Belay that

Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow both order "belay that" to their crew.

"Belay that, or we'll be a sitting duck!"
"Belay that 'belay that'!"

―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow

Belay that, or simply belay, is a word or phrase meaning to lie in wait for in order to attack; block up or obstruct. The general command to stop or cease, to lay aside; stop; cancel. Belaying can also mean to make a rope fast by turning it around a fastening point such as a cleat or piton.

History

"Mr. Sparrow! P...pirates! Rogue pirates! Pirates, sir! They'll board us! W...we must fight f...for our lives!"
"Mr. Tomlin, belay that."

―Edward Tomlin and Jack Sparrow

By the Age of Piracy, the terms "belay that" or "belay" was made up. The term "belay" in particular means to make a rope secure by wrapping it around some form of support fitting. It was also used colloquially to mean "stop".

When the pirate frigate the Venganza chased the East India Trading Company brig the Fair Wind, many crewmembers armed themselves, ready to defend the ship, incorrectly believing that they were being pursued by the infamous rogue pirates, who gave no mercy to their victims. When the Third Mate Edward Tomlin started pulling out his cutlass from its scabbard, First Mate Jack Sparrow ordered him to belay that. Sparrow then explained to the crew that their pursuers were ordinary pirates, and their lives would be safe as long as they surrendered peacefully. A few months later, following Sparrow's promotion to the rank of captain, he sailed his ship, the merchantman Wicked Wench, from West Africa to the Caribbean. During the journey, the cabin boy Chamba had a mischievous gift for getting the two crewmen, the Frenchman Etienne de Ver and the Englishman Lucius Featherstone, into bickering. After another loud and annoying conversation, Jack told them to belay that.

When the Hai Peng reached the Farthest Gate in the quest to rescue Captain Jack Sparrow, William Turner Jr. ordered the crew to turn the ship around to escape the danger at World's End because the current was carrying her toward the giant waterfall, but Captain Hector Barbossa yelled at them to belay that, because it was better for the ship to run straight and true. Later, as Admiral James Norrington helped Elizabeth Swann and her crew escape from the Flying Dutchman to the Empress, Bootstrap Bill Turner alerted Davy Jones' crew aboard the Dutchman of the prisoner escape, leading Admiral Norrington to order Bootstrap, "Belay that!" In the battle between the fleet of pirate ships led by the Brethren Court and the armada led by Lord Cutler Beckett of the EITC, "belay that" was ordered by Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow as Beckett's flagship, HMS Endeavour, came up hard to starboard. As Sparrow ordered the crew to keep the Black Pearl in place, sit still in the water, and her sails luffing in the wind, Barbossa countermanded Jack's orders by yelling "Belay that," because their ship would be a sitting duck when the Endeavour approached. Sparrow's response was, "Belay that 'belay that.'" Joshamee Gibbs, Pintel and Ragetti tried to argue with Sparrow's order, only for the pirate captain to continuously say "belay" and finally "Stow. Shut it."

Years later, after British Navy sailor Henry Turner was taken to the brig for trying to turn the British ship of the line Monarch away from sailing into the Devil's Triangle, an officer ordered "Belay that starboard brace" and the British ship sailed in.

Behind the scenes

The term "belay that" was first uttered in the 2007 junior novelization for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for At World's End, Hector Barbossa says "Belay that!" without saying "Nay" in the scene at World's End. Barbossa's line as written in the screenplay was retained in the film's junior novelization. In addition, while featured in the screenplay and the final cut of At World's End, the lines as spoken by James Norrington to Bootstrap Bill Turner and later by both Barbossa and Jack Sparrow to the crew of the Black Pearl was omitted in the film's junior novelization.

Appearances

• The Price of Freedom
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (First identified as belay)
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization) (First appearance) (First identified as belay that)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
• Kingdom Hearts III (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook