Pirated word:
ARRRRR Matey
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Peter Easton was among the most wealthiest and most successful pirates.
Peter Easton was born in England to a respectable family and he was raised to serve in Queen Elizabeth I's navy as a privateer. A privateer was a person who was commissioned by the government to seize and destroy any merchant ship from other countries.
Easton was a commander of a small British fleet doing convoy duty for some fishing boats. On his way to Newfoundland, he rescued "The Irish Princess" Sheila NaGeira from a Dutch warship. Sheila was the daughter of the King of Connaught. Legend has it that after Easton saved her, she fell in love with Easton's First Lieutenant, Gilbert Pike. He left Easton's crew and they got married and settled in Mosquito, which is now known as Bristol's Hope in Conception Bay.
In 1602, England and Spain were at war and at the end of the war, England did not need their navy anymore. So Easton was out of a job and he and his crew were stranded in Newfoundland with no money. He and his mates turned to piracy. He first tried pirating in the English Channel. But later in 1612, he set up headquarters in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. He raided ships along the coasts of Trinity Bay to Ferryland, Newfoundland. He sailed along the Eastern coast of North America, the Caribbean and as far west as the Azores. All the time adding to his wealth and his fleet. On just one of his trips, Easton looted thirty English ships in St. John's and French and Portuguese ships in Ferryland. Easton now commanded a crew of 500 men and 9 ships. He would force the captured men to join his fleet, this is called shanghaiing,.
One of the legends of Peter Easton tells us that while returning to Harbour Grace on
one occasion, he was attacked by five Biscayne and French pirates just off of Harbour
Grace Island. Easton was aboard the Great Spanish Galleon, St. Sabastian, which is
said to have been carrying the greatest treasure ever to have been captured on the Carribean
Sea. The warfare which ensured was described as the greatest battle ever fought in
Conception Bay. During the clash, Easton sunk the largest of his attackers, the St.
Malo, by forcing it onto Eastern Rock. In commemoration of the battle, Eastern Rock
was renamed to Easton's Rock. (www.hrgrace.ca/history.html)
In 1612, Peter Easton captured Sir Richard Whitbourne and held him for eleven weeks,
Sir Richard Whitbourne was the Admiral of the English Fishing Fleet. He was sent to Newfoundland to bring everything up to scratch and set up a court of law. Easton wanted Whitbourne to become his First Lieutenant.
Although Whitbourne refused to participate in Easton's scheme, he did agree to
go to England and support a petition for pardon, which would enable Easton to
return to England and spend his days living in royal splendor on his loot.
(www3.nf.sympatico.ca/mayad/princess/pete.htm)
So while waiting for his pardon to come, he realized that
Harbour Grace could be easily attacked by sea should the King decide to send a
fleet against him, so Easton moved to Ferryland and fortified the harbor. He now
had his armada of 40 ships, a fortress which was virtually unassailable.
(www3.nf.sympatico.ca/mayad/princess/pete.htm)
When Easton did not receive his pardon in two years, he thought he would leave Newfoundland. He sailed for the Azores to capture the treasure ships of the Spanish Fleet. He seized three ships that were brimming with treasure. This was one of the most richest plunders by a pirate.
So in 1614, he left for Villefranche, Savoy which was a free port for pirates with a reported two million pounds in gold and he became the "Duke of Savoy". After he married a Lady of noble birth and considerable wealth, he became the "Marquis of Savoy". He built an enormous mansion in Savoy and Easton and his wife lived there. After this, there is no record of whatever happened to Peter Easton.
submitted by
Pirated word:
ATM Machine
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The "M" in ATM stands for "Machine". See also "HIV Virus" submitted by Critz
Pirated word:
A Legalized Pirate
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submitted by
Pirated word:
A well-known secret
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Huh?
Its just another thing conjured up by the media to make up for the journalist's stupidity. submitted by
Pirated word:
Absolutely
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Usually means "yes". submitted by dmb06851
Pirated word:
Actually
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Actually you don't actually need to actually use the word 'actually' to actually mean what you actually say. submitted by Brian
Pirated word:
African American
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Make up your mind! Either your an American or you are not. submitted by J. Jackson
Pirated word:
Agnostic
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Often taken to meaning not believing in God, this word actually means that one is unable to understand (or know) God. The word stems from the Greek, 'a' meaning no, and 'gnostic' meaning knowledge, therefore 'agnostic' basicaly means 'no knowledge'. submitted by Billy
Pirated word:
All
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Used with a form of "to be" in the present tense to mean "said," "explained," "commented." Usage: "So I asked him what he thought, and he's all, 'I want to stay here.'" Similar to "go" for "say:" "So he goes, 'I don't know.'"
