To coincide with the major exhibition Pirates, the National Maritime Museum, London will be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day on the weekend of Friday 19 September 2025. This will include talks, character actors, and a 2-for-1 discount on tickets Friday to Sunday for the Pirates exhibition. Visitors who dress up like a pirate will also be in with the chance of winning prizes such as Cutty Sark Rig climb tickets, a City Cruisers voucher, a pair of Old Royal Naval College annual passes, a family tour of The Golden Hinde and a Royal Museums Greenwich Membership. Plus, Benugo caterers are offering Pirates ticket holders a £1 hot drink at the National Maritime Museum café with the purchase of one of their delicious pirate themed cakes. The 2-for-1 discount is only available via rmg.co.uk/whats-on/national-maritime-museum/international-talk-pirate-day.

Arron Hewett, General Manager, National Maritime Museum, ‘We are thrilled to be celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day at the National Maritime Museum. With our exciting Pirates exhibition at the heart of our celebrations, we are looking forward to welcoming like-minded pirate fans to the museum to enjoy performances from costumed actors, pirate-themed staff talks and craft activities. We are especially looking forward to seeing as many visitors as possible embrace the spirit of the occasion by dressing up - our own crew will be in full pirate attire, and we hope our visitors will join us in bringing the Museum to life with their own pirate costumes.’

ACTIVITIES

  • Talks and tours, hear about Barbary Corsairs, sea shanties and the tale of Sarah Kidd, the pirates wife with a series of talks and tours. Please see website for full details.
  • Free family crafting activity, cut, stick and create your own pirate hat to wear – so you can talk and look like a pirate. Friday only.
  • Pirate Pete, learn all about piracy with this child-friendly puppet show. Saturday and Sunday only.
  • Character Actor, meet Alice and find out about life at sea during the so-called Golden Age of Piracy. Saturday only.  

 

50 PIRATE WORDS TO USE ON INTERNATIONAL TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY 

In 1995, the American pirate enthusiasts and authors John Baur and Mark Summers of Albany, Oregon inaugurated ‘International Talk Like a Pirate Day’, to be marked each year on 19 September. In popular culture, pirates typically talk with a strong West Country accent as if they only came from Cornwall or Devon. Of course, pirates were from all over the place. But the West Country pirate voice can be traced back to Disney’s Treasure Island in 1950. This was the studio’s first live action production with the Dorset-born actor Robert Newton (1905–56) cast as Long John Silver, a role he repeated twice for cinema and television.

