What did Jack Sparrow mean by "I'm in the market, as it were"?

What did Jack Sparrow mean by "I'm in the market, as it were"? - Close-Up Shot of a Text on White Paper

In Pirates of the Caribbean : Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), Elizabeth falls down from top of the rock and sinks into the sea, Jack Sparrow was nearby talking with two guards. Realizing no one else is going to save her, Jack dives into the sea and brings Elizabeth on to the jetty. Then Governor Swann and Commodore Norrington arrives with troops and this dialogue takes place.

Governor Swann: Hang him.

Norrington: Keep your guns on him, men. Gillette, fetch some irons.

[Pulls up Jack's sleeve]

Norrington: Well, well, well Jack Sparrow, isn't it?

Jack Sparrow: Captain Jack Sparrow, if you please sir.

Norrington: I don't see your ship, Captain.

Jack Sparrow: I'm in the market, as it were.

What did Jack mean by these words?

I'm in the market, as it were.



Best Answer

Jack Sparrow didn't have any ship to sail. We can see at his entry that his boat was drown.

Jack Sparrow asked Norrington to call him captain and Norrinton asked him sarcastically where his ship is.

When Jack said

I'm in the market, as it were.

He means that he was about to get a ship, most probably by stealing, but Norrington's men caught him before this.

Generally, this phrase means that you're about to buy something and it is usual because you're in market. And as it were is a less precisely used phrase for in a way, so Jack was in the market, in a way.

Since, we know his nature, he wasn't about to buy a ship, but he was trying to commandeer one.

This following conversation happens between him and those two guards before this. (Courtesy)

MURTOGG
          What's your name?

                       JACK
          Smith.

                    MULLR0Y
          What's your business in Port
          Royal, 'Mr. Smith' ?

                    MURTOGG
          And no lies!

                    JACK
          None? Very well. You've rumbled
          me. I confess: I intend to
          commandeer one of these ships,
          pick up a crew in Tortuga, and go
          out on the account, do a little
          honest pirating.

                    MURTOGG
          I said, no lies.

                    MULLR0Y
          I think he's telling the truth.

                    MURTOGG
          He's not telling the truth.

                       MULLROY
          He may be.

                    MURTOGG
          If he were telling the truth he
          wouldn't have told us.

                    JACK
          Unless, of course, he knew you wouldn't
          believe the truth if he told it to you.

Murtogg and Mullroy consider that point --



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What does Captain Jack Sparrow always say?

Jack Sparrow always used to say, \u201cI'm Captain Jack Sparrow. Savvy\u201d.

What does Jack Sparrow say the most?

1. \u201cNot all treasure is silver and gold, mate.\u201d Jack's deepest and most profound quote. Words to live by.

What does Jack Sparrow say at the end of the first movie?

(at around 2h 35 mins) Jack says, "Drink up me hearties, yo-ho!" This is also his final line in the first film.

What does savvy mean when Jack Sparrow says it?

Jack Sparrow to Gillette. Savvy is a term used as a synonym for "wisdom" or "understanding". It is derived from the Portugese sabe ("knows") and the Latin sapere ("to be wise"). Savviness relates to practical understanding, shrewdness or intelligence.



Johnny Explains In Emotional Interview How Disney Ruined Jack Sparrow




More answers regarding what did Jack Sparrow mean by "I'm in the market, as it were"?

Answer 2

So as the other two answers have explained, "...in the market, as it were." is Jack suggesting he is "shopping" for a ship, "in a way", or "as it currently stands".

But the other answers don't really explain why this line of dialogue is quite funny.

First off the phrase 'in the market' is a sophisticated and business-man like way of saying he was shopping for a ship. If one noticed, many of the other pirate characters, such as Marty, Pintel, or Scrum don't have the best vocabulary, vocal skills, or social skills, kind of playing on the stereotype of people with a poor to average education level. Jack however tends to have a rather extraordinary vocabulary and vocal delivery, making him even more of an odd-ball that helps Johnny Depp be more comedic by contrast.

Another reason this dialogue is bit humorous is because, like he had suggested by tacking on the, "as it were", the audience knows he's not actually going to "buy" a ship, he's of course going to steal it!

Dead Man Tell No Tales Transcript:

JACK SPARROW: Am I not the Captain of this ship?

CREW MEMBER: You call this a ship?!

But on top of it, the fact that he wanted to reply at all and acting as though he has the best of intentions, also could be seen a funny self defense mechanism and showing a sense of pride, by deflecting his vulnerability. Later in the fifth film, Dead Man Tell No Tales, after the bank robbery goes terribly wrong, he has a ship, but it's nothing special, as the Black Pearl remains in a bottle, but the crew uses the pitiful-looking ship as an additional excuse not to sail with Jack any longer, further demoralizing his status, which contributes to the betrayal of the compass. "We no longer follow a Captain without a ship!" So for pirates, ships matter!

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