Designed for younger readers, but probably useful to others of all ages, mostly involving seafaring terms and period language. Presented in the order in which you will encounter them, divided by chapter. Terms are noted where they first appear, as a rule, and not again.
Squire: a general term applied to a country gentleman, not denoting a specific office or rank of nobility.
the whole particulars: all the details.
the bearings: the location, as indicated by latitude and longitude.
year of grace: the year of Our Lord — Anno Domini.
sabre: a long heavy sword with a slightly curved blade; there are several varieties.
tarry: not the verb, but meaning “smirched with tar,” which is used for waterproofing things at sea.
the capstan bars: the capstan was a large wheel, rotated by a number of men pushing it around horizontally, used to pull up the heavy anchor.
sittyated: dialect spelling for “situated” — i.e., located.
berth: a place to stay, generally, based on the idea of a bed aboard ship.
mought: might.
bring up alongside: come up next to me (based on the idea of a ship pulling up alongside another).
the mail: the mail coach, not its contents.
was desirous: wanted.
a weather eye: careful observation.
now...now...now...: at one time and another, enumerating different things.
drunk himself sleepy: made himself sleepy by (too much) drinking.
walking the plank: as a punishment seamen, especially pirates, might be forced to walk off the end of a plank mounted on the ship’s rail, and so fall into the sea to their deaths.
the Dry Tortugas: The Tortugas are chain of islands lying about 68 miles to the west of Key West off the coast of Florida. They were discovered by Europeans first by Ponce de Leon in 1513: the name means “turtles”; the ones called “Dry” are so named because they lack water on the surface.
the Spanish Main: refers to the land and sea areas around the Caribbean and historically Spanish possessions, covering mainland areas from Florida to the northeast coast of South America.
“sea-dog”, “old salt”: names for old seamen.
“that made England terrible at sea”: that is, to be feared. The reputation of English seamen arose from such early privateers as Sir Francis Drake, who (while not legally pirates in English terms) freely plundered ships of enemy nations, most particularly Spain in the time after the Armada.
hawker: salesperson.
his powder: of Dr. Livesey’s wig. Wigs were kept artificially white by being dusted with talcum or with flour (the latter of which bred lice and other vermin abundantly).
rheumatics: pains caused by rheumatism.
assizes: regular periodic district courts.
magistrate: a judge or member of the legal establishment.
little likely: unlikely.
hoar-frost: a grayish-white frost made from condensation of atmospheric water.
cutlass: a short, heavy, curved blade, designed for chopping in close quarters, hence used chiefly by seafarers and pirates. (See the Wikipedia article for more information and for pictures.).
laying the breakfast-table against the captain’s return: preparing the breakfast-table in in anticipation of the captain’s return.
tallowy: the pale yellow color of tallow, rendered beef fat. Tallow was used as a kind of wax for candles among other things.
like as not: as likely as not.
’art: heart (dialect).
sich: such.
hilt: part of the sword that forms the handle, together with any protection surrounding it.
fronted us: faced us.
a sight of times: a number of times.
talons: fingers.
you’re in the right of it: you’re right.
gattling: murmur or indistinct noise.
chine: the backbone, in context, especially the part at the base of the neck.
