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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Last Names Stringer and Archer Come From and What Does the Phrase “Brace Yourself” Mean?

Where Did the Last Names Stringer and Archer Come From and What Does the Phrase “Brace Yourself” Mean?

February 9, 2020 by Karen Hill

If you heard Stringer tell Archer point-blank to brace himself for a quarrel, you were probably an archer.

Surnames taken from archery include Stringer, Bower, Fletcher, Abbott, meaning, “at the butts”, and of course Archer.

Point-blank is the bulls-eye on a French target.

“Brace yourself” meant prepare to shoot, while a quarrel is an arrow shot from a crossbow.

Archery was taken so seriously that Henry I of England passed a law that dismissed any punishment for anyone who killed someone while practicing.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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