Sept. 19 marks the spot for “Talk like a Pirate Day.” Across the world, people ditch their 21st-century lingo to release their inner swashbuckler.

Started in 1995 by self-proclaimed pirates Mark Summers — “Cap'n Slappy” — and John Baur — “Ol' Chum Bucket” — what began as a joke among friends became an international phenomenon after the two buccaneers wrote to humorist Dave Barry about their holiday. Barry got the cannonball rolling when he promoted the holiday in his column.

Talking like a pirate, however, doesn't just mean running through the hallways yelling “yarr!” at everyone. To get more in touch with one's inner pirate, here is a short list of useful terms that may help readers throughout their day of pillaging and searching for buried treasure.

The Basics:

Talking like a pirate has a few basic grammatical rules to follow. Essentially, pirate speak is more “anti-grammatical.” For starters, the word “I” is replaced with “me.” As in: “me thinks there's trouble about.”

All forms of the verb “to be” are now just the word “be,” as in: “You be gettin' too close to the edge.” Also, “yes” and “no” are to be replaced with “aye” and “nay.”

The Specifics:

Addled: Insane. Ex.: “Three days in the sun has made the boy a little addled!”

Ahoy: Ship-to-ship greeting, originally a Viking war chant yelled before attacking another ship. “Ahoy to frigate.”

Avast: Stop! Desist! Ex.: “Avast you salty sea dogs and surrender yer ship!”

Cat o' nine tails: Name given to a whip with nine braided leather straps attached to the handle. Ex.: “Either listen to the captain's orders, or suffer the cat o' nine.”

Colors: National flags. Ex.: “Ahoy, show your colors or suffer a broadside!”

Davy Jones: The underworld. It was believed that Davy Jones had a footlocker for every sailor in the afterlife. Ex.: “See you with Davy Jones, mate.”

Dog: A friendly insult. Ex.: “Miles, you old sea dog!”

Gangway: Get out of the way! “Gangway you cowards, I'll take them myself.”

Grog: Watered-down rum, the general-issued drink to sailors in the Royal Navy, which was common all over the Spanish Main. Ex.: “Pass the grog down the table.”

Holdfast: Hang on! Secure. Ex.: “Better holdfast mate, we're headed into a hurricane.”

Jolly Roger: The black skull and crossbones flag of a pirate. Ex.: “Hoist the Jolly Roger!”

Landlubber: People that have never been to sea that board a ship and are completely useless. Ex.: “Yar, we've got an entire ship loaded with landlubbers.”

No prey, no pay: The creed of a pirate, meaning they don't receive payment, just shares of whatever they capture. Ex.: “Aye, we live by no prey, no pay.”

On the account: To take up piracy voluntarily. For some of the most famous pirates, a log was kept of who became a pirate willingly and who was forced into piracy. Ex: “The carpenter was forced aboard, but the gunner went on the account.”

Pieces of eight: The most common form of currency on the Spanish Main during the golden age of piracy. Ex.: “We found a hundred pieces of eight below deck.”

Sharkbait: A lazy sailor. Ex.: “If that lad don't shape up, he'll just be sharkbait.”

Shiver me timbers: An expression of shock. Shiver me timbers comes from the shockwave an entire ship feels when a cannonball strikes its side. Ex: “Shiver me Timbers! It's the fellow Jim Hawkins.”

Smartly: Quickly. Ex.: “Smartly now, lads.”

Splice the mainbrace: To get really drunk. It’s derived from the hardest job aboard the ship. Once the task was completed it was custom for the whole ship to receive a drink. Ex.: “I think I'll go splice the mainbrace.”

Swab: A person in charge of cleaning or keeping the decks clean. A derogatory term meaning the lowest human on a ship. Ex.: “Avast you cowardly swabs!"

Wench: Any female that would willingly sleep with a pirate. Ex.: “Bring on the wine and the wenches.”

Sources: io.com/~sj/piratetalk.html, talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InternationalTalkLikeaPirate_Day

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