Well, as any good pirate knows it is really pronounced, “Shiver me timbers.” The tie in to the pirate theme is the fact Long John Silver says this phrase seven times in “Treasure Island.” Since he one of the most famous fictional pirates and the book was written at a time when people read the term was stuck to pirates. But, where did it come from and what does it mean? Well, avast me hardy, I shall let you know.

Since sailing ships were wooden the timbers are the wooden members of the ship. Shiver is what the ship can do in extremely rough seas. When the ship is either hit by a very larger wave or is rolled violently the ship will shake, or shiver. So shiver my timbers is a very rough hit, which in turn can also be sued for a warning. “Steer clear of that squall line helmsman or we’ll shiver the timbers.”

Shiver can also represent the splintering of the wood during battle. When cannon or musket shot hit the wood splinters would cause wounds, sometimes deadly wounds. Remember the cabin boy in “Master and Commander” and his wound during one of the battles? It was a splinter and he ended up loosing his arm over it.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term first appears in work by Frederick Marryat called “Jacob Faithful” from 1834. There is an argument between two characters, Tom and his father, over grog. Tom’s father has a wooden leg which has become stuck. A wooden leg could be considered timbers in this case. So he tells Tom if he helps his father he will not get a beating.

"I won’t thrash you, Tom. Shiver my timbers if I do."

"They're in a fair way of being shivered as it is, I think. Now, father, we're both even."

It should be noted the both Robert Lewis Stevenson and Fredrick Marryat use proper Victorian English when writing. This was even done so by their pirate characters. Having said this it was proper to have used my instead of me in the phrase. Also Long John Silver used many different forms of the phrase in Treasure Island. Shiver my sides, shiver my soul, and shake your timbers. The use of shiver me timbers dates to a 1934 Popeye cartoon of that same name. Funny how a cartoon can change things!!??!