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firing party

firing party

8.2
A group of soldiers who fire rifles as a funeral salute or for an execution
  • noun
  • /ˈfaɪərɪŋ ˈpɑrti/
translation icon : escuadrón de fusilamiento
  • Firing party, halt.

Examples

  • Then the CSM was shot while supervising a firing party on the ranges.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • The traditions include the formation of an honor platoon, memorial readings, three volleys from a firing party, and the playing of taps.

    Blog text (23)
  • It's a fire party, bro.

  • You take charge of the firing party.

  • Firing party, prepare for ready, three volleys!

  • Firing party, attention!

  • In accordance with the articles of war, prisoner will be stripped of his military rank and held in confinement until the firing party will execute the sentence of death.

  • Capt. O. N. Butler (so-called) of Augusta, Ga., commanded the firing party, and he himself shot him with his revolver.

    Blog text (6)
  • The firing party stood in formation, preparing to honor their fallen comrade with a three-volley salute.

  • As the ceremony began, the firing party readied their rifles for the traditional memorial salute.

Synonyms

firing squad
vsfiring party
23 6.8

A group of soldiers ordered to shoot and kill someone or to fire a military salute

uses more formal, neutral wording and stresses assigned duty not graphic killing

How Many

soldiery
1 8.5
platoon
119 5.8
firing party
8.2
rifleman
5 4.9

Surface Forms

firing party singular

Morphology

firing + party

The compound is compositionally built from 'firing' (discharge of a weapon) + 'party' (a group of people), so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes a group assembled to fire weapons (e.g. at a funeral or execution). Although the usage is specialized to military contexts, the literal logic is transparent and parallels constructions in other languages, making it accessible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun firing party comes from a simple picture: a small group of soldiers doing the firing, that is shooting, together as a party, a group, to give a 'salute' at a funeral or to carry out an 'execution'. That's why it means a group of soldiers assigned to fire rifles for those duties.