Horrid. submitted by Lawrence
Pirated word:
Aluminum
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This word has been pirated from ... the land of nonexistent words. Most Americans think this word is the correct one, rather than the lengthier
British ALUMINIUM ... But, it is the American version which was erroneously altered somewhere along the way. According to a U.of Mich. educational site: < I can't tell you where it started, precisely, but the OED notes that the discoverer of Al, Sir Humphry Davy, gave it the name ALUMINUM. Later it was apparently changed (one wonders by whose authority) to "harmonize best with other names of elements". Apparently whoever was given charge of this responsibility failed to execute it completely, since the original form ALUMINUM is utterly standard in the USA.> submitted by leeskerette
Pirated word:
Amazon
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pl. A race of female warriors alleged by Herodotus, etc. to exist in Scythia.
A River in South America
Amazondotcom has destroyed the meaning and connotative power of this word, corrupting it for crass commercial purpose, and rehabilitation is unlikely.
submitted by degustibis
Pirated word:
America, American
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Shamelessly swiped by citizens/residents of the USA -- or abused by others around the world, but particularly in the UK -- this word should apply to all persons who are citizens of nations in the New World. A Chilean or a Panamanian is just as much an American as anyone born in the USA.
We need a new word for US citizens. "Yanks" is not good, as it refers to some but not all US types. submitted by
Pirated word:
America(n)
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Two continents and many islands -- an area -- hijacked and compressed into a single country by the United States and its citizens.
Brazilians, Chileans, Canadians, Mexicans, Cubans, Haitians . . . all are Americans, as the French, Germans, Italians, Swedes, British (since the chunnel) and all the rest are Europeans. There is no American flag. There is no American anthem, There is the United States OF America, a description, though no less silly than Canada of America or Chile of America. Bill Kurtis has a helluva noive.
America -- love it or leave it: Embrace Fidel's dictatorship or move to France. submitted by Curmudgeon
Pirated word:
American
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This word now seems to refer to citizens of The USA whereas all citizens of The Americas are surely Americans.
I find it also interesting the term USA since lots of countries in The Americas have united states eg Canada & Mexico) .
submitted by Geoff
Pirated word:
American Eskimo
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The name of a breed of white dogs bred from the Finnish Spitz. American people liked the white puppies discarded by the breeders of the Spitz and so the name American Eskimo. This fosters the belief that the dogs have some relationship to Eskimos, which is false submitted by Pat
Pirated word:
Amnesia
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submitted by
Pirated word:
Anal
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This is used frequently as shorthand for 'anal retentive'. In fact, people using the word this way usually mean picky, up-tight or pedantic. Even assuming that the person actually means 'anal retentive', it's the retentive part that characterizes the behaviour. Anyone who's got that part of his or her anatomy in place and working is anal. submitted by
Pirated word:
And
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As in "I'm going to try and do this" rather than "I'm going to try to do this." One of my pet peeves! submitted by Susan
Pirated word:
Anyways
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It's "Anyway" NOT "Anyways" Often used to mean "Oh well" or "Therefore" submitted by Tony
Pirated word:
Arabic Golf
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meaning less term. No means! submitted by Mahdi
Pirated word:
Are you done yet?
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I always want to reply, why I'm not quite sure. Stick a fork in me and see. submitted by
Pirated word:
Art
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Art is often "defined" as the human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature. However we all know it's really just a man's name. submitted by Andrew Warwhole
Pirated word:
Asians
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Why is it that the word has become synonymous just with people of East Asian background? Chinese Americans tend to describe themselves as 'Asians' and exclude those who come from the rest of that enormous continent. Why should Sri Lankans, Indonesians, and Nepalese not be included in this club? submitted by GungaDin
Pirated word:
Assault Rifles
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A military term for a fully automatic rifle which is designed to fire 'automatically' as long as the firearm's trigger is pulled. Fully automatic weapons of any kind have been highly regulated in the USA since 1934. The term has been pirated by the anti-gun lobby and mainstream press and misconstrued to mean almost any firearm that they deem frightening and wish to demonize. Today, the vast majority of weapons identified as "assualt rifles" are in reality semi-automatics. Based on technology perfected in the 1890's other than having a 'scary' appearance to the novice or newsperson, semi-automatic rifles, which fire one round per pull of the trigger, are nothing more than glorified standard hunting rifles. submitted by _Owlchemy_
The term is technically defined by the following characteristics of the firearm in question:
1. Firing an intermediate-sized cartridge [neither a pistol cartridge nor a full-size rifle cartridge]
2. Having the ability to be fired from the shoulder.
3. Having a detachable magazine.
4. Having select-fire capability [able to be fired in a full-automatic mode (the weapon fires until the operator releases the trigger or the weapon runs out of ammunition) or in a semi-automatic mode (each pull of the trigger fires one cartridge.)]
