| Pirate Speak of the 1700s |
| a few words, terms, and phrases used aboard sailing ships during the 18th century |
QUADRANT : The geometric quadrant is a quarter-circle panel usually of wood or brass with markings on the
surface. Brass instruments had their markings scribed directly into the brass. Quadrants had the latitudes of the most
common destinations directly scribed on their limb. Along one edge there were two sights forming an alidade, and a
plumb bob was suspended by a line from the centre of the arc at the top.
QUARTER : Mercy given to surrendering crews.
QUARTERMASTER : The man aboard ship who represented the crew's interest to the ships captain, and who was
in charge of the ships operation when the ship was not in action.
QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE : The flagship of Captain Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. This ship was
a merchantman captured by Captain Benjamin Hornigold, previously the Concorde, and given over to Teach to
captain. In 1996 the QAR was discovered off of Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina in twenty feet of water.
http://www.qaronline.org/project/qarintro.htm
QUEEN ANNE'S WAR : The war of Spanish Succession between several Eurpoean powers, from 1701 to 1714
and ended by the Treaty of Ultrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714).
RATCASTLE : Prison.
RATLINES : Small horizontally tied ropes in the shrouds which gave sailors steps and handholds for climbing the
shrouds into the rigging.
RATTLING THE BONES : Playing games of dice, which were generally made of carved bone or ivory.
REEF : To reduce the area of the sail by taking it in.
RIGGING : The way the sails of a ship are set up, usually square rigged with square sails set perpendicular to the
ship, or fore-and-aft rigged with sails running parallel to the ship.
RUB SALT INTO A WOUND : After a beating with the cat-o-nine-tails, salt would sometimes be rubbed into the
torn flesh of the victims back in order to intensify the pain.
SAIL UNDER FALSE COLOURS : Using a flag of a different nation in order to trick prey into a false sense of
security prior to attack; a common tactic of pirates used in order to gain the advantage..
SALT HORSE : Salted beef carried aboard ships, usually very tough and unpalatable.
SAND-GLASS : An hourglass, or smaller measurement of time depending on size, consisting of a wood frame
around two bulbous glass ends with a narrow center through which sand may pass to mark the passage of time. The
amoutn of sand within the container would flow through in a designated length of time.
SARGASSO SEA : An elongated region in the middle of the North Atlantic which is the home of a type of seaweed
known as Sargassum. The Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide and 2,000 miles long, is very salty, and is known
as a desert within the sea because of the dead calms that often affect the area.
SCUPPERS : Small openings along the gunnels at the deck designed to let rain and seawater drain from the deck and
into the sea.
SCURVY : A disease caused primarily by a lack of Vitamin C, common among sailors and pirates because of the
lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. The disease could cause dark purple blotches on skin; especially the legs,
spongy, bleeding gums and tooth loss, bleeding from all mucous membranes, pallor, sunken eyes, opening of healed
scars; separation of knitted bone fractures, nosebleeds, non-stopping diarrhea, and nail loss.
SCUTTLE : A scuttle is a small hole or hatch cut into the side of a ship. To scuttle a ship means to deliberately sink
her by cutting a hole in her hull.
SCUTTLEBUTT : Gossip aboard ship, usually passed around the drinking barrel which was known as a scuttlebutt.
SEA ARTIST : A bo'sun or navigator who was well-respected for his ability to navigate the seas and sail the ship.
SEA LEGS : Being able to avoid sea-sicknessa nd walk about a ship moving upon the sea without tumbling about on
the deck.
SEA ROVERS : Pirates or buccaneers.
SEA SMOKE : Vapour rising from the sea caused by cold wind blowing across warm water.
SEWN UP : Finished
SHALLOP : A small boat or skiff.
SHIP'S COUSIN : A person aboard ship who is favoured by the captain and officers.
SHOAL : A bank or reef under shallow water which creates a danger to navigation.
SHOVE OFF : Literally, to shove the ship away from the dock or beach in order to get underway.
