Arrr and Avast, ye scurvy mateys!

The word “Marooned,” by definition, means to leave someone behind, confined and trapped, alone and isolated, in some inaccessible and lonely place.

That place is often (and especially) an island.

It was not until recently that it has dawned on certain folks that, thanks to the coronavirus, the vast majority of us have, by definition, been marooned - confined, trapped and isolated in some lonely place. In this case, our homes. Which is why certain people have now taken to calling their homes “our island.”

In a recent post on the International Talk Like a Pirate Day website, Ol’ Chumbucket, the co-founder of the site — and the holiday itself — makes the following statement.

“A pandemic is nothing to sneeze at. It’s as if we’ve all been marooned. Yeah, that’s it! For Pandemic Pirates, we haven’t been quarantined so much as marooned, each on our own island, with a few pirate family around us but mostly cut off from our filibuster family, as if languishing on the sands of some isolated beach with nary a palm tree for company.”

Whether ye be a landlubber or a salty dog, you will recognize that Ol’ Chumbucket has a point. Fortunately, for all of us who are currently marooned on our own private islands, that this Saturday, Sept. 19, is in fact International Talk Like a Private Day, that whimsical date that pirate fans from around the world practice spicing up their conversation with piratical pronunciations and nautical nonsense. And yes, some folks will actually dress like a pirate on Talk Like a Pirate Day, too.

September 19 was so chosen back in 2006, when two friends from Oregon – John Baur and Mark Summers, since dubbed Ol’ Chumbucket and Cap’n Slappy – came up with the idea, and chose September 19 because it was Summers’ ex-wife’s birthday, and as he’s explained it to countless interviewers since, the date was stuck in his mind and he wasn’t planning on doing anything else with it anymore. Once columnist Dave Barry heard of the whimsical holiday, he commemorated it in a number of subsequent columns, and the annual celebration took off like a donut shot from a cannon.

Speaking of which, there was a time, a few years back, when Krispy Kreme donuts climbed aboard the Talk Like a Pirate ship, and offered free donuts to anyone who talked (or dressed) like a pirate while placing an order. Evidently, free fish (or a deep-fried Twinkie) is still offered to piratical speakers at Long John Silver’s franchises on Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Or would, if they were actually open to the public.

Here are a few ways that you can mark the offbeat occasion, and to get you in the mood, we’re also including a few links to video clips of classic pirate-themed moments from movies, television shows and more.

1. TALK LIKE A PIRATE

To brush up on Pirate Talk (aka The Vulgar Tongue), you can visit the exhaustive online Pirate Glossary (with links to entertaining lists of historical pirate facts and famous pirates), at Pirateglossary.com/phrases. Another outstanding online tool is PirateMonkeyness.com, a translator that will take any phrase you enter and give you a piratical version to use with pride.

2. FIND YOUR PIRATE NAME

There are a number of Pirate Name generators out there on the internet. One of the best, and most fun to use, is on the Pirate Quiz site, requiring you to answer a number of personal questions (about parrot preferences and the like) before generating a piratical name scientifically suited to you and you alone. PirateQuiz.com.

3. FACEBOOK LIKE A PIRATE

Few people know this, but you can change your Facebook settings so that when you are on your desktop or laptop, your personal Facebook page will appear full of piratical terminology, beginning with the page being titled “Ye Olde Facebook.” “Home” becomes “Home Port,” “Photos” becomes “Portraits,” “Save Changes” become “Stow Changes,” and “Friend Requests” becomes “Matey Requests” - and when you click on the latter, under the phrase “Request to join ye crew, matey,” all names listed begin with “Cap’n.” It goes on, and it’s hilarious.

To make this happen, find SETTINGS under the drop-down menu (indicated by a small arrow) in the upper toolbar. On left-hand menu bar, select LANGUAGE in the second block of options. There’s an item titled “Which language to you want to use Facebook in?” Press EDIT, then, from the drop-down menu that appears, scroll down to ENGLISH (UK), above which is ENGLISH (Pirate.) Choose it, hit Stow the Changes (um, Save Changes, the pirate stuff won’t have kicked in yet), and then have fun on your new Facebook site.

4. WATCH LIKE A PIRATE

You can always celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day by watching a favorite Pirate move, whether you go for timeless classics like “The Black Swan” or things like “Cutthroat Island.” Here’s the INtrnet Movie Database listing of the Greatest Pirate Movies of All Time.

And, as promised above, here are links to Youtube clips of some notable songs, scenes and swordfights, to get you in the mood for Talk Like a Pirate Day.

ERROL FLYNN CLASHES SWORDS WITH BASIL RATHBONE (“CAPTAIN BLOOD”)

“You will not take her while I live!” “Then I’ll take her when you’re dead!” So begins one of the great classic pirate sword fights of the early Hollywood pirate-movie era. It might not have the acrobatic flash of Errol Flynn’s later pirate epics, but there’s an elegantly savage simplicity to the choreography and cinematography that still makes this scene one of the best one-on-one cinematic sword fights of all time.

CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW FACES YOUNG WILL TURNER (“PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN”)

And speaking of great sword fights, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” features some of the most elaborate sword fights ever put on screen, beginning with this one, where we see Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) cross blades with young sword-making apprentice Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) in a scene that takes the classic pirate sword fight to all new heights.

“GOOD MORNING, NEVERLAND!” (“HOOK”)

Of all the many adaptations of “Peter Pan,” few can boast as perfect a Captain Hook as Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal in Steven Spielberg’s “Hook.” Here’s the scene where we see the one-handed villain for the first time, introduced with estimable flair by Smee (the late great Bob Hoskins). And take note: those looking for unforgettable piratical phrases to utter in public this Talk Like a Pirate Day can do no better than memorize the line snarled by Hoffman/Hook at the conclusion of this scene.

“PROFESSIONAL PIRATE” (“MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND”)

There have been countless adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island,” but it’s hard to deny that the very best and most memorable were produced by Walt Disney (personal favorites: the original Disney version starring Robert Newton, and the eye-popping animated gem “Treasure Planet.”). But it’s hard to beat Tim Curry as Long John Silver in the delightful “Muppet Treasure Island,” which includes this tuneful anthem to a life of piracy.

MIKEY MEETS ONE-EYED WILLY (“THE GOONIES”)

The search for One-eyed Willy’s treasure held several major piratical moments, but the best is the scene when Mikey (a young, pre-Sam Gamgee Sean Astin) finally meets the old gold-hoarding pirate face to face. Sort of. And for good measure, we’re throwing in the moment when the monstrously lovable Sloth, inspired by old pirate movies and Superman comics, faces off against his despicable criminal family (note the “Superman” theme song snippet, and remember that both “Superman: the Motion Picture” (with Christopher Reeves) and “The Goonies” were directed by Richard Donner).

“POOR PIRATES,” from “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical”

This off-the-wall lip-synched version of Captain Patchy’s giddily piratical song from the Tony nominated Broadway musical features a troupe of dancers performing to the song. It’s weird, and strangely wonderful. And the song may be one of the best pirate songs of the 21st century.