The Nazi STG 44 is generally considered to be the first true assault weapon / rifle, although the most popular variety in the world would have to be the Kalashnikov.
Any weapon that does not meet all four of the above criteria as a minimum [I do not include pistol grips, because it is possible to have an assault weapon without one] is not an assault weapon / rifle. submitted by Brian
Pirated word:
Associate
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Many employers have stolen this word as a euphemism, for employee, in an attempt to convince their employees of the misconception that they have inflated status within the business. submitted by daleallenbaker
Pirated word:
At the end of the day
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At the end of the day used to be just that. In the business world, it now means the end result or outcome. The way they work us wage slaves to death in the business world, for us it's NEVER the end of our day. submitted by
Pirated word:
Atheist
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While the word "theist" has very different meanings, "atheist" can't be any simpler.
An atheist can be a non-believer of any gods. Or a believer in the statement that there is no god. Since the word "god" is mistaken as "Bible's boss". Notice the Bible did not patent the word "god" it's a general concept of all religions.
An atheist can be a Deist(god may have caused the universe, but not here anymore), an agnostic (one that does not belive but does not deny). Either way, an atheist is a simple non-believer.
CLARIFICATION: No need to assume an atheist does or doesn't believe in something, such as morality or evolution or devil. It's not a direct connection anyhow. submitted by josh
A genetically linked condition of the brain where a person's attention naturally moves around rather than staying focused on a single task, conversation or thought (also called Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). It is not an attention deficit, it is a tendency to move one's attention around. And it is not a disorder, unless you happen to have a job that requires long periods of concentration on a single task (which is why ADDers tend to have jobs like police officer, reporter or entrepreneur). And finally, it's not something you "have," it's something you are (you wouldn't say "I have red-headedness" or "I have caucation").
In the spirit of renaming acronyms, I much prefer "Attention Division Dominant" (as opposed to AFD: Attention Focus Dominant). submitted by
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is the most active kind of Attention Deficit Disorder. The terms ADD and ADHD are not always interchangeable.
It is like how a square(ADHD) is always a rectangle(ADD) but a rectangle(ADD) is not always a square(ADHD).
ADD is a long and varying scale and ADHD is just the more powerful end of it.
A lot of people do not understand ADD or ADHD. I hear many people talking who apparently think that an extra letter sounds good. submitted by Kyra
Pirated word:
Avast!
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It would seem appropriate, if not in perfect keeping with the intent of this site, to mention that two days from now (Sept 19) is Talk Like a Pirate Day, eh, landlubbers? submitted by Jerry
Pirated word:
a lot
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Two words, not one. There's a space in there... submitted by Ed Lycett
a round is not a single bullet. a round is as much ammunition a given weapon will hold. It`s been missused so long and often that now even military types refer to a single bullet as a round. If you were at the bar with your buddies and told them you were going up to the bar to by them a round, they would be a bit dissapointed if you came back with one beer. submitted by
Pirated word:
a while
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A while (as in "it took me a while to drive to work") is two words, not one. submitted by Ed Lycett
Pirated word:
a whole nother
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Is there such a thing as a "nother?" Can you have a half nother? It is rather irksome that people will use this instead of "another whole ______", or "a whole other ______" whatever that blank shall be. Mis-use example: "That's a whole nother topic I don't want to get started on!" (complete with preposition ending the sentence...)
Sheesh submitted by Greg
Pirated word:
absolutely
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long way of saying "Yes" submitted by Alec in France
Pirated word:
absolutist
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from: Wordpirates privacy claim
"we will never (use your email address to) provide...unless"
"we will never (use your email address to) spam...unless" submitted by
At my work, my bosses are always telling me to action this and action that. If they're not careful I'll show them exactly how action was meant to be used. submitted by
Pirated word:
active
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If someone is a go-getter, they are active, not proactive! submitted by random_prose
Pirated word:
actually
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In act or in fact...
This word can be substituted with 'basically'. I often hear people start sentences with this word, especially at work. Do people think they sound smarter when they use this word? Are we going to be shocked, enlightened, or suprised by what follows the word? In most cases, I would think not. submitted by Doug Allen
Pirated word:
afro american
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just by the fact of having black sin doesn't mean they are descendends of africa. Some or many black, don't know africa or never been there or plan to be there in the future.
submitted by jnkm@optonline.net
Pirated word:
ain't
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Ain't originated as the contraction of "am not". Thus, the utterance "I'm tall, ain't I?" was perfectly grammatical in 1800s. However, because "ain't" is so similar in sound to "aren't", it started to find it's way into utterances like "You ain't hungry". Because of this, grammar teachers everywhere discounted the word entirely, so that now it is grammatical to say "I'm tall, aren't I?" instead. The bottom line? It's a word! Use it! submitted by John Mark King
submitted by
submitted by
Pirated word:
alot
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How often do people use the word alot to mean a lot (many or often)? As opposed to the word allot, a verb which means to allow to have, to give out, and administer or bestow. The word alot does not exist! submitted by Sonja Harding
Pirated word:
alternate
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Every other one, or changing between two states.
