What does shiver my timbers mean?

shiver me timbers probably dates back to the old popeye comic strip. that is the only place i remember seeing it.

answer The expression in Popeye is borrowed, and predates it by at least a century. The expression dates back to the time of wooden sailing vessels, and most likely refers to the working of wooden planks in heavy seas, possibly to planks flying about when a ship hits rocks, or splinters ("shiver" means splinter in some English dialects) flying about in battle (wooden splinters being a major source of battle casualties).

Whatever its origin it is usually associated with pirates, the phrase being used for instance by Robert Louis Stevenson.