For example: While a female nanny employed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1918 was often called “Old Battle-Axe” for her damn-near-sadistic treatment of the kids, the term was also used for male politician Robert Lee Glover around the same time.īy the 1940s, the term was still used interchangeably, but this seemed to decline with the introduction of television in the 1950s and beyond. While an early definition of the slang term reads “a shredishly or hard-nosed adversary female,” it was definitely also applied to men - the recipient just had to be old and grumpy enough to earn the title. In this sense, it’s perhaps fair to categorize it as a “meaner” weapon than the more elegant sword, so you can see how it might have attached itself to those of a more domineering disposition.īut why women specifically? In the first few decades of its popular usage, the term wasn’t all that particular when it came to gender - the phrase first started popping up in the 1900s and was used pretty much equally to describe men and women. He adds that it was rarely used by cavalrymen because of the difficulty of swinging one’s arms while riding a horse, so they were more often used by infantrymen on foot.ĭespite its relative cheapness and inglorious origins, the battle-axe was a hearty, formidable weapon with impressive destructive power. Schenawolf explains that an axe was a cheaper weapon to make than a sword, since it was mostly wood with sharpened steel on the top, compared to the mostly-all-metal sword. Primarily, they used something called a Dane Axe, a long-handled axe that was wielded with two hands. Schenawolf says that the closest comparison to this would actually be that American image of people picking up pitchforks to attack an enemy.īattle-axes were later formalized into actual weapons of war by groups like the Housecarls, who were warriors for hire in medieval Britain, and the Vikings. When the Greeks and Romans began taking over huge parts of Europe, then, people across the continent were forced to defend their land, grabbing whatever sharp stuff was lying around. “Originally, an axe was only brought into battle because basically everyone went into battle and they had to grab whatever they could,” Schenawolf explains.
Toy battle axe series#
Historian Harry Schenawolf, owner of the website Revolutionary War Journal and creator of the upcoming TV series Shades of Liberty, explains that, back in ye olden days, battle-axes weren’t anything different from regular old axes. But what does battle-axe in this context really mean, and why do we use that term in place of more common medieval weapons, like a sword or a mace?ĭigging into the history of the battle-axe itself offers little insight into this query. “Old ball and chain” is fairly obvious - they’re supposedly “weighing their man down,” hence the comparison to heavy leg manacles.
🎄☃️festive☃️🎄qualified immunity disliker October 15, 2019īut it does make one wonder how “battle-axe” in particular became a thing to call a woman. For his part Blair added, “We are constantly calling each other different names around the house.” While “old battle-axe” is traditionally a derisive term to use against a woman, as one Twitter user accurately portrayed it, the whole thing between the Davises was “kind of sweet.”
“I already knew it was coming, everybody laughed,” said Kim Davis. ® October 16, did you see homeboy on Wheel of Fortune call his wife a battle axe?Īnd while Davis made clear he was kidding, he and his wife did talk to the New York Post later to further clarify things. 'Old Battle Axe': Wheel of Fortune Contestant Goes Viral After Saying He Is 'Trapped in a Loveless Marriage' /Nnl2lwMM0B Shortly after it aired, the clip went viral. That was Wheel of Fortune contestant Blair Davis’ answer to Pat Sajak’s regular “tell us a bit about yourself” question. and Ryan, and I have one rotten grandson.” She cursed my life with three stepchildren named Star, R.J. “I’ve been trapped in a loveless marriage for the past 12 years to an old battle-axe named Kim.
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