Be ye ready to talk like a pirate? tomorrow!

[karyn]

from metro uk

Avast! Be ye prepared for tomorrow? Be ye ready to trade salty insults with mumping dogs across the seven seas? Basically, what we be talkin' about be this: did you know that tomorrow's International Talk Like A Pirate Day?

Across the globe, ordinary people will spend Wednesday conversing in the manner of a pirate, in a glorious celebration of all things piratical.

Talk Like A Pirate Day started in 1995, when two friends from the American colonies, John Baur and Mark Summers, decided that talking like a pirate was excellent and that it deserved its own day.

September 19 was settled on as the ideal day, because it was Summers' ex-wife's birthday.

For quite some time, Talk Like A Pirate day was a rather private celebration, with only Baur and Summers (or Ol' Chum Bucket and Cap'n Slappy, to give them their proper pirate names) observing it. That all changed in 2002, when they decided to let American humour columnist Dave Barry know about their annual observation.

Barry was quite jiggered by the idea, and promptly spread the word through his column. From that point, thanks to the power of the internet and the innate awesomeness of pirates, Talk Like A Pirate Day spread internationally.

Now, ITLAPD has become a phenomenon around the world – helped, no doubt, by the resurgence of interest in talking like a pirate that Johnny Depp sparked. But remember – the pirate lingo of Talk Like A Pirate Day is a very traditional form, often at odds with Depp's flamboyant characterisation. In fact, if you're looking for a good model to base your pirate idioms on, Geoffrey Rush's Captain Barbossa is probably a better bet.

To help get you started on the pirate jabberin', we've compiled a handy phrasebook.

Pirate to Not Pirate Phrasebook:

Ahoy! - Hello

Avast! - Oi, you!

Yarrrr! - Used to intensify the previous statment, e.g. 'I quite fancy a cup of tea. Yaarrrr!'

Arrrr! - Innit (see also)

Dog - Person who is disapproved of

Lubber, Landlubber - One who is not a seaman, an incompetent person (c.f. Muggle)

Mumping villain - see 'Dog'

Slab-sided bugger - see 'Dog'

Wretched scrofulous whoreson bilge rat - see 'Dog'

Splice the mainbrace - What you say to make people do something on a ship

Luff, me hearties! - What you say when 'splice the mainbrace' doesn't work

Aye - Aiiee

Yo ho - Hello woman

[Donald Rilea]

Avast, me hearties!!!! Who be the next scurvy dog that dare to speak like a local yokel of the Seven Seas???!!!!

All those lubbers that hold their tongues to-morrow will first be forced to clean the cyber-bilge with their tongues, yarrr!!!!

An', then after that, the slab-sided buggers will walk the plank, and, IF they survive that, will be keelhauled through the Sargasso Sea, yarrr!!!!!

[evilstonermonkey]

yarr, it be the 19th already here over the seas. i be too lazy by far to be botherin with this, to be completely honest with ye, but if ye be tryin to make me clean anythin ill slit ya from ye gills to ye gizzard, that be so!

[keiko]

Anotehr measure of Rum and keep 'em comin matey, or i'll be keelhaulin yer wench. Drink up me hearties yo ho!

~Captain K

[evilstonermonkey]

i dont have a wench, but could you keelhaul my mum? that would be ever so nice...

(PS Captain K, are you secretly a breakfast cereal?)

[Mindgames]

happy.. yeah..


ARRRRRR

[VoltaireBlue]

who's gonna swab the poop decks?

sorry, couldn't resist.

[HeadlessBill]

Arrrr. I be havin' a day of rum and wenchin'. (I wish.)

[evilstonermonkey]

[Donald Rilea]

Headless Bill: lovely pirate wench in the pics you posted. My compliments.

ESM: Funny cartoon, which shows one of the major disadvantages of being a ninja!!! LOL

Actually, I mis-spoke. It shows TWO disadvantages to being a ninja-the silence and the killing, especially of oneself.