The question posed was: How did pirates keep from laughing when they said "poopdeck"? Very thought provoking. While I am not a pirate nor do I have any first-hand experience with pirates, I do have some thoughts on the subject.
First, maybe they did laugh when they said "poopdeck". I would imagine the life of a pirate would not be as glamorous as one might think and they may have made that word up just for a few grins in between swabbing the decks and battoning down the hatches. It’s safe to assume that life at sea was one great bore for pirates. A great contrast from land life: sailing meant weeks of boredom searching for prey, with only intermittent bursts of excitement as victims were sighted, boarded and then plundered. With nothing to occupy the attention of bloodthirsty pirates, they may have made up funny names for different parts of the boat as well as for each other.
Second, this term does not come from sailors hanging off the stern of the ship, relieving themselves. Rather, it is from the Latin puppis meaning stern. If something is stern then it is not funny and so maybe that is why they didn't laugh.
But, lastly, Dewey, I think that the reason that pirates didn't laugh when they said "poopdeck" is probably just because they were more mature than that.
2 comments:
The comments, I suppose, answer the unasked question: "What would happen if you crossed the Internet with Romper Room?"
You know, I had been struggling with that question for years.
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