Captain Jack Sparrow's florid style

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wiktor.sz@wp.pl - 07 Mar 2010 08:25 GMT

Hello everybody,

I am having trouble to get the meaning of this 'weasely black guts'
piece in the sentences I cite below. Does 'guts' in this case mean
something like 'fortitude' or 'attitude', perhaps? But to pilfer it
out? If my assumption as to the meaning of 'guts' was correct I'd
rather expect something like 'express' instead of 'pilfer'.

Well, then, I confess, it is my intention to commandeer one of these
ships.
Pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer
my weasely black guts out.

Regards,

Wiktor Szychowiak

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Peter Duncanson - 07 Mar 2010 12:22 GMT

>Hello everybody,
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>Pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer
>my weasely black guts out.

From the OED:

gut, n.

1. collect. pl.
a. The contents of the abdominal cavity; the
bowels, entrails.

b. Phrases. ...
to sweat (or work) one's guts out: to work extremely hard.

I'd say that "work one's guts out" means to tire oneself out by working
extremely hard: to exhaust oneself by working extremely hard.

Captain Jack Sparrow is intending to exhaust himself by working very
hard raiding, pillaging, plundering and otherwise pilfering.

"and otherwise pilfering" means "and other types of pilfering".

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Peter Duncanson, UK
(in uk.culture.language.english)

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Richard Ashton - 07 Mar 2010 16:04 GMT

>> Well, then, I confess, it is my intention to commandeer one of these
>> ships.
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> "and otherwise pilfering" means "and other types of pilfering".

Hmmmmm - OK: but where did the weasely go ?

{R}

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Jeff Gaines - 07 Mar 2010 16:21 GMT

On 07/03/2010 in message <4b93ceb5$0$27540$bed64819@gradwell.net> Richard
Ashton wrote:

>Hmmmmm - OK: but where did the weasely go ?

Pop :-)

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Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
All those who believe in psychokinesis raise my hand.

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Paul - 07 Mar 2010 17:14 GMT

> Ashton wrote:
> >Hmmmmm - OK: but where did the weasely go ?
>
> Pop :-)

Jeff Gaines Dorset UK

> All those who believe in psychokinesis raise my hand.

Take heart, Wiktor, your 'weasely' hasn't really gone 'Pop'. The
weasel, apart from being a species of mammal with a long, slender
body, a long tail, short legs and brownish fur, also stands for a
person regarded as sneaky or treacherous!

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Discussion Groups / British English / March 2010

Captain Jack Sparrow's florid style