Stewart Cockburn
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In the The Princess Bride, William Goldman’s 1973 comedic novel later made into a popular film of the same name, there is swashbuckling galore, as in the famous showdown between the mysterious man in black and the Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya: “The man in black was slowly being forced toward a group of large boulders, for Inigo was anxious to see how well he moved when quarters were close, when you could not thrust or parry with total freedom.” To parry is to ward off a weapon or blow; indeed, parrying is as important to fencing as sticking one’s opponent with the pointy end. The word parry was borrowed from the French verb parer, meaning “to ward off” or “to avert,” and was first used in English in the late 17th century. It didn’t take long for parry to gain a figurative meaning of “to evade or turn aside something,” as when someone disarms a verbal sparring partner with a well-timed rejoinder. Montoya, for instance, parries the criminal Vizzini’s doubt that the man in black can catch up to them (“Inconceivable!”) with the sharp response “You keep using that word! … I don’t think it means what you think it does.”
Examples of parry in a Sentence
Big Think, 29 Oct. 2025
The complexity of the mechanics becomes a little more apparent as tougher foes begin blocking and parrying more astutely, forcing the player’s hand to put in a little more effort in their decision making.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 20 Oct. 2025
But if you too have been mesmerized by the Belle Époque aesthetics of recent video games like Lies of P and Clair Obscur, Halloween is the perfect opportunity to put on a red beret and parry with the best of them.
—James Factora, Them., 17 Oct. 2025
It was denied, but not, as Temple parried, because Franklin feared that his grandson might share dangerous intelligence.
—Stacy Schiff, The Atlantic, 8 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Parry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parry. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
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parry
verb
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