Pirate Words and Phrases That Arrgh Up to Pirate Code
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13 Popular Pirate Words for Talk Like a Pirate Day
Yo ho ho! Plenty of pirate words for ye! As it turns out, many pirate terms are great for word games too. Refer to our Scrabble dictionary and Words With Friends word list, as relevant, for the corresponding point values for each of these pirate slang words.
Ahoy: A common greeting in pirate speak
Avast: In pirate lingo, “avast” tells someone to stop because you have something to say
Bombarded: To be drunk, from an 8 pint leather jug called a bombard
Booty: One of the many words for treasure and riches, like loot
Castoffs: Old clothes, ropes and other gear left on shore before setting off to sea
Doubloon: Referring to money in general, from a Spanish gold coin worth approximately four Spanish dollars
Grog: Almost any alcoholic drink in pirate jargon, from the watered-down rum that Admiral Edward Vernon (Old Grogam) created in 1740
Hornswoggle: To cheat, trick or deceive in order to best someone
Landlubber: Someone who is not accustomed to life at sea, seen as clumsy or stupid by experienced seafaring pirates
Pillage: To take and steal anything from a captured vessel, aside from the recognized shared booty
Scallywag: A rascal, a pirate slang word for someone who is mischievous but amusing or funny
Scurvy: A common disease among seafarers caused by a vitamin C deficiency and malnutrition, resulting in open wounds, new sores, and swelling
Sea dog: Pirate terminology for someone with a lot of experience at sea
17 Fun Pirate Phrases to Cut Loose
Avast ye! Give no quarter with these pirate phrases. One set of pirate words is good. Understanding a bounty of popular pirate phrases could save you from walking the plank! Get ready for Talk Like a Pirate Day, or any day, by committing these common pirate expressions to memory, matey.
Above board: Legitimate, as illicit goods and criminals were kept below deck to avoid being detected or seen
Blow me down: A pirate expression to indicate shock or surprise
Chock-a-block: Filled with a lot of people
Cut loose: To make a quick departure or escape by cutting the anchor cable rather than pulling it on board
Dead men tell no tales: A pirate phrase meant to encourage killing prisoners and captives so they couldn’t act as witnesses to pirate acts
Down the hatch: An expression uttered before consuming alcohol, referring to putting cargo in the hold of a ship
Footloose and fancy free: To be free of responsibility, from a sail with an untied bottom edge
Give a wide berth: To avoid something, from anchoring far away from another ship
Give no quarter: Pirate words for treating someone harshly, to give no mercy and take no prisoners
Kick the bucket: To die, from kicking the bucket out from under the feet of someone who’s about to be hanged
Land ho: An expression screamed out by a lookout when they see land on the horizon
Pull your finger out: To stop hesitating and just do something, from removing the finger from the powder hole of a cannon
Scrape the bottom of the barrel: To be reduced to using something or someone of the poorest quality, from scraping the greasy fat from the bottom of pork-filled barrels
Shiver me timbers: A fictional expression of shock or surprise
Talk bilge: To speak nonsense
Walk the plank: When a blindfolded prisoner walked off the plank on a ship to their watery graves
Yo-ho-ho: One of many fictional pirate greetings
18 Essential Pirate Terms to Get Your Sea Legs
Batten down the hatches with more pirate terminology! Trying to find words and what they mean to drunken sailors and sea dogs? Here are some pirate terms to keep you out of Davy Jones’ locker.
Buccaneer: Another word for a pirate, especially one who is daring and reckless
Crack on: Making good speed while on the ship, from the cracking noise made by sails and ropes
Cutlass: The quintessential pirate sword with a single, slightly curved edge and a basket-shaped guard
Davy Jones’ locker: The deep sea where dead souls are collected by an evil spirit named Davy Jones
Deep six: To get rid of something, from throwing things overboard into waters deeper than six fathoms (36 feet)
Dressing down: To be reprimanded, scolded or chastised for unsatisfactory performance
Jolly Roger: A flag, usually with skull and crossbones, identifying a pirate ship before and during a battle
Keel: The bottom-most longitudinal structure on which a ship’s hull is built; to keel over is to capsize
Lily-livered: Pirate slang words for someone who is cowardly or timid
Marooned: To be abandoned, usually on a small uninhabited island, with no help or supplies
Mate: A fellow crew member; also a rank on the ship, as in first mate
Mutiny: A revolt or uprising against an established authority, like the ship’s captain
Old salt: Not just pirate terminology, but referring to any sailor with years of experience
Peg leg: Someone who has lost part of their leg and replaced it with a wooden peg, Long John Silver of Treasure Island is a famous example
Picaroon: A slang term for a pirate, privateer, or buccaneer
Privateer: A ship and its crew that have been commissioned by a government
Poop deck: The deck on the roof of the cabin at the back of a pirate ship
Rigging: The nautical term for all the sails, masts, booms, lines and other components of a sailing vessel
And if you’re ever looking for even more pirate words and lingo, there’s yet another list of pirate terms at YourDictionary. You’ll be swashbuckling with the best of them in no time.
Talk Like a Pirate Day for Landlubbers
Keeping a list of pirate words and pirate phrases can act like a treasure map. Navigate the pirate slang seas with the greatest of ease and you won’t be tasked with scrubbing the poop deck on Talk Like a Pirate Day. Keep the slang terminology going! From modern rap words to funny British insults, we continue to play with language as much as we play our favorite word games!
Michael Kwan is a professional writer and editor with over 16 years of experience. Fueled by caffeine and WiFi, he's no stranger to word games and dad jokes.
