shiver my timbers
/ˈʃɪvə maɪ ˈtɪmbəs/
"shiver-my-timbers" is a 15-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shiver my timbers” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
Corpus desk
Index EN-shiver-my-timbers · shiver my timbers · English
shiver my timbers · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 17 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "S" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shiver my timbers |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /ˈʃɪvə maɪ ˈtɪmbəs/ |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “shiver my timbers” in English
Rare enough to double-check
shiver my timbers is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /ˈʃɪvə maɪ ˈtɪmbəs/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for shiver my timbers, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: A reference to a wooden ship being pounded heavily in stormy seas to the extent that its timbers shake, causing awe and fear to the sailors on board. The correct English form is shiver my timbers, spelled S-H-I-V-E-R- -M-Y- -T-I-M-B-E-R-S.
Definition
- 1A mild oath expressing surprise, disbelief or annoyance, stereotypically regarded as being uttered by pirates.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how shiver my timbers appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I was informed I ſhould meet my dear Anna ſomewhere in theſe woods: I have been ſteering all points of the compaſs, but in vain. However, after having given chaſe to an enemy, ſhall I tamely haul my wind when my miſtreſs is in view? No;—ſhiver my timbers if I do. The man who meanly deſerts his King or his miſtreſs, deſerves to be ſhot for a traitor to both!
I weighed anchor inſtantly, and bore up right a-head to Dynevawr-houſe as faſt as my wooden leg would carry me. […] Shiver my timbers! what do you think I found 'em at? Split my wind if there was not a gang, with Mrs. Martha at the head, working away at the temple which was built for us to take our grog in.
Etymology
A reference to a wooden ship being pounded heavily in stormy seas to the extent that its timbers shake, causing awe and fear to the sailors on board.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.