To “reach the bitter end” was, therefore, to pay out all of the anchor rope and reach the limit. The end of the anchor rope which was attached to a wooden post or bitt on the ship. The expression comes from the habit of a flogged sailor biting on a real bullet so that he did not cry out and bring ridicule from his crewmates. Therefore, the expression meant there is nothing between the ship and the sea.Īn expression meaning to face something unpleasant. Used nowadays to mean one has only two poor choices, but “devil” actually referred to the first and longest beam of a ship’s keel (so called because it was the most difficult to access and clean when in dock). In slang, it came to mean “stop what you’re saying” or, as “Belay that yarn!”, to mean “stop those lies!” Used from the 16th century, this meant to wrap a rope around a fixture like a cleat to secure it. (Deutsches Museum, Munich) / Photo by Tiia Monto, Wikimedia Commons With two masts which were traditionally gaf-rigged and lateen-rigged, the ship was fast and highly manoeuvrable, making the brigantine a favourite ship of pirates. An expression that was then used to mean “remain cheerful”.Ī model of a brigantine ship. To keep the ship’s bow away from the wind. In use from the 17th century, it was a command to stop a particular action like pulling on rigging to hoist a sail.

When a ship which was part of a pirate fleet departed secretly at night from the others to avoid sharing out booty. Used since antiquity to refer to a pirate who commands a fleet of vessels. Used from the 18th century to attract attention, for example, the sighting of a ship, but later to simply mean “hello there”.Ī slang term used in the Royal Navy to mean something is very difficult to find. Meaning “legitimate” since if a ship’s crew were all visible above decks it was unlikely they were pirates, who often hid below decks when approaching another vessel. In this article, we examine some of the more common expressions and slang terms that pirates, and mariners in general, have been credited with, where they came from and what they really meant. There is even an international ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’ on 19 September, when landlubber romantics can indulge their fantasy of a life more glamorous than the one fate has bestowed upon them. 1690-1730), are particularly famous for their pithy expressions which relate to all things nautical, general roistering, and life of crime on the High Seas. Pirates, especially those of the so-called Golden Age of Piracy (c. Some of the more common expressions and slang terms that pirates, and mariners in general, used.

Captain Keitt, a detail from the frontispiece of The Ruby of Kishmoor, written and illustrated by Howard Pyle (1853-1911).

Ship lingo meaning