The Volokh Conspiracy

Avast, right-wing conspiracy!

Ninja economics are too shrouded in mystery to be effectively researched. The last guy who tried to do it was killed silently.

I always enjoy seeing variants on the spelling of "arr." If just "arr," how many "r"s? I have also seen "yarr," "argh," and as this article spells it, "yargh." I suppose this can be chalked up not only to local dialects, since the deviation from standard Pirate Queen's English into varying dialects among small groups spread across far-flung patches of ocean seems nigh inevitable, but also to the fact that spelling was still in flux during the golden age of (Western) piracy, and so these variants all should be accepted, as none was definitively "right" at the time.

You MUST read George McDonald Frazier (sp?) book Pyrates. Absolutely hilarious, and has funny discussions of the economics. (i.e., hero goes to a pirate's agent, and asks why pirates have agents, and the fellow explains piracy is a complicated business... just insuring a boat is complex, considering liability coverage and workman's comp... you see those fellows on the dock with a peg leg and a parrot on their arm? Count on it, some insurer is paying for their ale.

Did you hear about the new pirate movie?

It's rated arrrrrr.

I think the right spelling of "arrr!" has three r's - as evidence I submit Kingdom of Loathing, which contains such variants as:

--the crowbarrr
--barrrnacles
--Barrrney's Barrr.
--leotarrrds.
--arrrgyle socks.
--The Arrrbitrator.

and so on....

Do you think the recent rise in piracy will help reduce global warming?