wonderful clean pair of heels:
if that be your name: use of the subjunctive “be” rather than indicative “is” represents the fact that this is an open condition. lancet: a surgical tool chiefly for making a small cut or piercing the skin; in this context, such a tool specifically designed to allow bleeding. Bleeding was considered to be an actual treatment for various maladies. See the Wikipedia article for images and more details.. buccaneer: pirate. like the man in the Bible: there are of course many men mentioned in the Bible, but this is most likely a reference to the nameless rich man sometimes called dives (meaning “rich”) from the story widely known as Dives and Lazarus, whose unfortunate final disposition is recounted at Luke 16:19-31. noggin: a small cup, or a measurement of liquid generally equivalent to a gill, (pronounced “jill”). Doctors is all swabs: Doctors are all inferior people. Yellow Jack: Yellow Fever. a poor old hulk on a lee shore: A lee shore is the one downwind of an island or continent. drain: in context, a drink. lubber: someone inexperienced in sailing. to get the wind of me:. it’s you has the wind of me: a nautical metaphor meaning something like “you are upwind of me, and hence getting all the power of it, leaving me effectively becalmed, powerless.”. tip me the black spot: give me the black spot, which turns out (as we discover) to be a kind of summons. like as if I was to now, you see: complex phrase, but not too difficult to understand — Flint was dying as I appear to be doing now. peach: betray or inform on someone. equals: equally. follow the sea: to go to sea, become a seafarer. mortal sickness: one that will cause death. lugger: A lugger is a working sailing vessel using the lug sail. Find more at Wikipedia here .. slipped the bolt: threw the bolt, which is to say mechanically locked the door (not a keyed lock.). pigtail tobacco bitten away at the end: chewing tobacco as a unit. gully: a folding knife. quadrant: an angle-measuring instrument used in navigation, precursor of the sextant. canikin: diminutive of “can” — a little can. brace: a pair. Hence two brace would be four. oilcloth: cloth treated with oil to make it waterproof or water-resistant. doubloons: a Spanish gold coin worth about four Spanish dollars at the time (containing about 6.7 grams — ca. .22 troy ounces — of 22-karat gold, which would be worth about $515 in today’s gold market.). louis d’ors: French coins, first introduced by Louis XIII of France in 1640, named for the portrait of the king. The first Louis d’ors were close copies for value and metal of the Spanish doubloon. The Louis d’or continued to be minted until the French revolution, when it was replaced by the “contitutionnel” — an equivalent coin in value, without a monarch. guineas: English coin minted 1663-1814, with the original value of twenty shillings, but varying due to the price of gold to as much as thirty. In 1816, it was removed from standard circulation, but as a value, it came to refer to twenty-one shillings, thus making it just a little more than a pound — £1.05, making it a kind of equivalent of the pound for the whimsically wealthy. At the time of this story, however, it still referred to a coin. pieces of eight: a silver coin of the Spanish empire (including parts of the Netherlands) widely used as an international currency from 1497 on for quite a long time. It remained legal tender even in the United States until 1857. aloft: a seaman’s way of referring to “upstairs” in the context of the inn. glim: a candle or a lantern; related to glimmer. pluck: initiative, gumption (preserved now mostly in the adjectival form “plucky”). a weevil in a biscuit: weevils are beetles of the superfamily Curculionoidea, and there are almost 100,000 different species of them identified. They include bark beetles and boll weevils. The “biscuit weevil” is not a true weevil, but are capable of infesting flour and baked wheat products, as they often did aboard ship. In some situations it was apparently normal to rap one’s serving of hardtack (a hard biscuit) on the table to induce the weevils to flee before eating the biscuit. For a close-up view of the little critter, see the Wikipedia entry here.. Georges: probably a reference to the British guinea. spurned: pushed or turned with the foot. revenue officers: the government agents responsible for collecting taxes and tariffs on imported goods. They were of course the chief line of defense against smuggling, and hence also piracy. B— : in fictional works of this period, proper names of known places or persons were often omitted. Here it may refer to Bristol, though that seems unlikely, inasmuch as Bristol is specifically named later.. high: volatile, of a temper. broke his long pipe: not as uncommon as might be presumed — tobacco pipes of the period were commonly made of clay, and hence were easily broken. trump: a good fellow. Used as a commendation. Trinidad: an island of the Lesser Antilles, off the northeastern coast of South America (modern Venezuela). rum puncheon: a large cask, designed to hold from 72-120 gallons of liquid . Port of Spain: city on the island of Trinidad, now the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. as like as not: as likely as not, in other words — equally possible with its opposite. Caraccas: Caracas, largest city of Venezuela, now its capital. with a thimble by way of seal: using a thimble (which usually has a pattern of stippling on its surface) in the role of a seal to be impressed into wax. soundings: measurements of depth, important in navigating shallow waters. Spy-glass: a relatively low-powered telescope used at sea. The hill is so named because it provides a place from which to look out at the surrounding sea. hummock: a small hill or mound. fathoms: a fathom is six feet, and most commonly used in nautical reckoning as a unit for the depth of the water. famous: a general term of commendation, but not necessarily referring to actual fame as such. duck and drake: old name for stone-skipping on water. blades: young men.
