Talk:Sea Captain/@comment-45.123.104.241-20171202224122

I thought I would just add a bit of a more elaborate explanation of a couple of the quotes above, for the benefit of those who are having difficulty with the language or meaning. I have tried to elaborate as much as possible, especially since humour can be lost in translation. This is based on how I interpret it coming from a mariner/Navy background.

''"'Tis true that the sea is a cruel mistress, but... that turns me on!" - ''for the seafaring community the sea is often personified, that is, thought of as a person, and a very close one relationship wise. It is also a love hate relationship. Being at sea can be dangerous and uncomfortable, hence the sea being described as a 'cruel mistress'. The punchline/humour appears with '...that turns me on!' This phrase is a lot more lighter, and recent way of saying basically what makes you horny. So the humour is basically the way he starts off with what might sound like the beginning of a serious monologue, but ends abruptly with a short, light-hearted, sexualised way of expressing his love for the sea. He may have run out of other things to say.

''"I haven't citrus for weeks and I'm raring for a kill!" - ''moreso in the days when not as much was known about medicine (especially preventative) or the use/storage/distribution of food, mariners, explorers etc would often get scurvy, a disease resulting from a lack of vitamin C (commonly found in citrus fruits). So I suppose, the Sea Captain is so desperate for citrus he would kill for it. He doesn't actually have scurvy, but I suppose he hasn't had any citrus fruit lately and is expressing how much he would like it. Or he is simply saying he is up and ready to do anything (in this case, another job or quest task in the game). The humour so to speak is just in being able to use so many nautical phrases to express himself.

This nautical language is known as Jackspeak for the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy, and other navies springing out of the Royal Navy. That is the type I know about. But you could call it nautical slang, naval slang etc. Pirate slang is where you get the 'yarrr' and any other pirate-like phrases/idioms. Otherwise there are parts quite similar to other mariners. I am honestly not really sure what other terms are used to name the language itself, but it is widely used with some differences depending on region/type of mariner, at least in English-speaking countries. I imagine it is similar for other countries but their phrasings might be quite different. So I would understand a lot of US Naval slang, even though I have never served with them. A lot of these maritime phrases have crept into the English language, such as 'chock a block', 'give a wide berth', 'chip on your shoulder', 'bitter end', 'taken aback'.