shiver my timbers
Syllables: shi·ver my tim·bersUK/ˈʃɪvə maɪ ˈtɪmbəs/US/ˈʃɪvɚ maɪ ˈtɪmbɚs/
shiver my timbers interjection: a mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
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Interjection
- A mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
- I was informed I ſhould meet my dear Anna ſomewhere in theſe woods: I have been ſteering all points of the compaſs, but in vain. However, after having given chaſe to an enemy, ſhall I tamely haul my wind when my miſtreſs is in view? No;—ſhiver my timbers if I do. The man who meanly deſerts his King...1794, James Roberts, Rule Britannia! A Loyal Sketch, in Two Acts, as Performed with Universal Applause at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, London: Printed for Hookham and Carpenter, Old and New...
- I weighed anchor inſtantly, and bore up right a-head to Dynevawr-houſe as faſt as my wooden leg would carry me. […] Shiver my timbers! what do you think I found 'em at? Split my wind if there was not a gang, with Mrs. Martha at the head, working away at the temple which was built for us to take our...1799, [Edward Dubois], chapter XII, in A Piece of Family Biography. In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for J[ohn] Bell, no. 148, Oxford-Street, opposite New Bond-Street, →OCLC, page 216
- Synonyms:
- shiver my sides, shiver my soul
Examples of shiver my timbers in a sentence
- I weighed anchor inſtantly, and bore up right a-head to Dynevawr-houſe as faſt as my wooden leg would carry me. […] Shiver my timbers! what do you think I found 'em at?1799, [Edward Dubois], chapter XII, in A Piece of Family Biography. In Three Volumes, volume II, London: Printed for J[ohn] Bell, no. 148...
- Why, shiver my timbers, if I hadn't forgotten my score!" And, falling on a bench, he laughed until the tears ran down his cheeks.1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, “At the Sign of the ‘Spy-Glass’”, in Treasure Island, London; Paris; New York, N.Y.: Cassell & Company...
Synonyms of shiver my timbers
Forms of shiver my timbers
| alternative form | shiver me timbers |
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Origin of shiver my timbers
A reference to a wooden ship being pounded heavily in stormy seas to the extent that its timbers shake, causing awe and fear to the sailors on board.
Questions about shiver my timbers
- What does shiver my timbers mean?
- Shiver my timbers means a mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
- How do you use shiver my timbers in a sentence?
- I weighed anchor inſtantly, and bore up right a-head to Dynevawr-houſe as faſt as my wooden leg would carry me. […] Shiver my timbers! what do you think I found 'em at?
- What part of speech is shiver my timbers?
- Shiver my timbers is an interjection.
- How do you pronounce shiver my timbers?
- Shiver my timbers is pronounced /ˈʃɪvə maɪ ˈtɪmbəs/ (UK).
Words near shiver my timbers in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: shiver my timbers (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-shiver my timbers.ogg.
Cite this entry: “shiver my timbers.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/shiver_my_timbers. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.