CHAPTER III: The Black Spot
Chapter IV - The Sea-Chest
CHAPTER V: The Last of the Blind Man
CHAPTER VI: The Captain’s Papers
PART TWO — THE SEA-COOK
CHAPTER VII:
I go to Bristol
Bristol: A city in southwestern England on the Avon river, a major historical location for shipping.
brood: to think deeply about something, perhaps unhappily.
by the hour together: for hours.
prospects: views.
schooner: a ship characterized by a primary fore-and-aft sail structure — hence not the square-sailed vessel depicted in almost all the film versions of Treasure Island. This is important because the ship depicted in the movies could never be sailed by one or two people, as the Hispaniola was. See Wikipedia here for more information and a few images.
deuce: devil.
Hawke: Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, 1705 – 1781). Achieved a noteworthy victory over the French at Quiberon Bay in 1759.
salts: experienced sailors.
I led that boy a dog’s life: I made his life miserable.
quay (traditionally pronounced like the word “key”): a concrete, stone, or metal platform for loading and unloading ships — distinct from a dock in that the latter is normally wood, built over the water. Also referred to as a wharf.
figureheads: specifically on sailing ships, at the very prow of the ship, the figurehead was normally under the bowsprit. They most commonly depicted women, but sometimes other creatures, real or imaginary. They were very varied, and often quite remarkable artistically. You can see a number of examples in the Wikipedia article here.
clumsy sea-walk: sailors accustomed to walking on the deck of a rolling ship will have a different gait on land, which may appear awkward.
bales: probably bales of fabric or raw wool for shipment abroad.
coppers: copper coins, like our pennies.
“By the powers”: a mild oath of John Silver’s.
“You may lay to that”: a common saying of Silver’s, which seems effectively to mean “you can count on that”; the figure seems to be derived from the notion of laying a course in navigation.
dead-eye: A wooden disc with holes in it, used for securing lines from one place to another. For examples, see Wikipedia's page here.
keel-hauling: punishment given to sailors in which the sailor was tied hand and foot to a line and then dragged under the ship from one side to the other. This would almost always result in severe injury, since the bottom of a sailing ship was usually encrusted with barnacles, and the odds of drowning were very high as well. As a punishment, it was more often threatened than carried out, though there seem to be at least some historical records of its having occurred. For more details, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keelhauling.
landlubber: a person inexperienced in sailing.
on’y: only.
Old Bailey: the central London criminal court.
Bow Street runner: The Bow Street Runners were the enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court in the City of Westminster. They were London’s first regular police force, and replaced eventually by the Metropolitan Police, founded by Sir Robert Peel.
gone bail: posted or put up bail as a surety for someone.
smart as paint: generally reflecting the brightness of something painted, since paint is not noted for its intelligence.
the score: the payment, tab for the food or (in this case) drink the person has consumed.
shiver my timbers: break my timbers (the wooden parts of a ship, here understood metaphorically) to pieces.
davy: affidavit, claim of certainty.
dooty: duty; so spelled to distinguish it from the more customary English pronunciation of “duty” as “dyuty”. The spelling here reflects a pronunciation more like the common American pronunciation of the word..
cockerel hat: hat decorated with chicken feathers.
a quart of ale with a toast in it: toast was sometimes added to glasses of ale or wine, and from this comes the custom of toasting (i.e., drinking a toast to someone). The purpose of doing so has been variously explained. On some accounts, it was used to improve the flavor of marginally decent drink; on others, it was useful in catching the sediment (complex byproducts in wine; in beer, often a deposit of yeast) preventing it from being drunk.
axing: asking.
a clever craft: bright and responsive to sailing.
mutiny: an open rebellion and disobedience against their commanders by sailors or military personnel. Even in commercial non-military sailing, mutiny against the command structure was considered a high crime, often punishable by death.
man Jack: an individual man, as opposed to man as a category.
touching his forelock: touching the hair hanging down over the forehead, usually a salute or sign of submission from a socially inferior person to a superior.
boatswain: normally pronounce “bosun”, an officer below the mate or mates, in charge especially of the material maintenance of the ship.
Barbecue: nickname given to John Silver because he’s the cook.
short up: of an anchor, drawn up to the ship.
irons: fetters usually including locking metal collars or shackles or both, also connected to chains.
coxswain: usually the chief member of the crew involved in the management of the navigation and steering of the ship.
confidant: (not the same as the adjective “confident”) — someone in whom someone else places trust.
bulkhead: a dividing wall or compartment separator on board a ship.
Madagascar: an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa, in the Indian Ocean.
Malabar: the southwestern coast of India.
Surinam: now a country; formerly a Dutch colony on the eastern coast of South America.