Frequently, and incorrectly, used instead of alternative, i.e. something different. submitted by dmb06851
Pirated word:
amazing
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The word amazing has been highjacked by the dim witted to describe anything that they have experienced, but don't have adequate language skills to describe. "I just had the most amazing lunch!" "Isn't that sweater amazing!?"
I've taken to asking these people if they mean amazing like the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal, because those things really are amazing. So, I'll say, that sweater is reads to you like the canals of Venice?
Oh yeah, I'm really popular. submitted by
Pirated word:
ambivalate
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submitted by
An 'anti-globalisation protest' really means a bunch of Luddites opposed to any form of international trade. Yet it's been co-opted by the media to apply to anyone who disagrees with the way world trade is run, from campaigners for debt forgiveness to African farmers asking for a chance to compete in the oversubsidised markets of the US and Europe. Real 'anti-globalisers' are a tiny minority of the WTO's critics, but that hasn't stopped everyone being tarred with the same brush.... it's a convenient way for governments to avoid the real issues, of course. submitted by Chris Worth
Pirated word:
anti-semitic
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The root word of semite is Shem, who was one of the sons of Noah. So a Semite is a descendent of Shem. It also pertains to a common language origin.
With modern DNA analysis, it is known that less than half of the jews living in Isreal are semites, whereas most of the arabs of the region are.
Classic double-speak ! submitted by Peter
Pirated word:
anymore
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It's two words, not one. submitted by dmb06851
Pirated word:
application
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A long time ago, IBM mainframes ran in two modes: "Supervisor Mode" and "Application Mode". In supervisor mode, the machine regulated itself and performed housekeeping chores like input and output. In application mode, it did useful work on behalf of the User. The computer was "applied" to the user's computation, and over time the name "application" came to stand for the binary code running on behalf of a User. I think this is an abomination; plain old "program" is much better, and less geek-centric. submitted by Bill Torcaso
Pirated word:
ar me harties
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submitted by
either someone who is engaged in the design of buildings or the result of such an act. Not an ass clown who designs computer programs or video games - yes I am talking about you Bill Gates. submitted by Jim, AIA
Pirated word:
argh
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submitted by
Pirated word:
argh, me scurvy
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submitted by
Pirated word:
arguable
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People use the term "arguable" when they mean the opposite, like "This is arguably the best painting of the century". Well if it is arguable, then maybe it isn't the best painting. So what exactly are you trying to say you dumb ass? submitted by John
Pirated word:
arr
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submitted by
Pirated word:
arrrr
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submitted by
Pirated word:
ask
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"Ask" is a verb, meaning to call on for an answer, to beg, to question, to make a request, etc. Lately I hear it being used as a noun ("Let's make an ask for those funds.") by a lot of MBA types who apparently have trouble with really long words like "request". submitted by
Pirated word:
ass
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A mule, a hybrid between a horse and a donkey. submitted by Dave Currie
Pirated word:
associates
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Many companies dont' refer to employees as employees anymore. They are now associates. This implies you and your bosses have equal power in the organization when we all know that is not true. submitted by BY
Pirated word:
at
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When used after a contraction, e.g. "That's where I'm at." This is redundant, as the expanded contraction reveals: "That's where I am at." The simple, direct expression should be "That's where I am." submitted by john
Pirated word:
at that point in time
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When someone, particularly law enforcement in front of cameras or microphones, is telling a story, there is always gratuitous overuse of this phrase. Storytelling is giving an account of activities that occurred, IN ORDER, relative to time - it's implied! Peeople always use this to precede the POINT of their story, rather than working on being better storytellers. submitted by Phil Petrocelli
Pirated word:
at this time
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It means "now", but is often not even necessary. It is a sample of the fluffy polysyllabic blather that keeps replacing concise, useful words. I am not sure why it is used, possibly as a rhetorical flourish? Often heard on commercial airline flights. "At this time, please fasten you safety belts." submitted by Nat
Pirated word:
at what point
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using this phrase instead of "when" submitted by
Pirated word:
authentic
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I understand it means genuine but has been hijacked to mean fake. submitted by Jon
Pirated word:
awesome
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envoking awe or terror; not something that is terrific. submitted by
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