Parry

Par·ry  (pr), Milman 1902-1935.

American classicist and folklorist who revealed the oral-formulaic character of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey by analyzing the formulaic nature of the poems and studying the performance and structure of the heroic songs of South Slavic bards.

---

par·ry  (pr)

v. par·ried, par·ry·ing, par·ries

v.tr.

1. To deflect or ward off (a fencing thrust, for example).

2. To deflect, evade, or avoid: He skillfully parried the question with a clever reply.

v.intr.

To deflect or ward off a thrust or blow.

n. pl. par·ries

1. The deflecting or warding off of a thrust or blow, as in fencing.

2. An evasive answer or action.

---

[Probably from French parez, imperative of parer, to defend, from Italian parare, from Latin parre, to prepare; see per-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

---

parry

Verb

[-ries, -rying, -ried]

1. to ward off (an attack)

2. to avoid answering (questions) in a clever way

Noun

pl -ries

1. an instance of parrying

2. a skilful evasion of a question [French parer to ward off]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	parry - (fencing) blocking a lunge or deflecting it with a circular motion of the sword blocking, block - the act of obstructing or deflecting someone's movements fencing - the art or sport of fighting with swords (especially the use of foils or epees or sabres to score points under a set of rules)
	2.	parry - a return punch (especially by a boxer) counterpunch, counter biff, punch, lick, clout, poke, slug - (boxing) a blow with the fist; "I gave him a clout on his nose"
Verb	1.	parry - impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball); "block an attack" deflect, block fence - fight with fencing swords
	2.	parry - avoid or try to avoid fulfilling, answering, or performing (duties, questions, or issues); "He dodged the issue"; "she skirted the problem"; "They tend to evade their responsibilities"; "he evaded the questions skillfully" evade, hedge, sidestep, skirt, fudge, circumvent, dodge, elude, duck, put off beg - dodge, avoid answering, or take for granted; "beg the question"; "beg the point in the discussion" quibble - evade the truth of a point or question by raising irrelevant objections avoid - stay clear from; keep away from; keep out of the way of someone or something; "Her former friends now avoid her"

---

parry

verb 1. evade, avoid, fence off, dodge, duck (informal) shun, sidestep, circumvent, fight shy of

verb 2. ward off, block, deflect, repel, rebuff, fend off, stave off, repulse, hold at bay

Translations

parry [ˈpærɪ] vt → parar

---

parry [ˈpærɪ] vt → esquiver, parer à

---

parry [ˈpærɪ] vt [+ blow, argument] → parieren, abwehren

---

parry [ˈpærɪ] vt → parare