Take what you can, give nothing back

Joshamee Gibbs and Jack Sparrow were known to use the phrase.

"They've stashed treasure chests about. Take what you can...give nothing back."

―Jack Sparrow

"Take what you can, give nothing back" was a phrase used during the Age of Piracy.

The phrase was used when a sailing crew were pulling a ship into a dock, it was a command to take advantage of the ocean swells, as the tide pushed the ship closer, one pulled on the ropes ("take what you can") and then hold them fast ("give nothing back"), or alternatively to pull in as much slack as one could and don't let it go.

Pirates were far too sly to have a simple secret handshake, but if they were attempting to recruit someone and wanted to make sure he was of proper pirate stock, shake his hand, begin the phrase, "Take what you can," and see if he completed it was a hearty, "And give nothing back!" This motto would innocently inform a new recruit that they were a pirate; if he answered in kind, it would be known that he was a pirate and was ready to sign on. If instead he appeared puzzled, the original speaker would have wasted a perfectly good mug of grog.

The phrase also seemed to be used as a "pirate toast" or a farewell to wish luck or good will, generally when individuals parted ways or the object of the expression was facing some sort of imminent challenge, most notably spoken by Jack Sparrow and Joshamee Gibbs.

Behind the scenes

Films

"The toast they do here came from the crew of the Lady Washington. When they're pulling into a dock, 'Take what you can, give nothing back' means pull in as much slack as you can and don't let it go. So it's an actual nautical reference that was a perfect pirate toast."

―Ted Elliott

The phrase "take what you can, give nothing back" was spoken by Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) and Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin R. McNally) in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. According to screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, the phrase originally came from the actual sailing crew of the Lady Washington, the ship that portrayed the Interceptor in the film. When they were bringing a ship close to the dock, the captain yelled out, "Take what you can, give nothing back!" which is a command to take advantage of the ocean swells, as the tide pushes the ship closer, you pull on the ropes ("take what you can") and then hold them fast ("give nothing back"). Elliott and Rossio heard it and thought that the actual nautical reference was also a perfect toast and motto for a pirate crew. Sparrow and Gibbs later made a similar exchange in the 2007 film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was described as a farewell in Elliott and Rossio's screenplay.

Video games

In video games, the phrase was first spoken by Jack Sparrow and Gibbs in the 2006 video game Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow, which followed an alternative retelling of The Curse of the Black Pearl. The 2007 online game Pirates of the Caribbean Online has the phrase spoken while players attack ships. For the 2011 non-canonical video game LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, "Take what you can" is one of the trophies which can be earned by collecting all Gold bricks.

Books

In books, the phrase was written at the end of the "Introduction" summary in Glenn Dakin's reference book Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide, as well as the artists' credits at the end of The Pirates' Code Guidelines. For the release of the 2017 film Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the book Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology wrote the phrase as, "take what you can, and give everything back".

Appearances

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
• Legends Lost!
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
• Pirates of the Caribbean Online
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
• LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)

Sources

• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide
• The Pirates' Guidelines
• The Captain Jack Sparrow Handbook
• Disney Pirates: The Definitive Collector's Anthology