Pirate Sayings

[blackrabbit]

There was an interesting show on the History Channel recently about pirates and right before a commercial they said that the word shiver means splinter and that timbers refer to the masts of a ship. the phrase "Shiver me timbers" originated during the golden age of piracy and was really used as an expression of fear or dread because you would not want the enemy to really shiver your timbers since it would leave the ship without masts since they would be all torn up so people would say shiver me timbers when something made them fearful. I always thought it was a made up hollywood thing but its not. Learn something new everyday

 

[Old Salt]

Keel Haul - The sailor was tied to a rope that looped beneath the vessel, thrown overboard on one side of the ship, and dragged under the ship's keel to the other side. As the hull was often covered in barnacles and other marine growth, this could result in lacerations and other injuries. This generally happened if the offender was pulled quickly. If pulled slowly, his weight might lower him sufficiently to miss the barnacles but might result in his drowning. If the rope snapped, the Captain could conclude that the punishment was not done properly and order it carried out again.
[edit]History

Keelhauling was legally permitted as a punishment in the Dutch Navy. The earliest official mention of keelhauling is a Dutch ordinance of 1560: the practice was not formally abolished until 1853. While not an official punishment, it was reportedly used by some British Royal Navy and merchant marine captains, and has become strongly associated with pirate lore.
While the common "more gentle" form of keelhauling was from one side of the ship to the other, there was also a more severe version from bow to stern. This was effectively a death sentence.

 

[Jack Black]

<!--sizeo:4--><span style="font-size:14pt;line-height:100%"><!--/sizeo--><b>Let the Cat out of the Bag </b><!--sizec--></span><!--/sizec-->

Today this expression usually means that you have said something to someone that you should have kept to yourself. In the days when sails ruled the oceans such an expression brought fear to even the strongest sailor. The sailor would have been guilty of a crime that would have brought out the whip, or "cat-o'-nine-tails," from its bag, and a brutal whipping would be administered.

 

[morgan terror]

that gives a double meaning to that sentence in DMC.

 

[Old Salt]

<b>Walking the plank</b> - A phrase that describes a form of murder or torture that was practiced by pirates and other seafarers. It involved the victim being forced to walk off the end of a wooden plank or beam extended over the side of a ship, thereby falling into the water to drown, sometimes with bound hands or weighed down, often into the vicinity of sharks (which would often follow ships). The earliest use of the phrase dates back to 1769 but it is not known how long the practice of using a plank to throw someone overboard had been practiced. Walking the plank is frequently depicted in literature and films, it is thought to have first come into the popular imagination in the novel Peter Pan, and the 1953 Disney movie.