PIRATE: any plunderer, predator, etc.
People generally think that the "Golden Age of Piracy" was centuries in the past. True, there was one back then. However, if you think about it, we're seeing another one right now. But today's pirates have wised up quite a lot. Not for them any cramped, smelly, leaky wooden sailing ships, at the mercy of winds and waves, as like as not to be scuttled to Davy Jones in the next big blow. Not for them the insecurity that outraged Authority is chafing to hang them high if they're ever recognized ashore.
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