Providence: could refer to many places; the one in Rhode Island is probably the least likely. Providence is a location in Colombia, French Guiana, and Guyana, but the one in Colombia is most likely the referent here; its roots go back to its foundation in 1629 by the Providence Island Company. It became a center of privateering activity, and it was used by Henry Morgan as a base of operations for his raids on Panama.
Portobello: there are similarly multiple places with the name of Portobello (spelled variously with one or two “l”s), but the most likely candidate here is the one in Panama, near the top of the arc and the modern Panama Canal. In 1601 it was captured by the British privateer William Parker, and in 1668 by the privateer Henry Morga. It was captured again by pirate John Coxon.
Stand by to go about: because changing directions on a for-and-aft rigged craft (either a modern sailboat or a ship like a schooner) entails moving a boom that swings across the deck, often without a great deal of clearance, it is important to notify the crewmen before that happens, lest they be hit and killed or knocked overboard by the boom.
She’ll like a point nearer the wind: the ship is capable of sailing closer to the direction from which the wind is coming, due to its reliance on for-and-aft rigging and the Bernoulli effect.
Since Noah put to sea: Not a well-thought-out reference, since in the scriptural account Noah did not put to sea as such, so much as get carried off by rising flood waters.
duff: a kind of pudding or cake, normally cooked by steaming, and usually including fruit of one sort or another baked into it.
forecastle hands: the forecastle (normally pronounced “focsel”) is the area in the bow of the ship where the common hands were berthed (as distinguished from the cabin, which was in the stern).
ampytated: amputated — cut off a diseased or damaged limb: in Silver’s case, his leg.
Corso Castle: the referent here seems unclear. It may refer to something on Corsica, but that’s speculative.
Roberts’ men: John (Bartholomew) Roberts (perhaps the referent of “Dread Pirate Roberts” in The Princess Bride;) a Welsh pirate (1682-1722) also known as “Black Bart”.
Royal Fortune, Cassandra, Walrus: names of ships.
Davis: probably Howell Davis, 1690-1719, a Welsh pirate.
England: Edward England, (ca. 1685-1721), an Irish pirate active approximately 1718-21. Died after being marooned off Africa.
most on ’em: most of them.
some on ’em: some of them.
twelve hundred pound a year: better than £250,000 today.
farthing: a small coin, equal to a quarter of an old-style penny.
quid: a portion of chewing tobacco.
bumboat: a small vessel carrying provisions to other vessels in port.
sons of double Dutchmen: “Dutchmas” was a generic term among British sailors for those of other (primarily northern European) nations, and was meant as an insult, but exactly how or why is less clear. The phrase seems a garbled, vaguely insulting term.
back into the trades: back into the Trade Winds — that is, the prevailing winds known by navigators for providing the best impulse going east or west.
blunt: loot, apparently.
p’int: point.
chapling: chaplain.
Savannah: Savannah, Georgia.
pannikin: a small pan.
jine: join.
luff: a sail that is not filled with wind and hence is not operating effficiently is said to be luffing; the luff (as a noun) is the part of the sail that is free to the wind, and hence may either be taut or be flapping in the breeze..
mizzen-top: the mizzenmast is the one in the stern of a three-masted vessel; the mizzen-top would be the sail above the boom that provides a little extra sail surface.
foresail: the sail of the foremast.
sheeted: tied down. The sheets (despite what might seem correct) are not fabric, but the lines that secure the tension on the sails.
nor’ard: northward.
careen: specifically with respect to a ship of relatively shallow draft, as the Hispaniola would have been, careening is a way to tip a ship over partway to gain access to its outer hull for repair or cleaning. It is less efficient than a dry dock, but dry docks are not to be found on faraway islands.
pretence: American spelling is more normally “pretense”.
I own myself: I admit that I am.
becalmed: left without any wind with which to sail — leaving a sailing ship with no prospect of going anywhere.
warped: turned a corner or around a headland or cape.
There’a a strong scour with the ebb: the ebbing (outgoing) tide is taking dirt from the bottom of the sea or inlet with it.
