the.com/lance

A pointy stick so devastating it required an entire dress code to use politely.

means A long, straight thrusting weapon with a pointed metal head, especially the kind couched under a mounted knight's arm; as a verb, to pierce or cut open something (like a boil or abscess) with a sharp instrument.

from From Old French 'lance,' straight out of Latin 'lancea,' a light spear or javelin — a word the Romans themselves may have borrowed from a Celtic or Iberian source, since the writer Varro flagged it as foreign. The same root pierced its way into 'lancet' (the little surgical blade) and even 'freelance,' which began life literally meaning a 'free lance' — a mercenary knight whose spear served whoever paid, loyal to no banner.

speed
Charging knights hit roughly 40 miles per hour
design
Tips deliberately splintered to absorb deadly impact
royal exit
A lance splinter killed France's King Henry II
name origin
From Latin lancea, a light Iberian javelin
hidden meaning
Lancing a boil drains it like a tiny duel
for instance

lance armstrong — cyclist who won 7 tour de france titles (1999-2005), later stripped for doping

lance bass — nsync member and actor, born 1979

lance reddick — actor in the wire and john wick, 1962-2023

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