Jolly Roger

No one knows for sure why the black and white pirate flag, depicting a skull and crossbones, is called the Jolly Roger. It is first cited as the pirate flag in the early 1700s and its symbolism was designed to strike fear and panic into the crew of ships targeted by pirates. Some say the origin of the name derives from the French joli rouge, which means ‘pretty red’ because some versions of the flag used red and white as opposed to black and white, but this is not proven. Another theory is that ‘Old Roger’ was a synonym for ‘Old Nick’ meaning Satan, and ‘jolly’ was simply black humour on the part of pirates.