September 19th be Talk Like a Pirate Day, ARRRR!

"Talk Like a Pirate Day" is the greatest holiday ever invented. It's the one day that you get to run around saying things like aye, ahoy matey, and arr! without being locked away and forcefully medicated. Of course the people who don't know about talk like a pirate day will think you are crazy, but that just makes it that much more fun.

The holiday was an invention of two friends on June 6, 1995, reportedly during a racquetball game. According to John Baur and Mark Summers (AKA their pirate names Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy, respectively) one of them reacted to an injury by yelling ARRRR! The date was set as September 19th out of respect for the anniversary of D-Day and in honor of Summers' wife's birthday. What started out as somewhat of an inside joke became an international sensation after Dave Barry wrote a column about it in 2002. Not long after, the unofficial holiday was adopted by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (who consider pirates to be divine beings) and received nationwide media coverage. And the rest be history as they say. ARRR!

A glossary of common pirate terms:

Ahoy! - Hello

Avast! - A term used to get someone's attention.

Aye! - Yes

Aye aye! - I understand.

Arrr! - Arr is a very versatile term. It can mean you are upset or you agree or just about anything depending on the emphasis and tone used. The amount of "r's" used is left up to the user.

Be - "are" or "is" As in, "He be going ashore at the next port."

Beauty – A compliment toward a lady. As in "she be a beauty, arrr!"

Bilge rat – A pirate insult.The bilge is the lowest (and dirtest) level of the ship.

Booty - A pirate's stash of treasure.

Crew - the sailors aboard the ship.

Grog – A pirate drink. Consists of watered down rum.

Hornpipe – A musical instrument. Can also refer to a type of dance.

Hornswaggle - To fool or take advantage of someone.

Keelhauled - A pirate punishment where you are tied to a rope and dragged underneath the ship.

Land Lubber – A pirate insult. Refers to someone who prefers land to the sea and denotes to pirates someone who has no business being on board a ship.

Matey - A friend.

Smartly – Quickly

Walk the plank - A pirate punishment where you are forced to jump overboard while at sea.

The first and last thing to remember is that this all in fun and one of the things that led to the explosion in Talk Like a Pirate Day is that it is so much fun. So relax and have a ball, matey.