate.

Freebooter: A pirate or piratical adventurer, literally a free booty'er.

Galleon: A large Spanish warship. Three masted square rigged on the fore and main mast, and fore and aft rigged on the mizzen mast. Usually heavily armed, and usually stuffed to the gunwales with treasure "damn yer eyes!".

Galley: Originally a name applied to vessels propelled mainly by oars. In the early days of seafaring it was considered unsafe to cook on board a wooden ship because of the fire risk. As most large vessels carried a small rowing boat as a tender and lifeboat, most cooking was done on board this small "galley" to avoid risk to the larger vessel. Later when most ships had a cooking space on board, this area was also called the galley.

Gallows: Often the final destination for a pirate. Under Admiralty law pirates were to be hanged on a gallows sited below the high tide mark, and the tide was to wash over them three times before they were cut down.

Gangway!: "Get out of my way!"

Gar!: An alternative to Arrgh!

Gentleman of fortune: A posh name for a pirate.

Gentleman of the road: A posh name for a highwayman.

Gibbet: A gallows used to display the preserved dead bodies of executed pirates or highwaymen. Usually erected at the mouth of a busy harbour or other prominent point. The bodies would be coated with tar and hung in chains, "left a sun drying" as the pirates themselves put it.

Godspeed!: Goodbye, good luck!

GRAPE SHOT: The small balls were contained in a canvas bag. Both the last two kinds of shot were anti-personnel weapons, designed to kill and maim the men on the deck of an enemy ship.

Grapple: To catch hold of another vessel by means of large hooks, and pull the two vessels together in preparation to boarding.

Grenadoe: A container of pottery, glass or cast iron, filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse, used to clear the decks of enemy vessels, or to clear houses.

Groat: A small English silver coin worth four pence.

Grog: Generically, any alcoholic drink. Specifically, rum diluted with water to make it go farther.

Grogram: A coarse kind of taffeta made from silk and wool stiffend with gum.

Grub: Food.

Guarda Costa: A Spanish warship employed by a Spanish colony to guard it from raids by buccaneers.

Guinea: An English gold coin, so called because they were first coined from gold brought from the coast of Guinea in 1663.

Guinea man: Another name for a slave ship, or the captain of a slave ship.

Gulley: Slang term for a knife of dagger.

Gun: A cannon.

Gunwale or Gunnel: The upper planking along the sides of a vessel where the guns are sited.

Halyard: A rope for hoisting or lowering a sail, yard or flag.

Hands: The crew of a ship; sailors.

Handsomely: Quickly. "Handsomely now, men!" = "Hurry up!"

Handspike: A long bar used as a lever on a capstan.

Haze: To confuse and annoy a subordinate by giving contradictory, unnecessary, and perplexing orders. A popular sport amongst junior officers in the Royal Navy.

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.

Hearties : Hearties - Comrade; good fellow; a term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors.

heave To: A nautical expression, to pull in your sails and come to a halt. also used in pirate slang to mean "stop".

Helm: The wheel or tiller by which the vessel is steered.

Highjacker: An alternative name for a pirate, so called because they high jacked ships. However as far as it is know no pirate ever boarded a ship and clapped a gun to the captain's head saying "take me to Cuba".

Highwayman: A pirate without a ship.

Hispaniola: Large island in the Caribbean, was originally settled by the Spanish, but was abandoned in the early 17th century. It became the first settlement of buccaneers in the Caribbean.

Hook: Hook, Captain The villain of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, and another icon for pirate re-enactors.

House of Lords: Every pirate crew had it's hierarchy. the majority of men in the crew were entitled to one whole share of any loot taken. But some of the crew were officers or specialists, and were entitled to more than one share. These were known as "The House of Lords" and acted as a sort of committee for the daily running of the ship. The house of lords usually consisted of the captain, his lieutenant, the quartermaster, the sailing master, master gunner, bosun, carpenter, cooper, and surgeon.