The whole ship’ll come about our ears by the run: the whole ship’s crew will rebel.
consort: a second ship sailing along with a primary vessel.
undulating: moving in or shaped like waves, wave-formed.
dumb brutes: animals that can’t speak — not a negative reflection on their intelligence.
fen: a low marshy land. (There are some technical distinctions between fens, bogs, marshes, and mires, which you’re welcome to track down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fen.).
desperadoes: desperate men, usually in a criminal sense.
nondescript: in modern usage, this is normally an adjective, meaning that something is featureless or impossible to describe. Here it is being used as a noun, which is interesting, but consisten with older usage.
marooned: stranded (sometimes with some minimal provisions) in an isolated place, normally an island, from which the victim cannot expect to escape.
“that rough as...”: equivalent to modern American English “so rough that”. The usage is still current (even if a little rustic) in England today.
a clove hitch: a kind of sefarer’s knot; here used metaphorically to indicate a situation from which he cannot escape.
liberal-minded: not a political term at this point, but basically implying that the squire would be indulgent and willing to allow Gunn some freedom.
cutwater: the very forward edge of a sailing vessel, where it cuts the water.
Theer’s: there is.
mastheaded: stuck metaphorically at the top of a mast; the goats are avoiding the dangerous locations, and not particularly thinking of masts of any kind, surely.
mountings: mountains.
chapling: chaplain.
temper: mood.
gig: a light, narrow boat for rowing or sailing; here one carrying by the ship.
Lilliburlero: a military tune attributed to the composer Henry Purcell. It was originally meant for popular amusement, and was supplied with strongly anti-Catholic and anti-Irish lyrics. It has remained popular in a variety of contexts to this day, and can be found here as it appeared in the film Barry Lyndon, set in approximately the same period.
jolly boat: a small ship’s boat, used chiefly for transporting people to and from the ship. See the Wikipedia entry here..
durst: dared.
loopholed: provided with loopholes, that is, small windowlike openings for shooting through. Ideally they are small and narrow so that it is difficult to fire into them from any distance.
paling: a wall of pales, or sharpened logs.
dot and carry one: apparently from the actual notation for addition, here it seems to signify that it was beating irregularly, because of his alarm.
cognac: expensive brandy, typically made from the distillation of Champagne wine.
whipped ashore: scampered ashore in a hurry.
palisade: a fence of wooden stakes, named after the pales making it up.
sculled: driven by sculling, which is to propel a rowboat or the like with a single oar off the back of the boat.
painter: a line or cord usually attached to the bow of a boat to tie it up so that it won’t float away.
gallipot: literally, a pot used in a galley of a ship. Here that is being used figuratively and disparagingly to describe the boat.
gunwale: (normally pronounce “gunnel”) the edge of the top of a boat or ship. It may sit very far above the water or not far at all.
the gunwale was lipping astern: the rear gunwale was just about at water level.
shipped a little water: took water aboard the boat.
the ebb was now making: the tide was ebbing.
the only course that we can lie: the only way we can go.
long nine: the large gun — unlike some earlier guns, it had a greater range and accuracy.
But the worst of it was that with the course I now held we turned our broadside instead of our stern to the Hispaniola and offered a target like a barn door: the boat was turned in such a way as to present its side (longer than the bow or stern) as a target to the gunner aboard the ship.
Carpet bowls: a variation of lawn bowling, played indoors rather than on the grass outside.
bandoleer: a strap by which to carry a weapon or supplies.
block house: a sturdy and defensible house or structure.
acquiescence: reluctant acceptance of something.
score: (a group or collection of) twenty.
colours (or colors): the flag.
divinity: theology.
close hauled: in a predicament.
strike my colours: lower my flag, equivalent to surrender.
he was the man to have a headpiece, was Flint!: It’s tempting to speculate on what this means, but there is no obvious meaning. Clearly it shows that Gunn both respects and fears Flint.
genteel: polite or respectable.
on’y: only.
Ben Gunn is fly: another of Gunn’s hard-to-interpret predicates. It seems to mean something like “I am cautious/wary”. Gunn often speaks of himself in the third person, you will note.
widders: widows.
half-water: midway between low tide and high tide (at high tide, presumably the passage is underwater).
piping the eye: to weep, though in context probably chiefly to do with having watery eyes on account of the smoke.
blues: depression.
grog: drink of watered rum or brandy, named after Admiral Vernon (1684-1757) who was nicknamed “Old Grog” because of his grogram cloak. In 1740, he made the standard distribution for his sailors a portion of diluted (rather than undiluted) rum.
a ship in stays: one bound up, as in dry dock.
along of: along with.
affy-davy: affidavit.
