the.com/fencer
Someone who solved an argument by agreeing to stab it out, politely.
means A person who practices or competes in the sport of fencing, fighting with a sword (foil, épée, or sabre) under formal rules.
from Rooted in 'fence,' which started as a clipped form of 'defence' — in Middle English, to 'fence' was simply to defend yourself. By the 1500s it had narrowed to mean defending with a blade specifically, and the skilled sword-defender became a 'fencer.' So the fences in your yard and the sport of fencing share a common ancestor in the idea of keeping something out — one with wood and wire, the other with footwork and steel.
- lunge speed
- foil tip moves faster than a cobra strike
- right of way
- rules decide who gets to hit, not physics
- scoring box
- wired jacket buzzes before your brain registers the touch
- origin story
- descended from dueling, minus the funerals