"Time to buckle our swash" what does that mean?

[Adomorn]

Well i'm not american and i can't figure it out xD
I'td quite the only thing i didn't get in this comic >.<
I know the meaning of swashbuckler but....>_<
Thx for the answers^^

[Lizard Lord]

It was a play on the word swashbuckler. That is it. I don't believe it has any actual meaning.

[hamishspence]

well, I've seen the reverse, a review of Pirates of the Carribean: Jack Sparrow swashes more buckles than is possible (or legal) :smallbiggrin:

So to see its inverse is not that unusual.

[Studoku]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swashbuckler

Since the 'buckler' part refers to the small shield, rather than the verb 'to buckle', 'buckle our swash' means nothing.

[hamishspence]

and nor does swashing our buckles, but its fun to say.

[Adomorn]

well, I've seen the reverse, a review of Pirates of the Carribean: Jack Sparrow swashes more buckles than is possible (or legal) :smallbiggrin:

So to see its inverse is not that unusual.

Uhm yes.I remember a similar quote in The Pirate Movie too.

Now i've to figure out how i can translate it lol xD

[ZombieMaster]

It's just a play on the term Swashbuckler, as others have said.

Interesting fact - the term comes from the old habit of clanging your sabre against your buckler to make an unnerving noise to put your opponent off and/or scare him. This was called "Swashing", hence the term Swashbuckler.

[Assassin89]

Swashbuckling is also a term meaning fancy swordplay. Often the weapon of choice is a rapier.

[Carnivorous_Bea]

Basically, it means "It's time to act as swashbucklers."

[David Argall]

That may not be the logical meaning, but in practice, "buckle our swash" does mean "Go out and act like a swashbuckler should." It is most appropriate just before the big action scene.

[Lissou]

Well, I'm French and here "buckle your belt" means "get ready for action". So I thought it was the same in English, and that it was a play on words between that and swashbuckler.

[BloodyAngel]

I've heard it as an implied suggestion of... intimate... activities. But that's probably just because human beings can make ANYTHING into sexual innuendo.

In YOUR endo! I rest my case.

[revolver kobold]

My character in Sid Meir's Pirates! always took the fencing skill, and was known as Buckles McSwash.

@Bloody Angel: High five!

[Adomorn]

Well, I'm French and here "buckle your belt" means "get ready for action". So I thought it was the same in English, and that it was a play on words between that and swashbuckler.

I'm italian and now i got it xD thx a lot^^

[Zevox]

Well, I'm French and here "buckle your belt" means "get ready for action". So I thought it was the same in English, and that it was a play on words between that and swashbuckler.
That doesn't have the same meaning in English, I'm afraid. The closest I can think of to it is "tighten your belt," which usually carries the connotation of "prepare for some sort of hardship," and which doesn't really work with the "buckle our swash" thing.

Zevox

[Cleverdan22]

It was just Elan trying to make a dramatic statement, but screwing it up in the process.

[ocdscale]

That doesn't have the same meaning in English, I'm afraid. The closest I can think of to it is "tighten your belt," which usually carries the connotation of "prepare for some sort of hardship," and which doesn't really work with the "buckle our swash" thing.

Zevox

"Buckle your belt" does have a similar meaning as "get ready for action."
Buckle your belt kids, we're going for a ride.

[Zevox]

"Buckle your belt" does have a similar meaning as "get ready for action."
Buckle your belt kids, we're going for a ride.
Never heard that one before. Though the example you gave reminds would make sense to me if it said "Buckle up, we're going for a ride" (or "Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride") - but that would specifically refer to buckling a car's seat belt, which wouldn't necessarily mean "get ready for action" so much as warn that the car ride was going to be rather wild.

Zevox

[Dacia Brabant]

I seem to remember Bugs Bunny using the "buckle our swashes" line in a few cartoons featuring pirates/old timey navy themes.

[Suicide Junkie]

Much like dishwashers wash dishes;
Via the common verb-noun<->nounverb pattern in English, swashbucklers must buckle swash.

[Zolem]

It's just a play on the term Swashbuckler, as others have said.

Interesting fact - the term comes from the old habit of clanging your sabre against your buckler to make an unnerving noise to put your opponent off and/or scare him. This was called "Swashing", hence the term Swashbuckler.


Swashbuckling is also a term meaning fancy swordplay. Often the weapon of choice is a rapier.

The term evolved from the act of swashing buckles. It doesn't just mean fancy swordplay, swashbuckling is the style of unerving your oponent with decepive and flamboyant moves. The flamboyant ones put the oponent off balance and loking for the obvious, and so the subtle get them. SO if sombody's a swashbuckler, they work to unerve and unbalance you before going for the kill.

Also, ot the above, "tighten you belt" means get ready for hard times, while "buckle your belt" means get ready for action. The two are quite different due to their origins. Tihgten your belt comes from the fact that people would get skinnier in hard times as their was less food, hence they needed to pull their belts tighter. Buckle your belt doesn't have anything to do with seat-belts, but instead sword belts which would be buckled on when the call to action was sounded. Teh most common english term for preparing for trouble is to 'gird your loins'. If any of you guys don't know what that means, I wouldn't recomend you play soccer.


Much like dishwashers wash dishes;
Via the common verb-noun<->nounverb pattern in English, swashbucklers must buckle swash.

And thus we see that sombody needs to read a thread before they post, as they swash buckles since buckles is the noun and swash is the verb.

[Suicide Junkie]

The point is that few people know the origin of swashbuckler. And not knowing, the natural thing is to assume that bucklers buckle, and thus that leaves swash to be a noun. Which is what makes it funny IMO.

[Dacia Brabant]

The term evolved from the act of swashing buckles. <snip> And thus we see that sombody needs to read a thread before they post, as they swash buckles since buckles is the noun and swash is the verb.

So shouldn't they be called Buckleswashers?

[Gamiress]

And thus we see that sombody needs to read a thread before they post, as they swash buckles since buckles is the noun and swash is the verb.

Indeed, except the person who needs to read the thread is you. Suicide Junkie wasn't giving the etymology for the term, just an explanation of the logic going into the phrase "buckle our swash". The standard practice in English when naming objects after what they do is to use a nounverber format, like "dishwasher" "rangefinder" or "Skywalker". Thus, to people like Elan who don't know any better, it stands to reason that the word "swashbuckler" means something that buckles swashes.

[Carnivorous_Bea]

It's just a nonsense, funny way of using the word "swashbuckler." It has no linguistic logic -- it's not supposed to, because it's just supposed to be humorous.

It's like a dentist getting ready for work and saying, "well, it's time to ist my dents again." It would be literally the same thing -- changing a noun into a verb and noun combination to make a nonsense phrase that's supposed to be funny.

Dang, it loses a lot when you explain it. :smalleek:

[Linkavitch]

It's fun to say! And that's pretty much it. But it's a play on Swashbuckler, which I have no idea how, but is a word for Pirate.

[daggaz]

Well, I'm French and here "buckle your belt" means "get ready for action". So I thought it was the same in English, and that it was a play on words between that and swashbuckler.

Well, I'm American, and if I was "getting ready for some action," the first thing I would do is to unbuckle my belt! :smallamused:

[Duaneyo1]

Well, I'm American, and if I was "getting ready for some action," the first thing I would do is to unbuckle my belt! :smallamused:


You described the act of getting some action not getting ready for action.

Young nobles in 16th-17th used to walk around with their buckler and rapier they way pro athletes carry guns. As I understand, the term swash buckler came from the sound their gear made as the clanked up and down the streets.