bundle of sticks
Tied wooden fuel
A bundle of sticks is exactly what it sounds like—sticks gathered and bound together, typically for firewood or kindling.
The phrase appears in Aesop's fable illustrating that unity provides strength: a single stick breaks easily, but a bundle resists breaking.
This image gave rise to the word *fasces* (Latin for bundle), a symbol of Roman authority later adopted by Mussolini's fascists.
The phrase also connects etymologically to *faggot*, which originally meant a bundle of sticks before acquiring its slur meaning—a connection sometimes exploited for plausible deniability when using hateful language.
- faggotBound bundle of sticks
- kindlingMaterial for starting fires
- firewoodCut logs for burning
- twigsThin woody shoots
- brushwoodCut or fallen branches
fascine · tied together · branches · logs · hearth · bonfire · tinder · camp fire · binding · rope · tied · gathered · forest · axe · fire starter · chopping · crackling · flames
- Aesop's FablesAesop's fables, moral tales, fable, Greek fables, sour grapes
- fablesfable, Aesop, Aesop's fables, Aesop fables, tortoise and hare