Irons: Chains or fetters, used to bind prisoners. Due to many pirates having experience of being on the wrong side of the law at one time or another, they felt a great affinity with prisoners of the law. They had a tradition of giving a round of applause to anyone they saw bound in chains, hence the expression "clap him in irons".

Jack: a flag or a sailor; showing how sailors would refer to thier ship's colors as one of the crew. Hence Jack Tar for sailor and the Union Jack flag.

Jack Ketch: The hangman. To dance with Jack Ketch is to hang.

Jack Tar, or tar: A sailor.

Jacobite: From the late 17th century many pirates claimed to be Jacobites, and to be fighting for the exiled house of Stuart. Although many may have been genuine Jacobites, for most it was just an excuse, so that if captured they could claim to be privateers rather than pirates. Certainly no pirate loot ever found it's way to the Stuart court in exile.

Jamaica: An island in the Caribbean originally settled by the Spanish, but captured by the Cromwellian English in 1655. As the English could not afford to station any naval warships in the area, they had to rely on the buccaneers ships to defend the island. Jamaica became the base for many buccaneer crews, until the 18th century, when the residents of Jamaica became all respectable and law abiding, and disassociated themselves with the buccaneers, who all buggerd off to New Providence.

Jamaica Jerk: Involuntary muscle spasm commonly found in inhabitants of large Caribbean island due to exposure to substances. Could also be highly spiced meat concoction.

Jib Boom: The extension of the bowsprit on which the triangular jib sail is set.

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."

Jollyboat: A small but happy craft, perhaps even one which is a little dinghy.

Jones: Jones, Davy A Welsh pirate, who was so great a thief he would steal anything from anybody, and hide it in his sea chest. This led to the tradition amongst seamen that if anything goes missing, it must be in Davy Jones's locker.

Junk: Odds and ends of old tarry rope, also the slang term for salt meat, which gives you some indication of what salt meat must have tasted like!

Keel hauling: This started as an experiment into a faster way of careening a ship without beaching her. However the crewmen found they could not hold their breath for long enough to do any serious scraping. From there it developed into a way of torturing prisoners. Who by means of ropes attached to their hands and feet would be dragged beneath the ship "until the barnacles rips open their belly and death comes as a merciful release".

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.

Kraken: A large tentacled sea monster of pirate lore, most historians believe the Kraken legend developed from sightings of giant squid. (See article on Laudanum).

Lad, lass, lassie: A way to address someone younger than you.

Landlubber: Land lover, derogatory name used by pirates to describe all non-seamen. Holding a knife between one's teeth for too long can cause this speech impediment, for example a pirate calls a cover a "cubber", or a clover a "clubber".

Landlubber or just lubber: A non-sailor.

Langrige: A type of cannon shot consisting of scrap iron in a berlap sack; used either to clear the deck of a nother ship like a frag grenade, or to shed it's sails so as to prevent escape.

Larboard: Old name for the left hand side of a vessel, later changed to "Port" to avoid confusion with starboard.

Lateen Rig: See Fore and Aft Rig.

Laudanum: Tincture of opium. Opium dissolved in alcohol, used as an effective pain killer in the 17th and 18th centuries, but was very addictive and had hallucinatory effects.

Letters of Marque: Papers issued by a national government during wartime, entitling a privately owned ship to raid enemy commerce, or even attack enemy warships. Early letters of reprisal were issued to merchants to make it legal for them to counter-raid pirates! A ship bearing such letters, and operating within their limits, is a privateer rather than a pirate . . . that is, a legal combatant rather than a criminal and murderer. The problem is that letters of marque aren't always honored, even by the government that issued them. Captain Kidd had letters of marque; his own country hanged him anyway.

Letters of Marque: A document issued by a national government to a privateer to show that he is acting under the legal authority of that government to attack enemy shipping. A privateer cannot legally be tried as a pirate. However it was not unknown for a privateer to hold letters of marque from two opposing sides at the same time.

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.

Loaded to the Gunwhales: drunk

Lobster: Derogatory name for a British soldier, so called because of his red coat.

