The so-called "pirate" phrases appeared in our language from books and films about sea robbers. Not all of them, of course, are genuine, many are simply invented by talented writers. But this well-established slang is used today at theme parties and in popular culture.
The real lexicon of pirates (which still exist today) can simply shock the public with strong expressions and an abundance of specific terms. The work of a seaman on a ship, albeit a pirate one, is quite hard work, and therefore their speech and jokes are not much different from the vocabulary of ordinary port movers or any other purely male team engaged in physical labor. But the jargon that came to us from popular culture and books is rather funny, filled with funny jokes and can well be used for thematic corporate events, children's parties and even in wedding scenarios.
Where do pirate phrases come from?
Some phrases and buzzwords in pirate jargon are the most common specific terms from the maritime profession. For example, "boarding" is a way of waging a naval battle, and not only a pirate one, which, incidentally, is still relevant today in naval affairs. The two ships approach each other, and the attacker's boarding team gets on board the enemy to engage in close combat, capture or destroy the team, and as a result take possession of the ship.
"Cook" and "galley" - cook and kitchen, respectively, on any ship, including pirate ones. "Scrubbing the deck" - this is the punishment the commanders of any ship threaten negligent sailors with, and pirates also keep up with the traditions of maintaining ship discipline adopted in naval affairs. "Brahmsel" is a straight sail, depending on the position on the mast, it receives the prefixes "bom-", "fore-", "mainsail", "cruise-brahmsel" and so on. Cleaver, staysail and mizzen are also names for sails.
Jolly Roger
A whole set of pirate phrases is associated with the Jolly Roger. The list of versions of the emergence of the name of the pirate flag is quite impressive - only the official as many as five. You can read about them on Wikipedia and see photos of various flag options there. "Dead" or "Adam's head" (skull and crossbones) on a black background is a traditional symbol of sea robbers, which was first used by the notorious Vine, a French pirate of the 18th century.
"Raise the Jolly Roger" - the beginning of any fun, "Roger" pirates called the most cheerful of them, well, and "visiting the Jolly Roger" meant going to the latrine - this is the name of the latrine on the ship, located in the bow.
Literary sources and cinema
Probably everyone had to read or watch the film adaptation of Treasure Island, the work of the wonderful Scotsman Stevenson. The vast majority of the most popular pirate words and sayings appeared in our speech from there. The famous song "15 people on the dead man's chest" firmly entered the culture of different countries, the original verse ("Fifteen men on the dead man's chest - Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!") Was translated into almost all languages the world. Robert Louis Stevenson found the name Dead Man's Chest in another book published 12 years before Treasure Island, a study by the monk and writer Charles Kingsley, who described a group of islands where English pirates ruled. These little scraps of sushi have been given unforgettable names that have become classics of pirate jargon. "Dead Man's Chest", "Dutchman's Lid", "Rum Island" and others.
The black mark is another invention of the brilliant Stevenson. A coin or card smeared with soot that leaves an imprint on the palm of a pirate accused of betraying the brotherhood. The suspect must either prove his innocence or die soon. In fact, the Caribbean pirates used a similar method, but the usual ace of spades acted as a "mark" for them.
Pirate nicknames - a whole list of funny winged nautical expressions. Some of them also appeared from "Treasure Island" - Flint, Blind Pew, Lanky John Silver (who always had a parrot on his shoulder, shouting: "Piastres!"), Billy Benbow, and others were real nicknames of famous historical figures who rob on sea. Blackbeard - the legendary Edward Teach, the Gentleman of the pirates - Steed Bonnet, who boasted of his noble origins.
Another unforgettable character, the debate about whose reality does not subside today, is the Scandinavian princess Alvilda, whose legend was found in the manuscripts of the Danish chronicler Saxon Grammar, who lived in the 12th century. In his voluminous work, he outlined all the ancient sagas of the Scandinavians. One of them was even used by Shakespeare to create Hamlet.
Alvilda, according to legend, was a real princess, but she ran away from an unwanted marriage and pirated in Scandinavian waters, becoming a real thunderstorm of the seas, an Amazon who did not spare anyone. Men never appeared on the deck of her ship. The image of this formidable pirate is widely used in art.
Marine terms are described in detail in the 2002 “Dictionary of Marine Jargon” by the modern linguist Nikolai Aleksandrovich Kalanov, a historian who has devoted his life to the study of phraseological units, jargon and folklore of marine topics. And in 2017, his own book "Aphorisms and Quotes about the Sea and Sailors" was published, where you can also learn a lot of fun and interesting things for a thematic party.
Cinema is another source of pirate words, slogans, chants, slogans, greetings, wishes, predictions, exclamations and curses. The Soviet film "Pirates of the 20th century", where the hero Stetsenko said to the pirates before the battle "Prepare a treat!" - one of the examples of how the biting phrases invented by the scriptwriters become part of the "folk pirate culture".
Another example of such borrowing is the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which was literally stolen into memes, quotes and funny phrases, especially Jack's phrases and phrases were especially fond of the public, who copes with any difficulties with constant humor. It was from him that viewers learned that horology is a science that studies time.
It is worth mentioning the TV series Black Sails, a stunningly beautiful pirate epic in which fiction and history are intertwined. But there is another way that various pirate proverbs and sayings, sayings and words appear.
Pirate day
In 1995, an unofficial International Pirate Day was established, home to the small seaside American town of Albany. It all started with the tomfoolery of two friends, Mark Summers and John Baur, who, when they met to play racquetball, only spoke pirate slang for a joke. They came up with the idea to arrange a pirate party. They appointed him for September 19, invited friends and announced the main rules: dress like pirates and speak only nautical jargon, including more pirate phrases.
The guests enjoyed the fun, and then the press and television got involved. In a word, the holiday quickly became international, thanks to the inherent ability of Americans to make a beautiful show out of everything. The pirate greeting at this holiday is: "Ahoy, matey!" - this is something like a friend's shout "Hey, on the ship!"
On pirate-themed sites, you can find hundreds of expressions, toasts, slogans and curses attributed to pirates. This is a whole cultural layer, alive and developing, thanks to the imagination of people and the adventure genre of literature and cinema.
Finally
Modern piracy is a real scourge of the coastal countries, which have to deal with superbly organized and equipped pirate gangs on a daily basis. They are engaged in attack and robbery, smuggling, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, human trafficking in the Strait of Malacca, the Somalia region, the Strait of Guinea and others, absolutely not hesitating to use weapons, wreaking havoc and panic among the inhabitants of coastal settlements. So the cinematic image of a romantic sea wolf, courageous, but noble, is very far from the reality in which pirates in all ages have been cruel and ruthless killers, living exclusively by their wolf laws.
