rapier •
\RAY-pee-er\ • adjective : extremely sharp
or keen
Examples: The wit and
keen insight found in her blog are a testament
to her rapier mind.
"Mr. Brady was a
veteran Republican aide and a popular figure among Washington journalists. He
was equipped with a rapier wit and a buoyant charm that tended to defuse
controversy even before he began working for the White House in January
1981." — Jon Thurber, The Washington Post, August
5, 2014
Did you know? A rapier
is a straight, two-edged sword with a narrow pointed blade, designed especially
for thrusting. According to Encyclopædia Britannica, "the long rapier was
beautifully balanced, excellent in attack, and superb for keeping an opponent
at a distance." The word itself, which we borrowed in the 16th century, is
from Middle French rapiere. The first time that rapier was used as an adjective
in its figurative "cutting" sense, it described a smile: "Who
can bear a rapier smile? A kiss that dooms the soul to death?" ("The
Lover's Lament" by Sumner Lincoln Fairfield, 1824). The adjective these
days most commonly describes wit—an association
that dates to the 1850s.
January,
WON, WON Radio, Word A Day, Writers Online Network, Zachary Anderson Phillips, www.writersonlinenetwork.org, Wt Prater, rapier, extremely sharp
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