Lookout: Someone posted to keep watch on the horizon for other ships or signs of land.

Looting: Very similar to shopping, but without the trouble of having to pay for your purchases.

Louis d'or: A French gold coin worth 24 francs, first issued by Louis XIII in 1640 and continued in currency until the French revolution.

Luff: To turn a ship towards the wind

Madagascar: Large island of the east coast of south Africa. During the early 18th century was used as base by pirates attacking shipping in the red sea and the Indian ocean. It became a pirate kingdom and a safe haven for all kinds of sea scum.

Mainmast: On a three masted vessel the main mast was the one in the middle, on a two masted vessel it was the one at the rear.

Malabar coast: The coast of Hindustan, scene of Captain England's piratical actions against the Portuguese.

Man of War: a generic term for a warship, however it does not necessarily follow that an unarmed merchant vessel is a "Woman of Peace".

Marlin Spike: A large steel spike used for splicing ropes. Much used as a weapon in pirate films, but only by the villains as a hero would never lower himself to use such an undignified weapon.

Maroon: A fairly common punishment for violation of a pirate ship's articles, or offending her crew. The victim was left on a deserted coast (or, of course, an island) with little in the way of supplies. That way, no one could say that the unlucky pirate had actually been killed by his former brethren.

Marooners: Another name for pirates.

Marooning: A common form of punishment used amongst pirates, the victim would be left on a barren rock or sandbar with nothing but a bottle of water and a loaded pistol.

mate(y): Mate(y) - A name to address someone as a good chum.

Matey: A piratical way to address someone in a cheerful, if not necessarily friendly, fashion.

Me: A piratical way to say "my."

Me hearties: Typical way for a pirate leader to address his crew.

Mermaids: During a long sea voyage, without any female company, seamen used to get frustrated and desperate, especially after the cabin boy had gone into hiding. Men would often imagine that they could see women in the sea swimming around the ship, (see article on laudanum). It is from this that the legend of mermaids was born. Some experts believe that the South American Manatee was often mistaken for a mermaid, if that is the case the seamen must have been pretty damn desperate!

Messdeck lawyer: a know-it-all

mettle: Mettle - Courage and fortitude; spirit.

Mizzenmast: The aftermost mast on a three masted vessel, so called because it carries the mizzen sail.

Mohur: An Indian gold coin.

Morgan: Morgan, Henry Most famous captain of the buccaneering era, famous for his raids on Porto Principle, Maracaibo and Panama. Also famous for being deported from Jamaica as a prisoner to be tried for piracy in London and coming back as the Governor of Jamaica. Also famous as the only pirate to have a brand of rum named after him.

Mutiny: This was the way in which many pirate crews started, very much like a workers takeover, but much more violent and bloody

New Providence: When the citizens of Jamaica became respectable and law abiding, they disassociated themselves from piracy and buccaneers, from then on the port of New Providence in the Bahamas became the pirates new base and safe haven.

Nipperkin: a small drink

No quarter!: Surrender will not be accepted.

Oggin: Slang name for the sea.

Old Rodger: Old name for the Devil, Thought by some people to be the origin of "jolly rodger".

On the Account: The piratical life. A man who went "on the account" was turning pirate.

Oosh: Navy slang for a pot mess or stew.

Parrot: Brightly coloured bird native to tropical regions, and a favoured companion of pirates. According to experts the bird's apparent power of speech is only mimicry, as the bird has no idea of what the words mean. The fact that most experts believe this hogwash is a testament to the parrot's disinformation campaign.

Patarero: A type of mortar that fired a lethal mixture of musket balls, stones, steel spikes and broken glass.

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.

Pillaging: Very similar to looting, but much more violent and bloody

Pink: A merchant vessel with a relatively shallow draught and a very narrow stern, could be variously rigged as a sloop, a brig, or a ship.

Pipe Down!: Pirate slang for "shut up!".

Piragua: A native dug out canoe, made by South American Indians. Much used by the buccaneers in their raids on the Spanish Main.