Handsomer: more advantageous, better.
lee shore: one protected from the wind, hence difficult to sail in.
I pitched it in red-hot: I confronted him provocatively, i.e., to make him angry.
brandy: hard liquor made by the distillation of wine.
girdle of trees: encircling group of trees.
hanger: a short sword of the period, so called apparently because it could be suspended from an ordinary belt.
boarder: figuratively, as one who has boarded a ship. The blockhouse is not actually a ship, of course.
went to his maker: died.
if you like: “you may determine”.
French leave: departure without permission or notification; in a social context, it has to do with leaving a social gathering without excusing oneself with the host or hosts. In a military context, it is merely a euphemism for desertion. Amusingly, the French equivalent expression for exactly the same phenomenon is something like “English leave”.
spit: a strip or point of land projecting into the sea or other body of water.
stern-sheets: the lines controlling the sails at the rear of the ship.
bulwarks: the barriers protecting those on deck from falling overboard.
gipsies: modernly, spelled “gypsies”: the term refers to the migrant Romany people, and is discouraged as a derogatory or racist label.
coracle: a very small, light boat, often roughly round, made of sealed skins stretched over a wooden frame. They are exceedingly difficult to maneuver for the inexperienced, but they are easily portable. Readers of the Narnia books may recall that Reepicheep is last seen sailing a coracle into the east.
up anchor: raise the anchor.
swung round to the ebb: had turned in response to the ebbing (outgoing) tide, and hence facing toward the island in this case.
cross-grained: originally of timber — having a grain running contrary to the regular or desired direction. Applied to anything or anyone else, intransigent or unmanageable. .
made more leeway: went to the lee (downwind).
hauled round: changed direction.
the worse of drink: the modern expression would be “the worse for drink” — i.e., they were intoxicated.
turn upon her heel: rotate based on the stern.
wrought: worked.
weltering: in chaotic or confusing motion.
skiff: a shallow, flat-bottomed boat with a pointed bow and a square stern which may be propelled by sail or by oar.
cape: a projection or point of land into the water, generally smaller than a peninsula.
contrariety: opposition, contradiction.
I must long ago have perished: used with a contrary-to-fact condition (“Had it been otherwise”), it suggests what would have resulted, not what actually did result.
sea-cap: not entirely clear from context, but clearly capable of functioning as a scoop to bail water out of the coracle.
jibs: a jib is a foresail strung between the foremast and the bowsprit.
Captain Smollett would have set them skipping: would have punished them so that they were hopping about.
she hung each time so long in irons: the ship was detained by contrary motions.
the water breaker: the barrel where fresh water was stored onboard.
companion: the companionway — a passage or hallway between decks.
yawing: to yaw is to twist or rotate around a vertical axis.
fell off: turned to a different angle from its previous heading.
ankecher: handkerchief.
it’s you has the wind of me: a nautical metaphor meaning something like “You are upwind of me, and hence getting all the power of it, leaving me effectively becalmed.” Of course Israel Hands would not have put it that way.
ch’ice: choice.
bowling: sailing.
sperrits: spirits.
jumped together: common in older diction, meaning “coincided” or “agreed”.
thought myself so badly: thought that I was so ill.
subaltern: an officer below the commanding officer, or generally one below another being referred to.
pet bit: an ideal location.
cat’s paw: usually a term meaning someone who is the tool of another, but in this context, uncertain.
garding: garden.
ensign: flag, probably here a signal flag.
feints: a deceptive movement as if to strike, meant not to strike but to deceive.
scupper holes: holes in the gunwale at deck level to allow water on deck to drain away.
capsized: overturned, especially of a boat or ship.
mizzen shrouds: the shrouds (lines) on the mizzen-mast.
cross-trees: horizontal bars or struts extending from near the top of a sailing-ship’s mast to spread out the rigging.
fouled: entangled with one another.
sign articles: come to an agreement, surrender or make peace.
strike: strike my colors, hence, surrender.
clenching answer: a secure or compelling answer.
chequered: British spelling; we might say “checkered” in American usage.
picter: picture.
jine: join.
truculently: defensively or aggressively — eagerly hostile.
dog-watch: on a ship, one of the two late afternoon watches from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m., or 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
a’terwards: afterwards.
and a son of a rum puncheon cock his hat athwart my hawse at the latter end of it?: quite a mess. Mostly spluttering.
