"sling arms" (not in OED2) -- [1749], 1824

[Jonathan Lighter]

Interestingly enough, ECCO yields not a single example of "sling your/
their/ my/ his/ her/ its arms" in any context whatever. Nor of "sling your/
[etc.] weapons."

The command seems to have been designed specifically for the purpose of
drill. ECCO, drawing on 180,000 titles, suggests that it occurred much
later than one might have expected.

A single example of the noun phrase "sling musket" (a musket with an
attached sling) occurs in 1708.

JL


On Fri, Apr 18, 2014 at 7:38 AM, Amy West <medievalist at w-sts.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "sling arms" (not in OED2) -- [1749], 1824
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> On 4/18/14, 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> > Date:    Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:53:37 -0400
> > From:    Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject: Re: "sling arms" (not in OED2) -- [1749], 1824
> <snip>
> >
> > One could easily sling a bow and a quiver, for example.
> True that, and I have no knowledge of historical archery commands.
>
> ---Amy West
>
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