Pirate: A seagoing robber and murderer. Contrast with privateer.

Pirate: What is a pirate? Strip away the romance, the creaking ship on the moonlit tropical sea, the bold and bloody men storming the great galleon, the thunder of surf by the buried chests of gold. Strip away the names of near respectability, buccaneer, freebooter, corsair or privateer. A pirate is a thief, and usually a murderer as well. According to English law a pirate is one who breaks the law at sea, "one who commits those acts upon the high seas, which if committed on land, would have amounted to a felony there".

Pirates of Penzance: A bunch of pansies who spent more time singing, than robbing ships. Definitely not icons for pirate re-enactors.

Plate Fleet: To capture the plate fleet, or even just one ship of it was the dream of every buccaneer captain. Every year the Spanish would send the entire years production of gold and silver from the South American mines back to Spain. For it's protection they would send it in a vast convoy, escorted by heavily armed galleons. This convoy was known as the plate fleet.

Plunder: Anything that is not nailed down, anything that can be prised lose is not nailed down. Despite the great chests of gold shown in pirate films, most pirate loot was pretty mundane stuff, food, clothing, pots and pans, ships stores and tools, in fact anything which could be sold on at a profit.

Polywog: Any sailor of the seas that has not ventured past the equator and been judged by King Neptune.

Pongo: A derogatory name for a soldier, also the name of a kind of sea monster like a giant frog.

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.

Port: Nautical term for left, i.e. the opposite of right (starboard). Also a favourite drink for pirates.

Port Royal: A seaport on the southern coast of Jamaica. After the English invasion of Jamaica port royal became the main base of the buccaneering fleets. In the 1660s it became a boom town of 6,000 people, where buccaneers could berth their ships and sell off their loot, it was filled with taverns, brothels, grog shops and gaming houses. One visitor described it as "the Sodom of the new world". In 1697 it was destroyed by an earthquake and most of the town slipped into the sea, hundreds of it's population were killed. The general opinion at the time was that it served them right.

Poxy, poxed: Diseased. Used as an insult.

Press Gang: A Royal Navy recruiting party. In the 18th century it was perfectly legal for the Royal Navy to "kidnap" men and force them into service with the fleet. Press gangs were allowed to operate in coastal towns, and also at sea a captain of a naval ship was allowed to stop a merchant vessel and "press" up to a third of it's crew.

Privateer: A legalised pirate. During times of war, a captain could obtain letters of marque from one side or the other, that authorised him to attack shipping and ports of the enemy, providing he gave at least 10% of his plunder to his "sponsors". This provided governments with a cheap way of raising a navy. If a privateer took care not to attack any friendly or neutral shipping, he could not be legally tried as a pirate, although as soon as hostilities were over most privateer captains went back to their usual trade of piracy.

Prize: A pirates name for a captured vessel.

Prow: The "nose" of the ship.

Pugwash: Pugwash, Capt. Another icon for pirate re-enactors. Captain Pugwash, the captain of the Black Pig, is a cartoon character created by John Ryan in the 1950s, along with his crew, Master Bates, Seaman Staines and Rodger the cabin boy.

Quarter: Mercy, for example to give quarter to a beaten opponent. A concept little understood by many pirates.

Quartermaster: Probably the most important member of a pirate crew, he was the ships magistrate and empowered to punish minor offences against the ships articles, such as quarrelling or not looking after one's weapons properly. He was the only man on a pirate ship who was allowed to administer a flogging, although this form of punishment was so detested among pirates, that it was only allowed when sanctioned by a majority vote of the whole crew. The quartermaster was also responsible for the selection and division of the plunder. He was chosen by majority vote and could only be deposed by the same.

Queasy: A feeling often experienced by landlubbers at sea, also felt by anyone who has eaten a meal made by a pirate cook.

Rathbone: Rathbone, Basil Yet another icon for pirate re-enactors. Although more well known as the definitive Sherlock Holmes, he appeared in many pirate films, usually as the villain. Before becoming an actor he was an Olympic fencer.

