Ahoy There, Mateys!

About 10 years ago, a bunch of guys playing racquetball discovered that speaking in pirate slang made playing the game more fun. They decided that as long as there is a holiday for everything else, there needed to be a holiday to celebrate this kind of thing too, and began calling September 19 "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Writer Dave Barry heard about it some years later, and in 2002 he wrote a column about the guys. Well, the rest is history. So today I bring you this special announcement ...

Today is the 11th annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

In the spirit of the day, and with thanks to talklikeapirate.com, here are some key words that will help you to talk like a pirate:

Ahoy! — "Hello!"

Avast! — Stop and give attention. It can be used in a sense of surprise, "Whoa! Get a load of that!" which today makes it more of a "Check it out" or "No way!" or "Get off!"

Aye! — "Why yes, I agree most heartily with everything you just said or did."

Aye aye! — "I'll get right on that sir, as soon as my break is over."

Arrr! — This one is often confused with arrrgh, which is of course the sound you make when you sit on a belaying pin. "Arrr!" can mean, variously, "yes," "I agree," "I'm happy," "I'm enjoying this beer," "My team is going to win it all," "I saw that television show, it sucked!" and "That was a clever remark you or I just made." And those are just a few of the myriad possibilities of Arrr!

... Really, it's just that simple. (I guess pirate vocabulary doesn't go much past the A's.) But if you need help translating your common English to pirate-speak, here's a handy translator that will do it for you. Just click on "ahoy!" And if you want even more fun, try speaking — I mean, talking like a German pirate. (These guys clearly have too much time on their hands.

But remember one thing: it's Talk Like a Pirate Day, not Dress Like a Pirate Day. So you can participate without calling too much attention to yourself.

Consider this the most valuable PSA you'll read today.