sword and sorcery
1
7.8
- noun
- /sɔrd ənd ˈsɔrsəri/
- Literature
:
espada y brujería
- Since 'Game of Thrones' is so wildly popular and the first of Peter Jackson's 'Hobbit' trilogy is right around the corner, it seems like the perfect time for a sword and sorcery epic featuring the Dragonborn.
As perhaps sword and sorcery's finest author.
- As perhaps sword and sorcery's finest author.
- So we're talking about definite swords and sorcery type of stuff.
- And you get a sort of sword and sorcery, Laurel and Hardy.
Examples
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For those who are fond of the old sword and sorcery genre, I will point out that it's high time for someone to dive into the Bronze Age again.
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I'm editing a sword and sorcery anthology for a reputable small press this winter that is a royalty split among authors.
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As perhaps sword and sorcery's finest author.
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Now the sword and sorcery thing is so like Game of Thrones is.
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Old sword and sorcery is not as popular as it once was, where the story focused on a single brooding or embattled hero.
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With the help of magical swords and sorcery, Jeffrey blended them all.
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There will be no cultural zeitgeist to propel an antihero sword and sorcery book to stardom.
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But even content-wise, as well, they differ: Orion is straightforward sword and sorcery, as Orion himself goes on a journey to defeat an evil sorcerer.
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This sword-and-sorcery tale follows the quest of the rakish Orion and his enchanted sword Thorbolt as he faces off against an evil wizard and sorceress.
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Many readers enjoy the thrilling adventures found in sword and sorcery novels filled with epic battles and magic.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The genre label is fully compositional: 'sword' (weapon) + 'and' (joining) + 'sorcery' (magic) yields a straightforward meaning of stories featuring swords and magic. This literal combination is cross-linguistically transparent and follows a simple noun + and + noun pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Sword and sorcery paints a clear picture: a hero with a sword and a wizard using sorcery, fighting monsters in a rough adventure world. That's why sword and sorcery means 'a kind of fantasy story with heroes, battles, and magic'.