Reale: A small spanish coin. A piece of 8 was equivalent to 8 reales.

Red flag: Most pirate captains had two versions of the skull and crossbones flag, a black one was a signal for a victim to surrender, whereas the red version of the flag signified that no quarter would be given or expected.

Reef: (1) An underwater obstruction of rock or coral which can tear the bottom out of a ship. (2) To reef sails is to shorten them, tying them partially up, either to slow the ship or to keep a strong wind from putting too much strain on the masts.

Revenue Man: See Excise Man.

Ropes end: A short length of rope used for beating someone, a common disciplinary weapon used on naval ratings.

Round Robin: A piece of paper with a circle within another circle. This was signed for as a sort of pact or agreement in a mutiny. Names were signed in between the circles so that no name was on top or bottom and no one person could be blamed.

ROUND SHOT: in early times made from dressed stone, but by the 17th century from iron, was the most accurate projectile that could be fired and was used to batter the wooden hulls of opposing ships.

rudder: Rudder - A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the stern of a ship or boat for directing its course.

Rum: The nectar of the gods, and the breakfast of champions. A dark brown spirit distilled from sugar cane, and is simply wonderful, damn yer eyes!

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.

Rum (noun): Traditional pirate drink.

Rumfustian: A favourite pirate drink, a concoction made from beer, gin, sherry and raw eggs, plus whatever else comes to hand.

Sail ho!: "I see a ship!" The sail, of course, is the first part of a ship visible over the horizon.

Sailing Master: Not all pirates were seamen, in fact some of them were downright hopeless when it came to navigating, most pirates would not be able to tell the difference between a compass and a pocket watch. So a pirate crew would always include a sailing master, who would be a trained navigator. If they did not have such a man on board, or he had been killed, pirates would often "press" a navigator from a prize vessel. a sailing master along with the bosun would also be responsible for the upkeep of the ship.

Salee Man or Salee Rover: A Barbary corsair, or corsair's ship, operating out of the North African port of Salee.

Salmagundi: a dish of chopped meat, eggs, anchovies, onions and anything else the cook can throw in; a piratical delicacy

Salmagundi: By their very nature pirates could not keep rules about rations such as those of the British Navy. For the pirates it was either feast or famine, often the latter. But when pirates went ashore or captured a prize with a well stocked larder, the had a pen

Salt, old salt: An experienced seaman.

savvy: Savvy - To understand; comprehend

Savvy?: Is that okay with you? Do you understand?

Sawbones : Another specialist in the pirate crew was the ships surgeon, commonly known as the sawbones. he was essential not only for patching up damaged pirates after a battle, but also to treat the numerous cases of venereal disease among the crew. when pirates took a prize vessel one of the first things they looked for was the ships medicine chest, and mercurial compounds to treat syphilis.

Schooner: A two masted vessel, fore and aft rigged on both masts, some had square topsails on the foremast. or on both topmasts. Although now regarded as the typical pirate vessel, the schooner did not appear until quite late in the 18th century, after the golden age of piracy.

Scupper Class : Lower class pirates, as opposed to the house of lords.

Scuppered: In pirate slang "scuppered" means crippled or incapacitated, it can be applied both to people or to ships. for example "Arr! that's scuppered the old tub!".

Scuppers: Openings along the edges of a ship's deck that allow water on deck to drain back to the sea rather than collecting in the bilges. "Scupper that!" is an expression of anger or derision "Throw that overboard!"

Scurvy: (1) A deficiency disease which often afflicted sailors; it was caused by lack of vitamin C. (2) A derogatory adjective suitable for use in a loud voice, as in "Ye scurvy dogs!"

Scurvy: A wasting disease caused by a lack of vitamin C from fresh fruit and vegetables. Characterised by loss of hair, bleeding gums and loss of teeth, staggering and loss of balance. Until ships started to carry supplies of lemon or lime juice, scurvy was a common disease suffered by seamen on long voyages. It affected pirates more than merchant or naval seamen as they did not always have access to supplies of fruit juice, also in pirate crews there was nobody to force the men to take fruit or vegetables regularly. "Scurvy" was also a common insult in pirate slang, e.g. "Arr ye scurvy dog!".

