We usually brandish a weapon, or some object we can wave about. But the definition of brandish can be stretched to include more figurative types of weapons or objects (e.g. seductive body parts). This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Can You Brandish a Body Part?”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Oh, hi, this is Jason from Bozeman, Montana.
Hi, Jason. Welcome to the program.
We’ve got a question concerning the word brandish.
And how it came up is my fiancée has got beautiful, full lips,
and I accused her of brandishing them,
to which she replied, quoting the Princess Bride,
I do not think it means what you think it means.
And we tried to look it up,
and it’s clear that brandish certainly encompasses something held in one’s hand,
such as a club or a sword or a gun.
But it wasn’t clear whether it could encompass part of somebody’s body, like beautiful lips.
She was brandishing her lips at you, these full, beautiful lips, your gorgeous fiancé,
and you let yourself get distracted by the word?
She let herself get distracted.
And I should say, too, in fairness to her, she wasn’t actually doing anything affirmative to showcase them.
She just merely possesses beautiful full lips.
So she was wielding them more than brandishing them.
Okay.
But you’re going strictly by the dictionary definition, right?
Well, yeah.
I mean, I would say more of a legitimate definition, not just some slang or sloppy use of words.
Well, I mean, that’s always the fine line because we have the straight-up dictionary definition,
which is generally a concise approximation of how a word is used.
And then we have any number of possible figurative or literary uses
which take the core meaning and add upon it for a temporary purpose or even a permanent one.
And so it sounds like some kind of license has been taken here.
It’s not altogether… I mean, I think you’re fine with brandishing.
Maybe wield, like I say, was a better choice, but I think it’s fine.
So, Jason, your fiancée, what is her name?
Melissa.
Melissa.
And Melissa’s argument was that traditionally you brandish a sword or you brandish a club or something, correct?
Yeah, more like an object that you would have in your hand specifically.
But it might be possible to brandish something otherwise, perhaps maybe a gun in your waistband.
You know, you could lift your shirt up or something.
Her basic point was probably, you know, if it’s just part of your body and it’s just sort of sitting there in its natural location, it’s not really qualifying for brandishing.
But it’s a joking, I mean, you’re elevating her lips to the status of weaponry, you know?
You’re talking about the female armament that she carries, right?
You’re talking about the weapons at her disposal that make you, you know, that weaken your defenses.
No, but when I think of brandishing, I think of waving something in the air, though.
To be completely literal, brandishing requires that something be held and kind of waved about or thrust at someone, right?
Yeah, I think it goes back to an old word for sword in French.
But I know you can’t take the etymology literally all the time.
But to be figurative, he’s totally fine.
To use it kind of with some license, which is the way that we speak English, we’re not exact all the time.
Nor could we be.
Jason, you have to send us a picture of you and your lovely fiancée.
I must see these lips.
I want to find out if she is as beautiful as you say.
Is she truly brandishing them?
We can only know with visual evidence.
Jason, I think Melissa chose well.
You sound like a great guy.
Well, thank you.
She is a great girl, too.
You know what?
The next time she complains about the use of language, just kiss her.
Oh, all right.
That’s a solution to everything.
Thanks, Jason.
Yes, thank you very much.
Take care.
Bye-bye.
Bye.
I’m looking at one of the definitions in the Oxford English Dictionary for brandish.
It says,
Flourish about, move vigorously, the limbs, the head, etc.
Also used of a snake darting out its tongue of a lion flourishing its tail.
Okay.
Is that archaic or current?
It’s somewhat archaic.
Okay.
Jason had a great question.
If you’ve got a question like Jason’s, is there a dispute between you and your lover?
That’s right.
You’re about to make out and some linguistic question stops you.
Call us.
Pick up the phone, 877-929-9673, or drop everything and email us.
