counting coup
Touching enemy, fleeing
Counting coup is a practice among some Plains Indian tribes of gaining honor by touching an enemy in battle without killing them—demonstrating bravery through proximity to danger rather than through bloodshed.
The phrase now applies figuratively to any symbolic victory or show of dominance that humiliates an opponent without destroying them: The senator was just counting coup, scoring points without passing legislation.
- battleArmed military engagement
- war partyGroup assembled for attack
- tribal warfareCombat between clan-based societies
- self-restraintVoluntary impulse control
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
bravery · brave deed · Plains Indians · nonviolence · ritual · symbolic gestures · eagle feather · respect · honor codes · courage · warrior societies · honor · spiritual beliefs · storytelling · oral history · skill · warrior culture · sacred rituals
- Native Americanateepees, moccasins, totem poles, dreamcatchers, tomahawks
- Plains IndiansSioux, Lakota, Cheyenne, Comanche, Blackfoot
- Indian WarsIndian Wars, King Philip's War, frontier wars, Little Bighorn, Wounded Knee
- indigenous loanwordsmoccasin, tomahawk, totem, wigwam, kayak
- military traditionssalute, 21-gun salute, saluting, salutes, honor guard
- SiouxLakota, Dakota, Oglala, Sioux, Teton
counting coupkilling
Causing death deliberately
slaying · massacre · mortal combat · slaughter · assassination
counting coupsniping
Shooting from hiding
drone strike · aerial bombardment · artillery barrage · artillery bombardment · poison
counting couptotal war
Conflict engaging entire nations
scorched earth · genocide · extermination · attrition warfare · war of conquest
count, coup, counts, counted, counter, counters, counting, countless, recount