Scuttlebutt: Old navy slang for rumours. Most sailing ships had a large water butt, with a scuttle from which the crew could take a drink when they wanted. This became a common place where the crew would meet and talk and where rumours were passed on.

Sea Artist : Another name for a sailing master.

Sea dog: An experienced seaman.

Sea Rat : Another name for a pirate, people had lots of different names for pirates, unfortunately many of them are unprintable.

Sea Rover : Another name for a seadog.

Seadog: Originally a term of abuse used by "landlubbers" for all seafarers, but amongst seamen it became a mark of honour to be called a "seadog" by another seaman.

Shackle: A measure of twelve and a half fathoms.

Shanty: Another spelling for "chantey" - a sea song.

Shares: Shares were how a pirate was paid, a pirate crew was regarded as a company, and the companies articles as a contract. According to the articles at the end of a voyage all the loot taken would be sold off and the proceeds divided up into equal shares. All ordinary crew members were entitled to one share each, specialists such as the carpenter, cooper, sail maker, surgeon and bosun, would have one and one half share each. The quartermaster and the sailing master would get two shares and the captain would get two and a half shares, non- combatant members of the crew such as the cook, cabin boys and musicians would get half a share each. Also some of the shares would go to the ship to pay for the upkeep of the vessel, and some shares would go into the crews welfare fund. Any crewman who had to be "put ashore" due to injury would be paid out of this fund according to the severity of his injury.

Shark bait: (1) Your foes, who are about to feed the fish (q.v.). (2) A worthless or lazy sailor; a lubber who is no use aboard ship.

Shellback: Any sailor of the seas that has stood before King Nepture and been given permission to sail the seas.

Ship: Although today "ship" is a generic name for any seagoing vessel, in the 17th century it meant a three masted vessel fully square rigged throughout.

Shipshape: Well-organized, under control, finished.

Shit: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common. It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but

Shiver me timbers: Shock or suprise , i.e. the shock of impact when a canon ball hits the hull, literaly shivers the timbers .

Shiver me timbers!: An expression of surprise or strong emotion.

Shiver me timbers!: like saying "oh My!" like my legs are shaking

Sink me!: An expression of surprise.

Skedaddle: Old naval slang, to sneak away from a working party.

Skuttle me Skippers: Making a mistake and being judged for/by it.

Sloop: A vessel with one mast, fore and aft rigged with a mainsail and a single foresail. This was the archetypal pirate vessel, small but heavily armed, and with a shallow draught to enable it to hide in the many inlets of the Caribbean islands.

Slush Fund : Old navy slang, a fund from the illegal sale of misappropriated ships stores, often used to pay for an unofficial rum issue.

Smartly: Quickly. "Smartly there, men!" = "Hurry up!"

Smugglers: Covert importation specialists. In the 17th and 18th centuries there were two types of smugglers, known as batsmen and carriers. The carriers were for the most part, harmless country folk or fishermen, willing to transport goods on their backs or ponies for a handful of silver whenever a cargo was landed near their homes. The batsmen, however were nothing more or less than hired bullies, armed to the teeth, and stationed at various vantage points to protect the landing parties from revenue interference. They were the sort of men who shot and stabbed without asking too many questions.

Son of a Biscuit Eater: not so much a sailor term, but a derrogatory term indicating a bastard son of a sailor

Specie: An old term for money in coin, as opposed to paper money.

Splice the mainbrace: To have a drink. Or, perhaps, several drinks.

Spyglass: A telescope.

Square Rig : Having the principle sails set at right angles to the length of the vessel and extended by horizontal yardarms slung from the mast, (as opposed to fore and aft rig). In later centuries "square rig" was also the name of a sailor's uniform.

Starboard: A nautical term for right, the opposite of left (port).

Stay Rope : running from one masthead to another.

