leaping over the sword:

Defined by Captain Francis Grose in his Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1811) as: ' An ancient ceremonial said to constitute a military marriage . A sword being laid down on the ground, the parties to be married joined hands, when the corporal or serjeant of the company repeated these words: " Leap roque, and jump whore . / And then you are married for evermore ." Whereupon the happy couple jumped hand in-hand over the sword , the drum beating a ruffle; and the parties were ever after considered as man and wife .'

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