passage of arms
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From French.
Noun
passage of arms (plural passages of arms)
- A chivalric feat of arms involving the forcing of a passage protected by a knight or a group of knights.
- Any feat of arms, especially when used to display the prowess of the participants.
- A fight; (figuratively), an argument or verbal altercation.
- 1852, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in Bleak House:
- [S]he is the high standard of comparison among the neighbouring wives […] , who in any domestic passages of arms habitually call upon their husbands to look at the difference between their position and Mrs. Snagsby’s […] .
- 1944, Iris Origo, War in Val d'Orcia, Pushkin Press, published 2017, page 259:
- The lieutenant in charge of the traffic is a rude little bully, and Antonio has a passage at arms with him.
Coordinate terms
Further reading
- “passage of arms”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.