Stern: Another name for the blunt end of a vessel.

Stern Chasers : The part of a rowing boat between its stern and the rowers.

Stern Sheets : The part of a rowing boat between its stern and the rowers.

Stink Bombs: A ball of burning material that gives off noxious or poisonous smoke, used to drive out the crew of an enemy vessel without doing any damage to the vessel itself. to make a stink bomb. Take 10 parts of gunpowder, 6 parts of ships pitch, 20 parts of tar, 8 parts of saltpetre, 4 parts of sulphur California. Melt these by a soft heat together, and being well melted put in 2 parts of coal dust 6 parts of filings of horses hoofs, 3 parts of asafoetida, 1 part of sagapenem, half a part of spatula foetida. Incorporate them well together, and soak in this matter, linen or woollen cloth, or hemp, as much as will soak up all the matter, and of these make globes or balls of what size you please and attach a fuse. To make the stink bombs poisonous add to the composition any of the following, mercury sublimate, arsenic or cinnabar.

Straight Rush : Navy slang for plain roasted meat, i.e. it is rushed straight to the oven without any preparation.

Sulayman Reis "De Veenboer": A notorious Barbary corsair admiral based in Algiers, whose crew included fellow Dutchman Jan Janszoon van Haarlem alias Murad Reis. Although SR usually spared Dutch crews, he was killed by a cannonball on 10 October 1620 in the harbour of Amsterdam.

Sutler: A merchant in port, selling the various things that a ship needed for supplies and repairs.

Swab: A term of abuse much used by pirates, e.g. "ye stinking swab". A swab was a piece of dirty rag used for cleaning things.

Swab (noun): A disrespectful term for a seaman. "Man that gun, ye cowardly swabs!"

Swab (verb): To clean something. Being put to "swabbing the decks" would be a low-level punishment for a disobedient pirate.

Swab the decks : An activity seldom carried out on a pirate vessel, except occasionally by prisoners. However on board a naval vessel this activity was carried out daily, and for the crew was often the only bright spot in an otherwise dull and demeaning life.

Swabbie: The lowest rank in the ship, usually te person who was occupied of swabbing and cleaning

Swag: Loot.

Swallowing the anchor: A sailor is said to do this when he retires from the sea.

Sweep: Old name for an oar.

Swivel gun : A small light cannon, mounted on a swivel at the ships rail, used to clear the decks of enemy ships by firing a charge of musket balls, stones, rusty nails and broken rum bottles.

Tack: To change the direction of a sailing vessel's course by turning her bows into the wind until the wind blows on her other side.

Tangerine: Name for a corsair or corsair vessel operating out of the port of Tangiers. Corsairs were also known as tangerines, because of the colour they went after many years of exposure to the sun.

Tender: A small boat towed or carried by a larger vessel.

Teredo Worms : The teredo worm is a crustacean that lives in the warm waters of the Caribbean, it attaches itself to a ships hull and bores its way through the wooden hull below the water line, in fact it is so boring that I will not bore you with any more details of it's boring existence.

Thar she blows!: The pirate equivalent of "Whoop, there it is!".

The anchor comes home: When the anchor breaks out of the seabed by dragging. In slang it means the enterprise has failed despite any precautions employed.

The Pirate Round : For many years from the late 17th century to early 18th century, many pirates cruised a regular "pirate round" as they called it. Sailing from the coast of North America, round the tip of Africa, to the pirates lair in Madagascar, and from there raiding the Mogul galleons in the red seas, then returning to sell their loot in the ports of North America.

The Singapore Sling: Ancient and complex oriental martial arts manoeuvre to disable your opponent or fiendish far east cocktail. Either way, it invariably lands you flat on your back.

The Sweet Trade : Another name for piracy.

Tobyman: Another name for a highwayman.

tortuga: Tortuga - An island in the West Indies off northern Haiti. It was a pirate refuge in the 17th century

Tortuga: A small island off the north coast of Hispaniola, so called because of it's resemblance to the shell of a turtle. Was the site of the first buccaneer settlement in the Caribbean.

