A Semantic Vestige of the Parthian Empire

The Parthians were the folks who ran a large part of what we now call Iran as the Hellenistic kingdom in the region, the Seleucids, was fading away.

The Parthians were known for a trick they perfected in heated battles, when it was necessary for some part of their line to make a retreat. They learned to fire a terrible volley of arrows in one direction while moving in the other -- creating what later writers would call a "covering fire" that kept their foes at bay while they could re-organize.

This sort of volley became known for a long time as a "Parthian shot," although in English that got simplified and dumbed down over time into ... "parting shot."

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Jamesian Philosophy Refreshed

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