FENCING GLOSSARY
Absence of Blade: Very short fight, unless both parties are in this state, in
which case, very long and boring fight
Advance: “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a salle like this?”
Balestra: A man with a sword and a tutu.
Bayonet: A close-quarters fencing discipline
Baudry Point: A village in Cornwall where epeeists are bred in cages
Black Card: “We sympathise with your loss, but you shouldn’t have let your son
take up fencing”
Change of Engagement: A way to upset your fiancee. Not recommending if fiancee
is sabreur
Commanding the Blade: Clearly stupid. It’s a piece of metal.
Counter-Attack: Aggressive movement to be first to the bar after fencing
Counter-Parry: A rabid dislike of “Jerusalem” (c. Charles HH Parry)
Counter-Riposte: “Yeah? Well. Your mum.”
Corps-A-Corps: Dangerous fencing competition between entire army regiments.
Coule: A way of cooking potatoes
Coupe: A two door car that is incredibly difficult to load fencing gear into
Cross: The mood fencers get in when they read this log
Derobement: A prelude to a more informal activity popular with two or more
consenting fencers.
Feint: Brought on by too much fencing and not enough liquid intake
Fleche: The bit of you that gets stabbed.
Flying Riposte: See counter-riposte, but in an aeroplane.
Hilt: “point at which I can’t be bothered”. As in “I’ll back you up to the hilt”
Homologated: Please, this is a family weblog.
In Quartata: The recommended quantity for attacking innocent passers by with
swords.
Insistence: “It IS a real sport”.
Lame: Stickfight’s excuses for losing.
Moulinet: A brand of food mixer. Considered ungentlemanly, but technically
classed as a sabre
Octave: The normal alteration in vocal pitch when a fencer gets a groin hit.
Passata-Sotto:
- Soak 1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain
well. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy based saucepan and add two garlic
cloves and an onion (chopped). Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until
softened. Add the mushrooms and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until browned. - Stir in 350g/12oz arborio rice and coat in the oil. Pour in 1 pint dry white
wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has been absorbed. Add 2 pints hot
vegetable stock by the ladleful and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid
has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. - Roughly chop the soaked mushrooms and stir into the risotto, along with
parsley, 1 oz butter and salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan
cheese.
Passe: An unfashionable fencing outfit
Piste: No, no. This one’s just too easy. Insert your own line
Plastron: Inhabitant of planet Vengnor. Not very good at foil, but then it has
no limbs
Presentation: Weak point of fencers who have facial hair.
Press: People who take no interest in fencing.
Prise de Fer: A goldfish won from travelling entertainment providers.
Quarte: A sensible serving of whisky.
Referee: Term of abuse.
Ricasso: French exponent of Cubism.
Right-of-Way: Claimed by any fencer driving to the Nationals.
Salle: Word for people who find “room” difficult to say.
Septime: Very cumbersome version of the Greek Trireme ships.Particularly
unpleasant for rowers seated on bottom row (they were chained in place – think
about it).
Simple: Accusation levelled at Fencers
Sixte: How epeeists write their IQ down.
Thrown Point: High risk move, as it results in an absence of blade (see earlier
entry)