Researching pirate books is a blast. I particularly love the way they talk. When I’m writing the books in my pirate trilogy I become steeped in pirate lingo. Here are some of my favorites:
- Wench – I love dirty talk and being called a wench will do it every time.
- Ahoy! – A classic, it’s just fun to say.
- Blow me down. Perhaps it wasn’t intended as a request for oral sex – but it sure sounds like one.
- Shiver Me Timbers – anything that makes you shiver has to be good.
- Surrender the Booty – Mighty persuasive.
- Coxswain – This is a person who usually steer’s the ship’s boat and has charge of his crew, but I love how dirty it sounds.
- Strumpet – Sounds so much prettier than “whore”
- Bung hole – Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. It means a dispensing hole in a wooden barrel typically sealed with a cork
- Nipperkin – Fun to say, it means a small cup or drink
- Poopdeck – Okay so I’m immature but this one always makes me giggle. It describes The highest deck at the stern of a large ship, usually above the captains quarters.
[Read more…] about 10 Favorites from the Pirate Vernacular by Normandie Alleman (@normandiea)