Parthian Shot.

This is coolbert:

"'You wound, like Parthians, while you fly, And kill with a retreating eye.' - — Samuel Butler, An Heroical Epistle of Hudibras to His Lady (1678)

This is a surprise to me! Perhaps to you too? These two phrases DO NOT have the exact same meaning. The origins are different?

1. Parthian shot.

"The Parthian shot was a military tactic made famous by the Parthians, ancient Iranian people. The Parthian archers, mounted on light horse, would feign retreat; then, while at a full gallop, turn their bodies back to shoot at the pursuing enemy."

[Parthians, more correctly referred to as a Persian people.]

2. Parting shot.  "a threat, insult, condemnation, sarcastic retort, or the like, uttered upon leaving - - A final insult or last word in an argument"

"'Parthian shot' is not to be confused with the phrase 'parting shot'.

"the two phrases has rather similar phonetic soundings but are actually separately derived at different times."

So says the wiki source. The dictionary.com source says the jury is still out on the etymology [word origins]! To the English speaker, the phrases DO sound similar, but the origins are actually different? Well, it was a surprise to me!

The feigned retreat is normally a military maneuver, a tactic, difficult to implement? ONLY troops of the highest quality, the best trained, and the most disciplined can execute the feigned retreat with any guarantee of success. And the "Parthian Shot" was an important component of the feigned retreat? American Indians in particular favored the feigned retreat as a method of dealing with the U.S. Army. A tactic - - the feigned retreat, used over and over with success during combat actions with cavalry troopers.

coolbert.