A brace, as a collective noun, does not mean what I thought it did.
It is one of those words that has hovered on the periphery of my consciousness, never needing to be written or spoken (or looked up), just casually absorbed on occasion. I'd heard "a brace of pheasants" and suchlike and assigned it a vague meaning of 'several'.
Wrong!
Upon hearing the phrase "a brace of c***s" used to describe two, ahem, football players, I enquired as to the meaning and was told it meant 'two'. It is often used in sports commentary, apparently.
To the OED I went – and I tip my hat. Indeed it does mean two, or, more specifically, a pair.
brace:
a pair of something, typically of birds or mammals killed in hunting
I believe a brace of pheasants ought to be a male and female.
ReplyDeleteOoh, somewhere between a pair and a couple? That's interesting... this may need to be investigated further.
ReplyDeleteI believe young Sarah is correct.
ReplyDeleteHaving been brought up on the A23 London to Brighton road reference to 'a brace of pheasants' was not commonplace. Therefore, when I hear the word brace I think more in terms of being supportive. Somehow I don't think the football critic had this meaning in the forefront of his mind ...
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