Another string to your bow

[bakerki]

Get/add another sting on/to your bow - as in to gain another skill or experience. Can anyone tell me the origins of this saying please?

[andy hughes]

This is an educated guess, rather than a known fact - I imagine it comes from the Middle Ages, when archers were an important component of the armies of the time. An archer with just one string would be useless to the army if his string was broken, but an archer able to add 'another string to his bow' would be able to carry on fighting, and therefore to be able to ' add another string' became a desireable asset for the archers, and has probably passed into language to mean anyone who has more than one skill to offer. As I say, just a guess - if anyone knows better, please advise, but this sounds reasonable.

[bakerki]

Thank you so much for this most logical explanation - it certainly goes a long way towards settling a difference of opinion. I had always assumed it pertained to the musical strings and bow of the violin or viola, but had never really been able to work out why! You're explanation has the source and the reason - makes perfect sense.