derring-do

noun

der·ring-do ˌder-iŋ-ˈdü

ˌde-riŋ-

: daring action : daring

deeds of derring-do

Did you know?

Derring-do is a quirky holdover from Middle English that came to occupy its present place in the language by a series of mistakes and misunderstandings. In Middle English, dorring don meant simply "daring to do." The phrase was misprinted as derrynge do in a 15th-century work by poet John Lydgate, and Edmund Spenser took it up from there. (A glossary to Spenser's work defined it as "manhood and chevalrie.") Literary author Sir Walter Scott and others brought the noun into modern use.

Examples of derring-do in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Usually some combination of bold ambition, auteur cred, and technical derring-do. —

Nate Jones, Vulture, 3 Jan. 2025 Instead, showrunner Gemma Burgess has put together an irreverent engaging romp rife with witty banter, political intrigue, and a bit of derring-do—not to mention a killer soundtrack. —

Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024 In 1927, a Captain Herman Archer wrote of Pershing’s career in a Chicago Tribune feature awash in colonialist derring-do. —

Paul A. Kramer, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2017 Much derring-do, in their quest for unimaginable riches, would ensue. —

Alex Ritman, Variety, 30 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for derring-do