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

[Amy West]

On 4/18/14, 12:00 AM, Automatic digest processor wrote:
> Date:    Thu, 17 Apr 2014 13:41:33 -0400
> From:    Dan Goncharoff<thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: "sling arms" (not in OED2) -- [1749], 1824
>
> I am getting confused by the discussion -- why wouldn't a sword be carried
> in a sling, and therefore be 'slung'?
>
> DanG
I've never heard/seen that term for a means of suspension for a sword,
that's all. I see that there's some items being called "sword slings" on
Web sites. I don't know how historical that term is. A quick search in
GoogleBooks and HathiTrust show period use from the 1890s on, which is
much later than Joel's poem. I will have to ask some folks who know better.

At this point, if you're going to read "Arms slung" as weaponry, I'd go
for it suggesting a firearm slung over the shoulder rather than a
sheathed sword.

---Amy West

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