Can anyone tell me the origin of the expression a 'brace' when referring to a pair of trout, pheasants, etc?

Thanks in advance, Castaline.

Brace: A pair of alike things.
Tight Lines

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Closest I can get is by association with the old french "brace, brase, brasse, brache, the two arms extended, an armful, a fathom (distance of two outstretched arms), pair" - so one on each arm. Also refers to pistols. !
GD

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That would be a pair wouldn't it? I accept a 'brace' is the collective noun for a cock and hen pheasant tied together in a pair. The same applies for mallard duck and drake. I think there's more to it... I would like to hear the phrase's history if someone would care to explain fully.


Edit: G.D - I always thought it was a pair of guns. Three a trio, four, or more, a set.

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"In the sense of a pair, orig. of hounds, the brace was the leash (cf. history of couple)."

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According to the shooting book of etiquette, you only call a pair a brace.
In other words if you have three pheasants, you would have three pheasants, and not a brace and a half.
So 6 pheasants could be 3 brace, and 7 pheasants would be 7, not three and a half brace, no such thing. Allegedly.
S.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Downstream has it correct.

In the OED the first reference to a "brace" dates from 1430 referring to the cord or strap holding two dogs. Also a "leash" as in a leash of fish.

Could it originate from the base meaning of the word "to brace" i.e. if you are to brace something it must have an equal and opposite. Such as if you brace a wall it must have a support equal to pressure it would exert from falling down. Same goes for a pair of braces. So it may just be that it has had it meaning *******ised to mean it has its equal?. A pair/equal/brace of trout. Although this could just be a brace of tripe. JB

wow b@st@rdised has been automatically bleeped thanks admin i could have been in trouble there.

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There are two braces on your trousers?

No, only a pair, which hold up your pair of trousers or pair of waders.

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