Bar Sinister Online

: A diagonal line is called a "bend." When it runs from the top left (sinister) to the bottom right, it is a "bend sinister".

The "bar sinister" remains a potent literary trope. Authors like Vladimir Nabokov have used the related term "bend sinister" to explore themes of a "distorted" or "wrong" world. The phrase persists in the public consciousness because it sounds inherently "sinister" to modern ears, providing a convenient linguistic shorthand for anything outside the accepted "proper" line of descent or behavior. bar sinister

In traditional heraldry, "sinister" simply refers to the left side of a shield from the perspective of the bearer (the right side from the viewer’s perspective). A "bar sinister" is technically a contradiction in terms: : In heraldry, a "bar" is a horizontal line. : A diagonal line is called a "bend

: The name continues to resonate in modern L.A. through the Bar Sinister nightclub, a long-standing gothic and alternative venue. For its regulars, the name represents a boldness to defy the mainstream and a sanctuary for those searching for an alternative to conventional social scenes. The phrase persists in the public consciousness because

: In the 1970s, a group of radical lawyers in Los Angeles adopted the name Bar Sinister for their "law commune". They represented marginalized groups, such as Chicano activists and women fighting sexist airline employment practices, effectively reclaiming a symbol of "illegitimacy" to challenge the status quo.

The phrase has moved far beyond the shields of medieval knights to represent those on the fringes of society: