It started with a racquetball injury. Most people think International Talk Like a Pirate Day was cooked up by a high-level marketing agency or some greeting card company looking to move more stock in the "random" aisle. Nope. It was just two guys, John Baur and Mark Summers, playing a game in 1995. One of them got hurt, let out a "Grog!" or an "Arrr!"—the details are a bit fuzzy on the specific grunt—and they realized the world would be infinitely better if everyone spent one day a year sounding like a 17th-century swashbuckler.
For seven years, it was basically just an inside joke between two friends in Albany, Oregon. They picked September 19 because it was Summers' ex-wife's birthday and he could actually remember the date. That is the kind of chaotic, unpolished origin story that modern corporate holidays just can't replicate. It’s authentic. It’s weird. And honestly, it’s a miracle it ever left Oregon.
How Dave Barry Accidentally Made History
The turning point came in 2002. Baur and Summers sent a letter to Dave Barry, the legendary humor columnist for the Miami Herald. They weren't expecting much. But Barry loved the absurdity of it. He wrote a column that went national, and suddenly, the "Ol' Chumbucket" and "Cap'n Slappy" (their pirate personas) weren't just two guys in a gym anymore. They were the figureheads of a global movement.
Why did it stick? It’s not just about the eyepatches.
We live in a world that’s increasingly buttoned-up and professional. You’ve got to watch your tone on Slack, maintain "synergy" on Zoom, and keep your LinkedIn profile looking like a corporate brochure. International Talk Like a Pirate Day is the pressure valve. It’s the one day where your boss can growl at you and it’s actually encouraged. There is something fundamentally liberating about dropping the "g" at the end of every verb and calling your coworkers "scallywags."
The Difference Between Movie Pirates and Real History
Let’s be real for a second: the way we talk on September 19 has almost nothing to do with how actual pirates spoke. If you walked onto the Queen Anne’s Revenge in 1717 and shouted "Shiver me timbers," Blackbeard would probably just look at you confused before tossing you overboard.
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The "pirate accent" we use—that r-heavy, West Country English growl—is mostly the fault of one man: Robert Newton. He played Long John Silver in the 1950 Disney version of Treasure Island. Newton was from Dorset, and he turned up his native accent to about 150%. Because that movie was such a massive hit, his performance became the linguistic blueprint for every pirate ever since.
Actual Golden Age pirates were a melting pot. You had runaway slaves, displaced sailors from the Royal Navy, French privateers, and Spanish outcasts. You would have heard a chaotic mix of Cockney, Geordie, Dutch, Spanish, and various African dialects. It wasn't "Arrr"; it was a multilingual cacophony of desperation and rebellion.
But the "Hollywood Pirate" dialect is what makes International Talk Like a Pirate Day work. It’s a shared language. It’s easy to learn. You basically just need to master five or six key phrases and you're set for the day.
Beyond the "Arrr": Mastering the Lingo
If you want to actually impress people this September, you need to move past the basics. Everyone knows "Ahoy" and "Matey." That’s amateur hour. To truly embrace the spirit, you have to lean into the nautical metaphors.
- Avast: This doesn't mean "hello." It means "stop" or "pay attention." If someone is talking too much in a meeting, "Avast!" is much more satisfying than "Excuse me."
- Bilge-rat: This is your go-to insult. The bilge is the lowest, smelliest part of the ship. Being called a rat that lives there is a top-tier burn.
- Hornswoggle: To cheat or swindle. "That vending machine totally hornswoggled me out of a dollar."
- Scuttle: To sink a ship on purpose. Use it when you’re ending a project that’s going nowhere.
The beauty of the holiday is that it’s low-stakes. You don't need a costume. You don't need to buy a turkey. You just need a bit of a gravelly voice and a complete lack of shame.
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Why Social Media Keeps It Alive
In the early 2010s, it felt like every brand on Twitter (now X) was trying to out-pirate each other. Facebook even added a "Pirate" language setting that changed your "Home" button to "Home Port" and your "Friends" to "Mateys." It was the peak of "random" humor.
While the hype has leveled off a bit, the holiday remains a staple for one reason: it’s perfectly suited for the internet. It’s visual, it’s meme-able, and it’s inherently silly. In an era where the news cycle is often exhausting, having a day dedicated to nonsense is a survival tactic.
Even Krispy Kreme got in on the action for years, giving away free donuts to anyone who talked like a pirate (and a whole dozen if you dressed like one). They eventually scaled that back, but the fact that a multi-million dollar corporation used "pirate-speak" as a legitimate marketing KPI for a decade tells you everything you need to know about the power of this day.
The Serious Side of Silly
Believe it or not, there’s a bit of a philanthropic side to this. Baur and Summers have used the platform over the years to support various charities, including Marie Curie Cancer Care. It turns out that when you get a bunch of people together to act like idiots, they’re surprisingly willing to open their wallets for a good cause.
It’s also a massive win for teachers. Ask a ten-year-old to read a history book about 18th-century trade routes, and they’ll be asleep in five minutes. Tell them it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day and let them wear a paper hat while they learn about the "Pirate Code" (which was actually a real thing—a primitive form of democracy and disability insurance), and they’re hooked.
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Pirates were actually some of the first people to implement a "No Prey, No Pay" system and had specific payouts for losing an eye or a limb in battle. It was a brutal life, but strangely progressive in its own twisted way.
Planning Your Own Pirate Takeover
So, how do you actually celebrate without being "that guy" who makes everyone uncomfortable? Balance.
- Commit to the Bit: Don't half-ass the "Arrr." If you're going to do it, do it with gusto.
- Know Your Audience: Your grandma might think it's cute. Your HR director during a performance review? Maybe not.
- Use the Gear: You don't need a $200 costume. A simple bandana or a cardboard hook goes a long way.
- Drink Grog (The Modern Way): Original grog was just watered-down rum with lime juice to prevent scurvy. You can probably just stick to a nice lime-infused soda or a cocktail if you're off the clock.
Honestly, the world needs more things that don't make sense. We spend so much time trying to be "optimized" and "productive." Spending 24 hours pretending you're looking for buried treasure in a suburban office park is the ultimate act of rebellion against the mundane.
The Actionable Pirate Checklist
Ready to set sail? Here is how you actually handle September 19 like a pro:
- Update your digital footprint: Change your Slack status to "At Sea" or "Hunting for Booty." It’s a subtle nod that lets people know you’re in on the joke.
- The "Three-Arrr" Rule: Try to work three "Arrr"s into every conversation before lunch. It’s harder than it sounds to make it feel natural.
- Host a "Shanty-off": Sea shanties went viral on TikTok for a reason. They’re catchy. Put on a playlist of The Longest Johns or Stan Rogers and see who cracks first.
- Learn a Pirate Fact: Impress people by mentioning that pirates didn't actually use "X marks the spot" maps—that was mostly a Robert Louis Stevenson invention for Treasure Island.
- Check the Date: Put a recurring alert in your calendar for September 19. Nothing is worse than realizing at 4:00 PM that you missed your chance to be a pirate.
International Talk Like a Pirate Day isn't going anywhere. As long as there are people who want to escape the boring reality of 9-to-5 life, there will be someone, somewhere, growling about Davey Jones' locker. It’s cheap, it’s fun, and it’s the only holiday that requires absolutely no preparation other than a bit of a gravelly voice and a sense of adventure.
Don't let the day pass you by like a ship in the night. Grab your crew, find your compass (even if it just points to the nearest coffee shop), and let the world know that the Golden Age of Piracy is alive and well, at least for one Tuesday in September.