swagger stick
- noun
- /ˈswæɡər stɪk/
- Archaic
:
bastón de mando
- As Formica raises his swagger stick to order the attack, a lone figure steps out from the crowd.
Examples
-
The army officer marched confidently with his swagger stick held high.
-
"Sounds like your department to me," said Bobbs, picking up his swagger stick and looking me straight in the eye.
Fiction book (1990) -
A police colonel, all gold braid and swagger stick, comes up to Leo.
Fiction book (1994) -
Also the kind they had in 1 914... when officers fought with only a swagger stick.
-
He gestured with his nubby swagger stick.
Fiction book (1990) -
During the ceremony, each officer carried a swagger stick to symbolize their rank.
-
She noticed the colonel's swagger stick as he greeted the recruits with a firm handshake.
Synonyms
4
5.8
A short thin stick carried by an official to show their authority
How Ceremonial
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a short cane carried to convey swagger' is partly inferable from combining 'swagger' (a confident, showy manner) with 'stick' (a small rod), so a learner could guess it is a stick used for showing off. However, the specific ceremonial/military role and conventional form (short, often leather-covered cane) are specialized and not fully predictable from the constituents alone, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Swagger stick comes from officers who walked proudly while carrying a short stick to show their swagger. That's why the stick became a sign of 'authority' and is used in ceremonies.