Speak Like a Native

The many idioms and slang expressions of Waterdavians would take a whole book to explore, but here I explain a few that might otherwise mystify.

“Dabbler but no master” and “No mastery blazing forth” These idioms trace their origin to Ahgharion, who early on in his studies of magic humbly said “I am no wizard. I am a dabbler but no master of magic; it seems no mastery burns within me.” Both now server as expressions of false modesty applied to any skill or craft, not just magic use.

“Sharpjaws,” “fastfists,” “bullyblades,” and “alleyblades” Those who boast of martial skill but who shrink from violence or lack real ability are “sharpjaws.” In sharp contrast are Waterdeep’s “fastfists” (any lout easily provoked to violence), “bullyblades” (battle-hardened mercenaries hired as muscle), and “alleyblades” (muggers and thieves).

“Longride” and “Last ride” To a caravan merchant, a drover, or a farmer from the lands around Waterdeep, as well as any Waterdavian who rides for sport, recreation, hunting, or falconry, the late afternoon is “longride,” and disk is “last ride.”

“Which the greater thief?” Tuezaera Hallowhand was a famous “lone cat” thief of Waterdeep in the 1200s DR, who disappeared suddenly and is thought to have come to a violent end. She once robbed a wizard and wrote on his wall with a fingertip dipped in his favorite red wine: “I take things. You take freedom with your spells. Which of us is the greater thief?” Waterdavians now use this phrase in argument with one another over all kinds of matters when comparing wrongs done.

“Doth thy mirror crack?” or “Hurl but think not?” or “Take but not count cost? Be nothing, then!” Laeral Silverhand, then the Lady Mage of Waterdeep when she was married to Khelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun, once publicly rebuiked an overambitious wizard of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors thusly: “If I hurl spells but think not of consequences, I am nothing. If I take lives, but count not the cost, I am nothing. If I steal in the night and see not the faces of the devastated come the next morning, I am nothing. If I make decrees like a ruler but undertake none of the other responsibilities of the throne, I am nothing. And if I do all these thinks in the name of the Watchful Order, I am less than nothing. Doth thy mirror crack?”

These scornful words are remembered and used almost daily in Waterdeep even a century later.