reverse arms

noun

reverse arms

noun

Government, Military, Politics, War A position of a soldier in which the weapon points downwards and backwards at an angle of 45° (while walking), or straight down (when at rest)

[…] it is recorded that at the funeral for Marlborough in 1722, the troops carried out a formal reverse arms drill which was especially invented for the service; it was a unique sign of respect to the great soldier.2009, Christopher Jobson, Looking Forward Looking Back:

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