For butt pirates, esprit de corps
Cheers the crew under sail and ashore;
So when raids yield no treasure,
The seamen derive pleasure,
Sharing booty until they’re all sore.
See also this limerick’s Tush Trilogy companion pieces:
Esprit de corps means a feeling of pride, good morale, fellowship and common loyalty shared by the members of a particular group. Butt pirate is pejorative slang for homosexual. Seamen (sailors) and semen (ejaculate) are homophones, words that are spelled differently, but sound the same. Booty is a homograph; it has two meanings: forcibly seized valuables—also known as loot, plunder, pillage or spoils—and buttocks. The latter has been in use since the mid-fifteenth century. Those grog-swilling pirates may have been ahead of their time regarding marriage equality. Look up the practice of matelotage—the etymological ancestor of “mate”—to learn more.