Treasure: Pirate loot, but more specifically gold, silver, jewels coins ect, rather than the more mundane everyday loot. Experts will tell you that buried pirate treasure it just a myth. But of course pirates buried their loot, to avoid capital gains tax, and to avoid being mugged by their shipmates, and of course because it's traditional damn yer eyes. Of course there are no records of anyone digging up pirate gold. The wise man who finds hidden gold and jewels tells no one about his find, and you will not read about it in the newspapers.

Vapouring: Once a pirate vessel came within hailing distance of it's victim, the pirate crew would start "vapouring" as they called it. Which meant that they would dance around growling and chanting war cries, waving their weapons and clashing their cutlasses, a chilling sound. If they spied the captain of the other vessel, they often singled him out for special abuse, " you dog!, you son of a bitch! we will drub you, you dog, within an inch of your life, and that inch too!". On some pirate ships the vapouring took a much more sinister form, a rhythmic pounding on the ships rails, as the pirates chanted "death, death, death". Pirates were masters of psychology, and captured ship after ship without a blow being struck, just by frightening their prey into submission.

Waggoner: A sea atlas or volume of sea charts, called after the Dutch pilot Lucas Waghenaer, who published a volume of charts and sailing directions in 1584. In the 17th-18th centuries sea charts were very expensive and hard to come by. As a navigator was only as good as the charts he owned, a Waggoner was a closely guarded possession of any sailing master, and he would always be on the lookout for any new charts.

Walk the plank: A piratical execution. The victim, usually blindfolded or with bound hands or both, is forced to walk along a plank laid over the ship's side, to fall into the water below. Except this seems to be a total invention; it first appeared in 19th-century fiction, long after the great days of piracy.

Warp: To warp a vessel is to move it by means of a rope to the shore, for example many vessels would be warped into harbour or up a river.

Weigh anchor: To haul the anchor up; more generally, to leave port.

Weigh anchor!: Let's go!

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.

Whistling: Whistling on board ship Was always considered unlucky. However there was a very good reason for this, as in the days of sail the bosun would give orders for raising and lowering sails by blasts on a whistle, so any other whistles on board would confuse the foretop men.

Wooden Legs : These were a valuable aid to one legged pirates, as it stopped them from falling over quite so often. Medical science was in it's infancy in the 17th-18th centuries, and quite often the only way to cure an infected wound was to cut off an entire limb before the infection could spread to the rest of the body, (note; this technique did not work very well with head wounds). This accounts for the large number of armless and legless pirates. However the most famous one-legged pirate, Long John Silver, did not have a wooden leg, only a crutch. However it is said that if his parrot gripped his shoulder tightly and flapped it's wings vigorously he could stand unaided.

Wreckers: For centuries people living along rough stretches of coast, such as Cornwall or the outer Hebrides, deliberately wrecked ships by showing beacons which led them onto the rocks. The wreckers would then plunder them for their cargo, and quite often any survivors would be killed by the wreckers. there were also wreckers in the West Indies and along the Atlantic seaboard of America. The last recorded instance or wrecking occurred on September 26th 1817, the victim was a Norwegian brig, the "Bergetta", which was carrying a cargo of wine when it was wrecked in Carmarthen bay Wales. The wreckers were brought to trial, and it was stated that hundreds of men and women had been made unconscious through drinking more than two thirds of the ships cargo.

Yard: A long spar suspended from the mast of a vessel, used to extend the sails.

Yarr I agree.

Yarr-ha-harr!: Damn straight!

Ye Scalawag!: You dirty dog!

Yellow Fever : A disease endemic to the tropics often called the curse of the white man as it did not seem to affect the natives. Modern historians believe it to have been typhus, cause by contaminated drinking water. But in actual fact the term "yellow fever" probably covered a whole range of tropical diseases.

Yo-ho-ho: A very piratical thing to say, whether it actually means anything or not.

Zeerover: Dutch name for a pirate, literally a sea rover.