Idiom
flesh one's maiden sword
Meaning
To experience or succeed in combat or struggle for the first time, as in the military or in politics.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The young soldier finally fleshed his maiden sword in the border skirmish.”
“He fleshes his maiden sword today during his first professional boxing match.”
“She fleshes her maiden sword by winning her first difficult chess tournament.”
“During his first debate against the veteran politician, the newcomer fleshed his maiden sword and performed surprisingly well.”
“The junior lawyer fleshed her maiden sword when she successfully defended her first client in a high-pressure criminal trial.”
“After months of training, the activist fleshed their maiden sword by leading a protest against the new city laws.”
“The young knight felt a surge of adrenaline as he finally fleshed his maiden sword against the enemy forces during the opening charge of the campaign.”
Examples
simple
“The young soldier finally fleshed his maiden sword in the border skirmish.”
“He fleshes his maiden sword today during his first professional boxing match.”
“She fleshes her maiden sword by winning her first difficult chess tournament.”
contextual
“During his first debate against the veteran politician, the newcomer fleshed his maiden sword and performed surprisingly well.”
“The junior lawyer fleshed her maiden sword when she successfully defended her first client in a high-pressure criminal trial.”
“After months of training, the activist fleshed their maiden sword by leading a protest against the new city laws.”
complex
“The young knight felt a surge of adrenaline as he finally fleshed his maiden sword against the enemy forces during the opening charge of the campaign.”
Origin
From the practice of burying a new blade in flesh to shed blood for the first time, employing the senses of flesh and maiden to denote the initial use of a virgin weapon.
Key words
Related idioms
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