Talk Like a Pirate in Milford September 19th

ship sailing out at sea

It’s September, and the 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, so prepare to walk the plan—…errr, hear some piratical language — words like blimey, ahoy, and swab, for instance. To get a jump and be ready to talk like a pirate to get in on the fun, The Groves at Milford Blog has pulled together some piratical resources for members of our apartment community here in Milford, MA. So blow the man down!

History of the Talk Like a Pirate Movement

A couple of blokes, John Baur and Mark Summers by name, were playing a game of racquetball way back in 1995. While playing they threw around some pirate speak. The upshot of that experience was that they decided that a day should be set aside for everyone to talk like a pirate.

The date, September 19th, was chosen because it was Mark’s wife’s birthday. Over the next few years, a localized following of pirate speak every September happened, but the concept didn’t take off until after Miami Herald humor columnist Dave Barry featured the pirate speak holiday in his weekly newspaper column.

Pirate Speak

Talking Like a Pirate takes a certain air of swaggering bravado, which can be acquired through practice and by having the correct vocabulary. Knowing the correct words and phrases to throw into your conversation makes all the difference. Using Ahoy instead of Hey You There, Blimey! instead of Whoa!, and parley instead of negotiation will have you speaking like a pirate in no time. Check out this handy pirate glossary for more. It has sections for every pirate related topic including flags, name calling, weaponry, famous pirates, and more. Have fun perusing!

Here are a few definitions to get you started:

Blimey. An exclamation of surprise, short for “God blind me!”, which is very common to this day in Britain and sometimes shortened less to “Gor blimey” or “Cor blimey.”
Fire in the Hole. A warning issued before a cannon is fired.
Hearties. A term of familiar address and fellowship among sailors.
Heave. An interjection meaning to come to a halt.
Sail Ho. An exclamation meaning another ship is in view. The sail, of course, is the first part of a ship visible over the horizon.

For examples and definitions of more pirate words, take a look at this video from The Vintage News about 25 of the Best Pirate Words We Should All Be Using. We hope everyone at our apartment community has a great time speaking like a pirate on the 19th of September. Here’s luck and a fair wind to you!