swashbuckling
3
8.1
- noun
- /ˈswɔːsˌbʌk.lɪŋ/
:
audacia
- We've had enough excitement and swashbuckling for one day, hmm?
- swashbuckling pirates
Examples
-
We'll do a little swashbuckling.
-
A certain swashbuckling, pirate glamour cloaks the operations of many treasure hunters.
Academic text (2007) -
I'm really not in the mood to do any swashbuckling.
-
Star Wars needs to be a grand, operatic, old-style swashbuckling adventure.
Blog text (15) -
In her white tie and tails, she looked like a swashbuckling Errol Flynn, starring in the new show at the club.
Fiction book (2001) -
The fight scenes are proper swashbuckling -- great acrobatics and footwork, lousy sword work but who cares?
Blog text (10) -
It has a little less layered political intrigue and commentary, and a little more of that old-fashioned swashbuckling attitude.
Blog text (20) -
The swashbuckling Han Solo actually won his ship, the Millennium Falcon, from shifty trader Lando Calrissian.
Blog text (22) -
The movie featured a swashbuckling hero who led his crew on daring adventures across the high seas.
-
During the festival, the swashbuckling performers amazed the audience with their thrilling sword fights and dramatic stunts.
Synonyms
1
3.2
Courage to take risks or face danger
Bold, dangerous actions done without care for safety
Very bold acts that risk serious harm
Antonyms
How Adventurous
Surface Forms
Morphology
swashbuckling = swashbuckle (opaque) = swash + buckle + ing
The -ing suffix is regular, but the base verb swashbuckle is historically and semantically opaque, so the noun sense is not straightforwardly predictable from its parts.
Etymology
Swashbuckling comes from the old parts swash 'to strike loudly' and buckler 'small shield', which gives the picture of a brave fighter making a noisy show with sword and shield. So swashbuckling as a noun means bold, showy, and often reckless action, like the daring deeds in adventure stories.