SHROUDS : The vertical lines running up the masts for stability.
SKILLY : Meat boiled to make it edible, then mixed with oatmeal or broth.
SLOOP : A single masted vessel with a long bowsprit used to employ jib sails. These vessels were fast and
maneuverable, and could sail in shallow waters. Sloops were favoured by pirates.
SLOPS : Loose fitting canvas pants worn by sailors so they could climb.
SNOTTY : A young lad aboard ship, such as midshipmen, who tended to be poorly fed and always in need of a
good nose-wiping.
SON OF A GUN : A child born of a harlot who might have been conceived aboard ship during a trist with a sailor
between the guns on the gun deck, or any bastard child of a sailor.
SOUND OUT : To find the depth of water with a sounding lead.
SPANISH MAIN : The South American mainland, from Columbia to Venezuela and up the Isthmus of Panama.
SPANISH WALK : To run away.
SPIKE THE GUNS : To pound iron or wood spikes into the priming ports of guns so they could not be fired by the
enemy.
STAND OFF : To recede from shore.
STARBOARD : The right hand side of a ship when one is facing the bow.
STERN CHASER : A gun fitted at the stern of a ship to fire at pursuing enemy vessels.
STRIKE THE COLOURS : To take down the ship's flag in surrender.
SWAB : A large mop used to clean the decks. Since swabbing the decks was the lowest form of duty aboard ship,
'swab' became a derogatory term for a low ranking sailor.
SWAMPED : When a ship is overwhelmed by the sea and on the verge of sinking.
SWASHBUCKLER : A seafaring ruffian.
SWEET TRADE : Pirating, going on account.
SWING THE LEAD : Using the sounding lead to ascertain the depths was a relatively easy job compared to reefing
sails when approaching shore, thus, 'swinging the lead' meant to 'take it easy.'
SWIVEL GUN : A small cannon mounted upon the ship's rail. These guns were very maneuverable and allowed
better defense of the ship against approaching boarders.
SWUNG OFF : Hanged at the gallows.
surface. Brass instruments had their markings scribed directly into the brass. Quadrants had the latitudes of the most
common destinations directly scribed on their limb. Along one edge there were two sights forming an alidade, and a
plumb bob was suspended by a line from the centre of the arc at the top.
QUARTER : Mercy given to surrendering crews.
QUARTERMASTER : The man aboard ship who represented the crew's interest to the ships captain, and who was
in charge of the ships operation when the ship was not in action.
QUEEN ANNE'S REVENGE : The flagship of Captain Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. This ship was
a merchantman captured by Captain Benjamin Hornigold, previously the Concorde, and given over to Teach to
captain. In 1996 the QAR was discovered off of Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina in twenty feet of water.
http://www.qaronline.org/project/qarintro.htm
QUEEN ANNE'S WAR : The war of Spanish Succession between several Eurpoean powers, from 1701 to 1714
and ended by the Treaty of Ultrecht (1713) and Rastatt (1714).
RATCASTLE : Prison.
RATLINES : Small horizontally tied ropes in the shrouds which gave sailors steps and handholds for climbing the
shrouds into the rigging.
RATTLING THE BONES : Playing games of dice, which were generally made of carved bone or ivory.
REEF : To reduce the area of the sail by taking it in.
RIGGING : The way the sails of a ship are set up, usually square rigged with square sails set perpendicular to the
ship, or fore-and-aft rigged with sails running parallel to the ship.
RUB SALT INTO A WOUND : After a beating with the cat-o-nine-tails, salt would sometimes be rubbed into the
torn flesh of the victims back in order to intensify the pain.
SAIL UNDER FALSE COLOURS : Using a flag of a different nation in order to trick prey into a false sense of
security prior to attack; a common tactic of pirates used in order to gain the advantage..
SALT HORSE : Salted beef carried aboard ships, usually very tough and unpalatable.
