- "I suppose in exchange, you want me not to kill the whelp."
"No, no, no. Not at all. By all means, kill the whelp. Just not yet." - ―Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow
Whelp may refer to the young offspring of a canid, especially of a dog (pup) or a wolf (cub), the young of a bear or similar mammal. It can also be a derogatory term for an insolent youth; a mere child; often used as a disparaging form of address for a boy or young man.
Will Turner was referred to as "the whelp" on several occasions, most notably by Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow, the pirate captains of the Black Pearl during the Age of Piracy.[1][2] Almost thirteen years before, Jack Sparrow was called "Teague's whelp" by Davy Jones, the cursed captain of the Flying Dutchman.[3] When Teague realized Jack was romantically interested in Don Rafael's granddaughter Esmeralda, he called him a misbegotten whelp and ordered him to steer clear of her.[4]
Behind the scenes
- The word "whelp" was first used by Hector Barbossa and Jack Sparrow to describe Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.[1]
- In Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio's screenplay for At World's End, when Elizabeth Swann asks Barbossa if he heard anything from Will as they walk toward Sao Feng's bath house in Singapore, to which the pirate captain replies "The whelp is more than capable of taking care of himself."[5] Barbossa instead says "I trust young Turner to acquire the charts" in the final cut of the film.[2] The original line from the script was retained in the film's film's junior novelization.[6]
Appearances
- Jack Sparrow: Silver
- The Price of Freedom
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (First appearance)
- The Accidental Pirate!
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
- ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter Nineteen: Freedom's Price
- ↑ The Price of Freedom, Chapter Six: The Wicked Wench
- ↑ Wordplayer.com: PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
- ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (junior novelization), p. 22