Standard English
In an English-speaking country, Standard English (SE) is the variety of English that has undergone codification to the point of being socially perceived as the standard language, associated with formal schooling, language assessment, and off ...
) is an
exclamation
Exclamation may refer to:
* Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark "!"
* Exclamation, an emphatic interjection
* Exclamation, a type of sentence
* Exclamation, a statement against penal interest
In United States law, a statement against penal ...
in the form of a mock oath usually attributed to the speech of
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...
s in works of fiction. It is employed as a literary device by authors to express shock, surprise, or annoyance. The phrase is based on real nautical slang and is a reference to the timbers, which are the wooden support frames of a
sailing ship
A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on Mast (sailing), masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing Square rig, square-rigged or Fore-an ...
. In heavy seas, ships would be lifted up and pounded down so hard as to " shiver" the timbers, startling the sailors. Such an exclamation was meant to convey a feeling of fear and awe, similar to, "Well, blow me down!", or, "May God strike me alive and well". Since on the high seas the ship was the sailors' 'world', it may also be interpreted as an exclamation for "shake my world" as the subject being referred to could be, or may be considered a potentially 'world shaking' event. In a modern context, its use is mainly limited to humorous exaggeration or in the form of an
idiom
An idiom is a phrase or expression that largely or exclusively carries a Literal and figurative language, figurative or non-literal meaning (linguistic), meaning, rather than making any literal sense. Categorized as formulaic speech, formulaic ...
.
History
Although the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' says the expression "shiver my timbers" probably first appeared in a published work by
Frederick Marryat
Captain Frederick Marryat (10 July 1792 – 9 August 1848) was a Royal Navy officer and novelist. He is noted today as an early pioneer of nautical fiction, particularly for his semi-autobiographical novel '' Mr Midshipman Easy'' (1836). He is ...
called ''Jacob Faithful'' (1835), the phrase actually appeared in print as early as 1795, in a serial publication called "Tomahawk, or Censor General", which gives an "extract of a new MS tragedy called 'Opposition'." In the words of the "old sailor":
:"Peace? Shiver my timbers! what a noise ye make – ye seem to be fonder of peace than ye be of quiet."
:...
:"Lather me! – Shiver my timbers. if so be he comes athwart me – I'll soon lower his topsails for him – Here's King George and old England for ever!"
The phrase appears in a news article showing that the phrase was in use at the time.
:"yarn about the Emp'ror o' Rushy and we o' the ''Talavera''; and shiver my timbers if I shall ever forget it ..."
''The Argus'' Newspaper Archive records the use in the news event as: "As for nine French men-of-war are laying along side us jist now, and overhauling our rigging and tactics, splinter my timbers into shivers if I don't think they are all buccaneers..." would indicate the meaning of "shivers" as the breaking into wedges, small pieces or slivers. Alternatively the word "slivers" itself (meaning a small, thin, narrow piece of something cut or split off a larger piece, which also defines a "splinter"), may be the word "shivers" expresses. The exact phrase is used earlier on the same page "Here's a breeze in a bumboat! shiver my timbers and top-lights, what will our Majesty's loblolly-boys say...". While the exact meaning may be different, the use was still that of an exclamation.
The expression is a derivative of actual 18th century nautical slang, when the phrase "timbers!" or "my timbers!" meant an exclamation (cf. "my goodness!") as can be seen in Poor Jack ', a song from 1789 by
Charles Dibdin
Charles Dibdin (before 4 March 1745 – 25 July 1814) was an English composer, musician, dramatist, novelist, singer and actor. With over 600 songs to his name, for many of which he wrote both the lyrics and the music and performed them himself ...
.
The opening of the phrase, 'shiver my..', also predates '' Jacob Faithful'' with the following lines from John O'Keeffe's 1791 comic play '' Wild Oats'' an earlier example:
:''Harry:'' I say it's false.
:''John:'' False! Shiver my hulk, Mr. Buckskin, if you wore a lion's skin I'd curry you for this.
Pirate stereotypes
"Shiver my timbers" was most famously popularized by the
archetypal
The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, History of psychology#Emergence of German experimental psychology, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a stat ...
pirate
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1883 novel '' Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular culture. His missing leg ...
in
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure a ...
'' (1883). Silver used the phrase seven times, as well as variations such as "shiver my sides", "shiver my soul" and "shake up your timbers". Another pirate, Israel Hands, also uses the phrase at one point.
Marryat and Stevenson both wrote Victorian fiction using standard grammar, even when their characters were pirates. The use of "me" instead of "my", which is common to many British regional accents, has appeared in popular culture such as with
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.cartoon
A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...
s from 1934 is entitled ''Shiver Me Timbers!'' The phrase was also commonly used in
Arthur Ransome
Arthur Michell Ransome (18 January 1884 – 3 June 1967) was an English author and journalist. He is best known for writing and illustrating the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books about the school-holiday adventures of childre ...
Spongebob Squarepants
''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...
, Mr. Krabs is heard using the phrase "shiver me timbers" often.
*"Shiver me timbers" and "blow me down" are commonly said by
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, Elzie Crisler Segar.Esme Squalor and main antagonist
Count Olaf
The children's novel series '' A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and its film and television adaptations features a large cast of characters created by Daniel Handler under the pen name of Lemony Snicket. The original series follows the turbul ...
, in season 3 of ''
A Series of Unfortunate Events
''A Series of Unfortunate Events'' is a series of thirteen Children's literature, children's novels written by American author Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket. The books follow the turbulent lives of orphaned siblings List of A ...
'', with explanation of definition by character
Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket is the pen name of American author Daniel Handler and a fictional character of his creation. Handler has published various children's books under the name, including ''A Series of Unfortunate Events'', which has sold over 60 millio ...
.
* The opening number of the 1996
Brian Henson
Brian David Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, filmmaker, and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson.
Early life
Henson was born on November 3, 1963 in New York City, th ...
film ''
Muppet Treasure Island
''Muppet Treasure Island'' is a 1996 American Musical film, musical Swashbuckler film, swashbuckler comedy film directed by Brian Henson and the fifth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Adapted from the 1883 novel ''Treasure Island'' by Ro ...
'' is entitled "Shiver My Timbers." Several of the variants used in the original book are present in the chorus, including "shiver my soul," "shiver my bones," "shiver my sides," and "shiver my sails."
* In the Canadian animated action-adventure
cartoon series
An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can eithe ...
''
ReBoot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
'', the software pirate captain Gavin Capacitor uses the pirate catchphrase mutation "Shiver me templates!".
* In the ''
Monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
Steven Weber
Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series '' Wings'', and as Dr. Dean Archer on NBC’s Chicago Med. He also voiced Charlie B. Barkin in '' ...
's
radio jockey
A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personal ...
character says a variation on the exclamation ("jiggle me timbers") on the air as his new catchphrase and this is revealed to be an important
plot device
A plot device or plot mechanism
is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward.
A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief ...
in the episode.
* In the 1967 film '' The Fearless Vampire Killers'', Professor Abronsius uses this expression when observing (via telescope) the vampirised Yoyneh Shagal climb up the outside of his own inn and enter the bedroom of his maid by means of the window.
*
Tom Waits
Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on society's underworld and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He began in the American folk music, fo ...
Paladins
The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers (), are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of France, wh ...
'', the character named Barik uses the cry "shiver me timbers!" as an emote.