SAND-GLASS : An hourglass, or smaller measurement of time depending on size, consisting of a wood frame
around two bulbous glass ends with a narrow center through which sand may pass to mark the passage of time. The
amoutn of sand within the container would flow through in a designated length of time.
SARGASSO SEA : An elongated region in the middle of the North Atlantic which is the home of a type of seaweed
known as Sargassum. The Sargasso Sea is about 700 miles wide and 2,000 miles long, is very salty, and is known
as a desert within the sea because of the dead calms that often affect the area.
SCUPPERS : Small openings along the gunnels at the deck designed to let rain and seawater drain from the deck and
into the sea.
SCURVY : A disease caused primarily by a lack of Vitamin C, common among sailors and pirates because of the
lack of fresh fruits and vegetables. The disease could cause dark purple blotches on skin; especially the legs,
spongy, bleeding gums and tooth loss, bleeding from all mucous membranes, pallor, sunken eyes, opening of healed
scars; separation of knitted bone fractures, nosebleeds, non-stopping diarrhea, and nail loss.
SCUTTLE : A scuttle is a small hole or hatch cut into the side of a ship. To scuttle a ship means to deliberately sink
her by cutting a hole in her hull.
SCUTTLEBUTT : Gossip aboard ship, usually passed around the drinking barrel which was known as a scuttlebutt.
SEA ARTIST : A bo'sun or navigator who was well-respected for his ability to navigate the seas and sail the ship.
SEA LEGS : Being able to avoid sea-sicknessa nd walk about a ship moving upon the sea without tumbling about on
the deck.
SEA ROVERS : Pirates or buccaneers.
SEA SMOKE : Vapour rising from the sea caused by cold wind blowing across warm water.
SEWN UP : Finished
SHALLOP : A small boat or skiff.
SHIP'S COUSIN : A person aboard ship who is favoured by the captain and officers.
SHOAL : A bank or reef under shallow water which creates a danger to navigation.
SHOVE OFF : Literally, to shove the ship away from the dock or beach in order to get underway.
SHROUDS : The vertical lines running up the masts for stability.
SKILLY : Meat boiled to make it edible, then mixed with oatmeal or broth.
SLOOP : A single masted vessel with a long bowsprit used to employ jib sails. These vessels were fast and
maneuverable, and could sail in shallow waters. Sloops were favoured by pirates.
SLOPS : Loose fitting canvas pants worn by sailors so they could climb.
SNOTTY : A young lad aboard ship, such as midshipmen, who tended to be poorly fed and always in need of a
good nose-wiping.
SON OF A GUN : A child born of a harlot who might have been conceived aboard ship during a trist with a sailor
between the guns on the gun deck, or any bastard child of a sailor.
SOUND OUT : To find the depth of water with a sounding lead.
SPANISH MAIN : The South American mainland, from Columbia to Venezuela and up the Isthmus of Panama.
SPANISH WALK : To run away.
SPIKE THE GUNS : To pound iron or wood spikes into the priming ports of guns so they could not be fired by the
enemy.
STAND OFF : To recede from shore.
STARBOARD : The right hand side of a ship when one is facing the bow.
STERN CHASER : A gun fitted at the stern of a ship to fire at pursuing enemy vessels.
STRIKE THE COLOURS : To take down the ship's flag in surrender.
SWAB : A large mop used to clean the decks. Since swabbing the decks was the lowest form of duty aboard ship,
'swab' became a derogatory term for a low ranking sailor.
SWAMPED : When a ship is overwhelmed by the sea and on the verge of sinking.
SWASHBUCKLER : A seafaring ruffian.
SWEET TRADE : Pirating, going on account.
SWING THE LEAD : Using the sounding lead to ascertain the depths was a relatively easy job compared to reefing
sails when approaching shore, thus, 'swinging the lead' meant to 'take it easy.'
SWIVEL GUN : A small cannon mounted upon the ship's rail. These guns were very maneuverable and allowed
better defense of the ship against approaching boarders.
SWUNG OFF : Hanged at the gallows.
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