’lection: election.
lay to: in context, be silent.
Ax: ask — “I ask”.
vally: value.
marlin-spike: a metal tool something like an awl, used to separate strands of a rope to make splicing possible.
sea-salute: some kind of appropriate salute: no specific meaning seems to be given.
cannikin: small can or cup.
messmate: one with whom one eats.
caulker: someone to patch the leaky joints in a ship’s hull.
A shot in my locker: a trick or two up my sleeve. The point is that he has resources that are not suspected yet.
depytation: deputation, an embassy of one or more to perform a negotiation.
hillo: hello.
belay: secure, tie down — hence suppress.
p’ints: points.
ague: a feverous sickness, including malaria or influenza.
invention: imagination, the ability to think things up.
toon: tune, so spelled to distinguish it from more common British pronunciation “tyune”.
Depposed: deposed — i.e., fired.
environed: were around, in the environment.
admixture: some other thing mixed in, an impurity in an original blend of liquids. Hence here, metaphorically, “not without admixture” = “not unmixed”, “not pure.”.
noo: new, again to distinguish from more common English pronunciation, “nyew”.
supercargo: usually a representative of the ship’s owner sailing with the ship as an overseer of the cargo. Why one should sleep especially well is not entirely clear, other than for the fact that he will have had no sailing duties.
home-thrust: a thrust (as in fencing) home — i.e., hitting its target. This is in conversation rather than in actual physical fighting.
pestiferous: carrying infection.
slough: a swamp, or an area normally filled with water. Pronounced in England to rhyme with “plow”, and in America to rhyme with “shoe”.
the deuce to pay: the devil to pay — i.e., trouble yet to materialize.
take you all round: taken all for all.
preponderance: in modern English, usually the preponderance of something, meaning the majority of it; here a broader term meaning “a large weight”.
He called them all the fools and dolts you can imagine: he called them all fools and dolts. The quantifiers here are somewhat confused, but it’s meant to be amusing.
gammon: (here as a verb, a fairly uncommon usage): deceive or gull someone.
steering as near the wind: sailing close to the wind, i.e., in a risky or edgy position.
chuck-farthing: like pitching pennies, a boy’s game or a bar game in which both players hazard their coins to determine who will get closest to a wall or edge.
holus bolus: all at once, all taken as a whole.
squalls: literally, storms; here, meant figuratively — upsets.
that itself will show you if I speak at random: the proof will be in the outcome.
junk: a mix of foods cooked together; a hash.
burthened: burdened.
marish: marshy.
broom: a flowering shrub with slender green stems, a member of the tribe genisteae, characteristically growing in poor soils.
with deep pants: nothing to do with his garments, but with his breathing.
clean a-top: above.
involved in a green creeper: tangled in a vine.
’Tain’t in natur’: it’s not in nature.
doit: a small coin of trivial value.
baccy: tobacco.
sperrit: spirit.
windy: window.
death-haul: the pull of death.
Fetch ahead: go ahead.
that blue in the face: very blue in the face: exclamatory use of the comparative “that”, like “so”.
hail: call.
above board: metaphorically, in context, while alive.
seven hundred thousand pound: in terms of buying power, roughly the equivalent of a hundred million pounds today, which would be about 133 million dollars in today’s buying power.
Don’t you cross a sperrit: Don’t offend a ghost.
’Bout ship: turn the ship around; in context, stop and reverse direction.
vegetable: in the earliest sense of a growing plant.
clear to probation: open to view by inspection.
strangling: running out of breath; nothing is actively constricting his throat or neck.
you’ve done me: you have defeated me.
Louises: plural of Louis (d’or). Interestingly it is different in form from the plural used earlier in the book (chapter IV), “louis d'ors”.
moidores: a Portuguese gold coin in the eighteenth century, worth a about 27 shillings (where 20 shillings were a pound), hence a bit more valuable than a pound.
sequins: Not the sparkly adornments for clothing, but Venetian gold coins.
quit of him: rid of him.
butt: butt of humor, object of ridicule.
Negress: a black woman. The term is now considered offensive, but it was not considered especially so in either the eighteenth century or probably even in Stevenson’s time. Here is seems to be used with no disparaging sense.
wain-ropes: ropes of a cart or a wagon.
© Copyright 2024, Bruce A. McMenomy