Talk:avast ye

I think this is just "avast", not "avast ye" - see http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=avast

If it is followed by "ye", surely this is because the "ye" refers to the particular person or persons being addressed, as in "avast, ye landlubbers", rather than as in "avast ye, landlubbers". But I'm not a pirate, so I wouldn't know :)

The British National Corpus has:


 * GVL 2029 `;Avast, ye swabs,'; she shouted, astonished by the hoarseness of her voice, `;belay yeselves an' man the mizzen-mast. 'TIS a stormy course for Far Tortuga we're sailin' an' the cap'n'll not rest easy at the bottom of the sea 'til the treasure be ours!';


 * HWX 411 `;Yo ho ho… 98 whores in horse's head… give me the moonlight… and a tower of power… mumbo jumbo… hocus pocus… look, I've only got seven items… ahoy there… avast there me hearties… what do you mean, this is the post office…?

Can anyone confirm this either way? &mdash; Paul G 11:20, 5 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I don't think 'avast ye' is something pirates say, its more something that people who are pretending to be pirates say. I do have some experience with that. ;) So I took the avast ye defintion and put it on avast. avast ye should be deleted. --Eean 04:10, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)