Chrysti The Wordsmith: Swashbuckler - 2

Greetings were lovers last time on Christie the wordsmith we sized up the word swashbuckler a term that most of us associate with cinematic pirate figures who seek adventure plunder and romance on the high seas. We got as far as the first element of the term swash a word that once imitated the sound of swooshing or clashing swords. A writer in 16 0 9 used the term this way quote on all sides swords swash and darts flew as thick as hail the second part of swashbuckler is a word referring to a small shield carried by a handle at the back. A buckler was designed to deflect the blows of an adversary during sword play and so splicing the words swash and buckler. We come up with a term that describes someone who brandished as a sword and carries a shield for the deflection of blows. A swashbuckler the swashbucklers were not always the romantic figures we now perceive them to be. The earliest ones were considered marauding bullies who bang their swords on their

shields and swaggering challenge a writer in 15 60 described a man as quote a drunkard a gambler and a swashbuckler but swashbuckler regained a shiny a reputation in the twentieth century as pirates played by Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. plied the cinematic seas. Next time on Christie the wordsmith a conceptual cousin to the swashbuckler the braggadocio good daver bores Christie the wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.