| 7 December |
Pirates and their dress code |
Today we will discuss pirates and their dress code. Pirates had to be hard and tough, considering they were fighting most of the time. But it wasn’t just the fights that killed off the pirates, it was also malnourishment and disease. As a result of malnourishment and disease, most pirates didn’t live past their twenties. Scurvy (the result of vitamin C deficiency) and other diseases alone accounted for as many as two million deaths between 1500 and 1900. Along with this, the pirate crews had to live with a huge number of rats. These rats came aboard when pirates went to a port. They brought tropical disease that accounted for many more deaths.
Pirate clothing had to be sturdy and practical, and built to last violent sea storms and vicious battles. They wore short jackets made from heavy cloth, linen shirts, canvas trousers that were?cut short above the ankle. They also wore woolen stockings and either a knotted scarf, a tricorn hat or a Monmouth cap. Shoes were seldom worn on board a ship because they didn’t grip well on the slippery decks. However, even pirates kept a pair of dress clothes. You will learn about that in the next paragraph.
Many seamen (including pirates) were flamboyant dressers. The dressed nicely while on a short leave or while visiting a port. In fact, many pirates raided ships for nice clothes. These clothes included elaborate coats, hats and silk stockings. Female pirates dressed much like male pirates. This was to hide their gender or for more practical reasons. Now that you know what pirates wore, you need to know their slang. This is what you will learn in the next paragraph.
You will now learn common pirate slang, pocket book version.
Addled-foolish
Ahoy-hello
Avast-hey
Barker-pistol
Barrack stanchion-a sailor posted on land
Belay-stop that
Bilge-foolish talk
Booty-any form of loot
Brethren of the Coast- The name pirates used to describe themselves
Buccaneer-Caribbean pirates
Cackle fruit-chicken eggs
Cat-o’ nine-tails- a whip with many lashes
Caulker-a stiff glass of alcohol taken to round off a drinking bout
Corsair-a French word for pirate
You have now learned basic pirate slang, A-C. Read next time to learn more about pirate slang and other things about pirates. Thank you for reading, and keep practicing that pirate slang.