  1. Jolly Roger: a pirate flag. ‘Aaargh! It’s the Jolly Roger – she’s a pirate ship.’
  2. Man-of-War: a Royal Navy warship – pirates beware! ‘That be no merchantman – it be a man-o-war!’
  3. Heave To: to bring the ship to a stop.
  4. False Colours: flying a flag that makes a ship think you’re friendly before attacking it.
  5. Careen: scrape barnacles and seaweed off the ship’s hull to make it sail faster
  6. Maroon: abandon a victim on a deserted island
  7. Hearties: friends. ‘Aar, me hearties – gather round and we’ll count the treasure.’
  8. The Black Spot: piece of paper with a black mark used as a death threat.
  9. Give No Quarter: show no mercy in a fight. ‘Give no quarter, men! We’ll have this ship no matter the cost.’
  10. Booty: stolen goods or treasure.
  11. Old Salt: an experienced seaman.
  12. Aye: yes.
  13. Aye, Aye: order understood.
  14. Prize: a captured ship.
  15. Black Jack: a leather drinking tankard. ‘I be thirsty. Fetch me a black jack of ale.’
  16. Saw-Bones: a ship’s surgeon.
  17. Free Ship: a ship where the pirates get an equal share of any goods they steal.
  18. Landlubber: someone not used to life at sea. ‘Look lively you landlubber! We’ll make a seaman of you yet.’
  19. Strike Colours: to lower your ship’s flag as a sign of surrender. ‘Prepare to fire! We’ll make him strike his colours.’
  20. Ahoy: a call to get attention.
  21. Foul Bottom: a ship with barnacles and seaweed covering the lower hull. ‘We be sailing slow. A foul bottom, methinks. Time for careening.’
  22. Spyglass: a telescope. ‘Be that a ship? Where’s me spyglass?’
  23. Hands: the crew of a ship. ‘All hands on deck, we’re about to board.’
  24. Hang the Jib: to frown. ‘No need to hang the jib men, there’ll be gold in the next prize for sure.’
  25. Sail Ho: a ship has been spotted. ‘Sail ho! Man the guns.’
  26. Go on Account: become a pirate.
  27. Freebooter: a Dutch word for a pirate.
  28. Filibuster: a Spanish word for a pirate.
  29. Corsair: a North African pirate.
  30. Afeard: afraid.
  31. Scuttlebutt: gossip. ‘I be hearing mutterings – what’s the scuttlebutt, me hearty?’
  32. Hempen Halter: a hangman’s noose.
  33. Dance the Hempen Jig: to be hanged. ‘Where be Pirate Pete?’ ‘The Navy caught him – he’ll be dancing the hempen jig soon enough.’
  34. Jack Ketch: a hangman or executioner.
  35. Bumboat: a small vessel used to take supplies for sale to a ship at anchor.
  36. Gob-Stick: a wooden spoon.
  37. Cackle Fruit: eggs. ‘I be hungry – get some cackle fruit and find me gob-stick.’
  38. Cabobbled: confused. ‘I be cabobbled, where’s all the treasure gone?’
  39. Addle: bad drinking water.
  40. Blow the Gaff: reveal a secret. ‘I be aiming to take the Captain’s place, don’t you blow the gaff!’
  41. Fire in the Hole: a warning given before a gun is fired.
  42. Abbey-Lubber: a lazy sailor avoiding work. ‘Stop dawdling, abbey-lubber! I’ve got me eye on you.’
  43. Barking Iron: a large pistol. ‘Stand back! Me barking iron’s loaded and I be ready to shoot.’
  44. Sharp Bottom: a fast-sailing ship – ideal for a pirate! ‘We’ll keep this ship – she be sharp bottomed!’
  45. Victuals: food or provisions.
  46. Hardtack: a ship’s biscuit made of flour and water – not very tasty! ‘Hardtack for dinner? Get me some decent victuals.’
  47. Pieces of eight: Spanish silver dollar that was used as currency across the globe.
  48. Doubloons: a Spanish gold coin worth four dollars. ‘I be dreaming of doubloons and pieces of eight!’
  49. Chowder-Headed: stupid. ‘You chowder-headed fool, we’ve run aground!’
  50. Yo-ho-ho: a call to get attention.

Extract from Buried Treasure: A Pirate Miscellany / Robert Blyth / 160 pages, hardback / £12.99 / ISBN: 978-1-7391542-8-8

You can find out more about the history of pirates at the Pirates exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, London rmg.co.uk/pirates.

 

Pirates information for visitors:

 

Venue:                                    National Maritime Museum, London

Dates:                                     29 March 2025 – 04 January 2026

Tickets:                                    Adult (16+) £15; Child (4-15) £7.50; Student £11.25

Website:                                 rmg.co.uk/pirates

Visitor Enquiries:                   020 8858 4422 | bookings@rmg.co.uk

Twitter:                                   @RMGreenwich 

Instagram:                             @royalmuseumsgreenwich

Facebook                                /royalmuseumsgreenwich

 

Notes to editors: 

  1. The National Maritime Museum holds the world’s largest maritime collection. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich which also incorporates the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the 17th-century Queen’s House and clipper ship Cutty Sark. This unique collection of museums and heritage buildings, which form a key part of the Maritime Greenwich UNESCO World Heritage Site, welcomes visitors from around the world every year and is a major centre of education and research. The mission of Royal Museums Greenwich is to enrich people’s understanding of the sea, the exploration of space, and Britain's role in world history. For more information visit www.rmg.co.uk.
  2. The giveaway launches at 10am on Friday 19 September 2025 and closes at midnight on Sunday 21 September 2025. All entries must be posted between these times in order to be entered into the prize draw.  For full social competition and fancy dress terms & conditions, click here.
  3. A Spotlight series book has also been published to coincide with the exhibition. Captain Ogle’s Cup: A Pirate Adventure / Robert Blyth /96 pages, paperback with flaps / £12.99 (£10 through the museum) / ISBN: 9781739154240