Read The Pirate Captain Online
Authors: Kerry Lynne
Tags: #18th Century, #Caribbean, #Pirates, #Fiction
The Pirate Captain (117 page)
Puddening chains:
chains secured around the
yards
to keep them from coming down if damaged during a battle
Pulled:
rowed
Puncheon:
a small
cask
, of varying size depending on its contents
Put a stopper in your gob:
“Shut up!”
Quarterdeck:
afterdeck, command deck, often atop the great cabin
Quartermaster:
an officer; on a pirate ship, he was often in charge of the
plunder
Quid:
1) a coin; 2) a portion of something, often tobacco
Quimwedge:
18
th
century for penis
Rake:
to fire square on to the
stern
of a ship; most destructive
Rain tarpaulin:
rain jacket
Ratlines:
stair-like ropes strung between the shrouds, used by the crew to reach the rigging
Reef points:
ties in the sails used to reduce the size
Reefed:
reduction of sails by increments
Represents:
18
th
century; “claims” or “says”
Round shot:
cannonball
Roundhouse:
the curved cabin at the
stern
of a ship, often very ornate
Running close to the wind:
a ship sailing with the wind almost on her nose
Runs:
going with the wind
Sabe?:
Spanish for “Do you understand?”
Salon:
the public or working area of the great cabin
Salt horse:
salted beef
Sassenachs:
Scots for “English” (derogatory)
Score:
18
th
century designation for groups of 20
Scrub:
same as
scug
Scug:
contemptible person, often engaged in deceit
Scuppers:
deck drains
Scuts:
coward; spineless; lily-livered person
Sea lawyer:
one who often questions the captain’s authority or stirs up dissent
Sharp set:
18
th
century for “hungry”
Sheet:
rope used in controlling the sails
Shift:
1) an undergarment; 2) to change one’s clothes
Ship’s biscuit:
hardtack
Shiver:
quaking of a sail when the wind is too near the
bow
Shot garlands:
racks along the
gunwale
that hold cannonballs
Show a leg:
to swing one’s leg out of the hammock; to hurry, hustle; show some initiative
Sickbay:
area for the treatment of the sick or wounded
Side tackle:
ropes and pulleys on cannons
Skipjack:
scrub
or
scug
Slab-sided:
unseemly, awkward, ugly
Slavering:
drooling
Sloop:
a small ship, often with sails triangular sails running fore and aft
Slow-match:
rope soaked in saltpeter used to ignite the cannons
Small ale:
watered-down beer
Smoke:
18
th
century for “understand” or “figure out”
Sodding:
damned, sodomite, cursed
Softtack
: bread
Sot
: drunkard
Spar:
definition needed
Sprats:
inconsequential, jerk, buffoon
Squeaker:
youngster
St’d’s’ls:
studdingsails
St. Agua:
Cate’s abbreviation for
Isla de las Aguas doe los Santos Sedientos
St. Elmo’s Fire:
a natural phenomenon of static buildup, giving the effect of a fire or glow
Starboard:
right side of the ship, when looking forward
Starbolins:
opposite of
larbolins
Stays, jump-style:
a softer style of women’s corset meant for heavy labor
Staysails:
smaller triangular sails flown in between the larger ones
Stern gallery:
windows running around the outside of the great cabin
Stern-chasers:
cannon posted at the rear of the ship
Stinkpot:
crockery jar filled with sulfur, gunpowder, and a fuse, tossed aboard enemy ships
Stirling:
site of a battle during the Stuart Uprising
Stomacher:
decorative panel pinned over the laces of a corset’s stays
Strake:
the individual planks making up the hull; “a strake or two” means the ship is heeled over until two of those planks are underwater
Stretched rag:
worn or old sails
Swabbers:
crewmen who swab or sweep the deck
Swaying up:
raising
Swell:
rise and fall of the water
Swivel gun:
a cannon small enough to be mounted on the rail
Swivel-tongued
: liar, fast-talker
T’gallants:
topgallants; one of the highest sails
Tacks and braces:
lines controlling the
yards
Taffrail:
rail surrounding the
quarterdeck
Tampion:
wooden stopper in the mouth of the cannon
Tars:
mariners, sailors, seamen
Teredo:
Spanish for “shipworm”
Time out of mind:
18
th
century for “forever”
Tops:
a generic reference to the highest reaches of the ship
Topsman:
men who work in the
tops
Tors
: Highland mountains
Tortuga:
infamous pirate haven off the coast of Honduras
Touchhole:
spark hole in the cannon
Traversing board:
a chalk board or system of pegs that indicate times, speeds, and headings
Treacle:
molasses, or a mix of that and oatmeal
Trenchers:
square wooden plates
Triced up
: tied up out of the way, secured
Trollop:
whore, cheap woman, floozy
’Tween deck:
the lower deck
Twice-laid:
reused
Unhung:
a criminal worthy of being hung, but not as yet
Wadding:
stuffing between the ball and powder in either cannon, pistol, or musket
Waist:
middle region of the ship
Watch on watch:
back-to-back watches with no break
Wear/wore around:
when a ship turns and goes in the opposite direction
Weather gauge:
the advantage gained by being upwind of an opponent
Weather rail:
the rail toward the wind, reserved for the captain on most ships since it offers the best vantage point
Weather shroud:
the shroud on the windward side of the ship
Well:
bilge
,
hold
Wharf fever:
a generic term for any fever that occurs while the ship is in harbor
Where away?:
“where?” or “which way?”
Whips:
ropes rigged for loading from over the side
Windward:
the side toward the wind
Woad:
a blue vegetable dye used mostly by the Celts
Won her anchor:
the ship pulled up the anchor
Wood and watering:
the activity of a ship bringing fresh water and firewood aboard
Worth his three squares:
a worthy man; meals aboard a ship were eaten on square plates
Wrapper:
robe
Table of Contents
Chapter 2: Purgatory, or Just Hell?
Chapter 3: The Lie Behind the Truth
Chapter 10: Devil’s in the Details
Chapter 13: What Friends Are For
Chapter 15: Falls of Our Existence
Chapter 17: Desperate Measures
Chapter 19: Declarations in the Dark