“Shiver me timbers!” If anyone hears the expression these days (outside of Popeye, the Sailor Man), it’s used as an expression of annoyance or surprise. Its roots, however, can be traced way back to the 14th century via several Old English texts. The first appearance of the phrase in print is in Frederick Marryat’s Jacob Faithful, 1834: “I won’t thrash you Tom. Shiver my timbers if I do.”
That said, the earliest meaning of the expression is ‘to break into pieces,” and it wasn’t something you wanted to hear on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Nevertheless, it had a nautical application. Pity the poor first mate whose 18th century-made ship, hit by a canon, experienced the sickening quaking and shivering of wood from which the ship was made. Where do you think Popeye got it?
“Timbers” isn’t a word you’d expect to find associated with a dog breed, but it’s most definitely found in the AKC breed standard for the Collie: “The Collie is a lithe, strong, responsive, active dog, carrying no useless timber, standing naturally straight and firm.” We love the way this word is used here. It speaks to a dog that doesn’t carry excess weight, or pack more bone density than is necessary for the dog to do its job. We understand that breed standards need to be updated occasionally, but we hope that when revising a standard, clubs hang on to language that’s so descriptive of their breed. Perhaps it’s a word not in popular use. But just maybe, perhaps it’s a word that should be.
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I agree wholeheartedly. This morning I was struck, however, by the “quacking” which is followed by “Shiver me timbers.” Now I know why we use the word “Duck!”
Groan (and grin), Sarah!