Pirate Dictionary, The [Paperback]

Terry Breverton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2004

Reading through these words and phrases is an abbreviated trip through history, with lists of major naval mutinies, a summary of the slave trade, and even jokes. This dictionary is written to be entertaining as well as informative, to give a flavor of the interesting times from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries when pirates controlled many sea lanes. It also contains a treasure trove of factual information about life aboard the ship, important pirate haunts, and technical terms.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

We hear the terms "steer clear of," "hit the deck," "don't rock the boat," and "to harbor a grudge" and give little thought to their origin. Left together on ships for months, and often for years, pirate crews developed expressions that made their way into common usage. This dictionary is written to be entertaining as well as informative, to give a flavor of these interesting times from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, when pirates controlled many sea lanes. It also contains a treasure trove of factual information about the life aboard ship, important pirate haunts, and technical terms.

About the Author

Terry Breverton is an expert on pirates and Welsh history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Pelican Publishing (July 31, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1589802438
• ISBN-13: 978-1589802438
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #682,927 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great information, horrible editing, March 16, 2006

By 

Karen Mercury (Green River, UT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pirate Dictionary, The (Paperback)

Here I am cruising along reading about BULLY BEEF, when I realize that they've placed it before BULK-HEAD. Hmm. When compiling a glossary these sorts of things really stand out! And I agree with the reviewer who happened to notice there are at least one typo per page, blatant glaring typos. I finally grabbed a red pen and started marking them up. Someone should be proofing a dictionary! But the content is fascinating and well worth the purchase if horrible editing doesn't irk you.

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but inept, October 4, 2005

By 

Dave T "DaveT" (Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pirate Dictionary, The (Paperback)

First let me say that this book contains a lot of interesting, useful information. I'll even makie the assumption that it's mostly accurate. And it's kind of entertaining, it actually makes a decent bathroom reader, if you underestand me.

But having said that, let me sigh and say it's the most ineptly produced book since Tom Clancy's recent novels (which are horribly under-edited.) Doesn't Pelican hire proof readers? It's hard to go three pages without finding glaring typos and misspellings. It's not uncommon to find two or three errors on a page. Just stupid, careless things.

I'll give the author credit for the interesting and useful content, and take the publisher (Pelican) to task for the mistakes. But when I'm reading what is ostensibly a reference book, that shoddy a job of proof reading makes it hard to take the book seriously.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun Little Dictionary on Pirate Jargon, August 10, 2006

By 

Dakota "daxydakota" (Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pirate Dictionary, The (Paperback)

Being a fan of pirates, I bought THE PIRATE DICTIONARY by Terry Breverton the moment I realized it existed. It has 189 pages of pirate terminology, defining terms like "hardtack," "sargasso sea," "chickcharnies," and "avast ye."

It also provides an explanation of the origins of phrases we use today, like "clean bill of health," "the coast is clear," "down the hatch," "loose cannon," and "touch and go."

In addition, it covers famous pirate havens, pirate ships, pirate captains, and even pirate jokes.

To me, this is one of those books that you can pick up, open to any page, and find something new to learn and enjoy. It's like reading trivia, which is something I enjoy.

Some of the negatives include:
1) Sloppy editing.
2) The definitions aren't differentiated by century or culture. For instance, would a French buccaneer in the 17th century say "hell's bells and buckets of blood"? Did American privateers in the 18th century use "muskatoons"?
3) Not enough photos or drawings to clarify what certain items looked like ("the wooden horse," for instance, was unclear).

Anyhow, this is definitely a great little guide for students of history or linguistics ... and for people who love pirates.