NationStates Jolt Archive

ok, some1 said i should post my question here, so i am

What EXACTLY is "into the breach"?

Depends on the context, if you mean by "Into the breach dear freinds!" From William Shakespeare's play "Henry V" then it means a gap in the fighting lines, otherwise it's part of a gun where the bullet sits beofre you shoot it.

i thought "into the breach" was the name of the roleplaying thing u guys are always doing

Nein, Into the Breach may be the name of an RP but nothing more.

Hi.

I'm not American, so what do I know about guns, right? :)

A break in the lines, or indeed in anything else, is a 'breach'. The place in a rifle where the hammer strikes the bullet is the 'breech'. So, as always, spelling is everything.

Laters.

Phonque

The context is generally, "Roll up your sleeves and get too it, we have a nasty/dangerous/foul job to do!"

ok, some1 said i should post my question here, so i am

What EXACTLY is "into the breach"?

It is indeed derived from the usage in Shakespeare's Henry V, with the full line being"Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more"


In common usage it is generally intended to indicate a return to an ongoing battle.

So, on a site such as this it would generally be used to indicate that the user is going after a person or subject that they have already tangled with on at least one previous occasion.

Hope that helps.

i thought "into the breach" was the name of the roleplaying thing u guys are always doing

Might be something to do with invading/defending regions in NS itself. You know how the UN and endorsements work in Nationstates, right? Well, some people like to get a bunch of friends together and all move to a region at the same time, with the intent to take over the delegacy.


Of course, it can also be to do with RP. However, I can't really think of a context in which someone would use that phrase in RP, unless they're unimaginatively trying to think of a dramatic title for a thread. But I don't RP, so I'm no expert.

In ancient siege warfare the attacker must overcome or breach the walls or defensive fortifications. "The breach" would be the point you knocked down or broke through the defensive walls. That would be the point of the most intense and important fighting from either point of view. The quote comes from the Shakespeare play 'Henry V', when King Harry is urging his fellows into the thick of battle once more with the hope of deciding the outcome.

'into the breach' means run into a small hole in something and kill everything in sight.