Talk Like A Pirate Day September 19, 2009

Jolly Roger

Today, don’t be aghast if you hear someone yell, “Avast!”

Today is ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day‘ or TLAP Day so no matter what your doing— ya got to talk like a pirate.

If you go out to dinner, spring this one on your waitress, “Well, me hearties, let’s see what crawls out the ol’ bung hole.” (food on ships was stored in wooden casks. The stopper in the barrel is called the bung, and the hole is called the bung hole.) Infestations of one kind or another frequently plagued the ship’s stores.

If you visit your favorite watering hole today, be sure to order like a pirate, “Time to splice the mainbrace me hearties, flagons of grog for all”!  Should someone at the bar foolishly rebuke your generosity, call them a ‘lubber’ (short for land lover, a powerful pirate insult).

Should you be asked, “Is that there a ‘hornpipe’ in yer pocket or ya just glad to see me?”, pray it’s coming from the saucy wench standing next to you and not from the lubber on his third flagon of grog. (A hornpipe is a single-reeded musical instrument, usually the only form of entertainment aboard ship)

Whatever you do;  do it ‘smartly’ (fast), don’t be a ‘bilge rat’ (the lowest of the low) and don’t confuse ‘Arrr!” with ‘Arrrgh!’ (the first is an affirmative answer to anything, the second is the exclamation uttered when surrendering your booty).

So me bucko’s, put on yer eye patch, uncork the rum cask and talk like a pirate all day….or we’ll make you ‘kiss the gunner’s daughter’!