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bend sinister

noun

Definitions

  1. A diagonal band on a coat of arms going from the sinister chief (the viewer's top right)…

    A diagonal band on a coat of arms going from the sinister chief (the viewer's top right) to the dexter base, sometimes erroneously held to indicate bastardy.

  2. Bastardy, (by extension) a defect or stigma.

    • A ‘bend sinister’ ran athwart his reputation as a priest. Men muttered that he was an infidel, a blasphemous vagabond, versed in all the damnable heresies of antiquity.
    • Rumour credited his family tree with both a 50 per cent. Jewish strain and a bend sinister.
    • “I am a gentleman,” he began slowly, his back still turned, and his fingers moving busily. “Or rather, the blood of a gentleman flows through my veins.” […] “A bend sinister. Poor lad!”

The neighborhood

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA