scythe

Long-handled harvester

A scythe is a tool for cutting grass or grain, with a long curved blade attached to a wooden handle held with both hands.

The user swings in a sweeping motion close to the ground.

The scythe is associated with the Grim Reaper, who harvests souls as a farmer harvests wheat.

To scythe through something is to cut it down efficiently: The army scythed through enemy lines.

harvesting

wheat

Cereal crop for flour

barleyGrain for malt
ryeHardy cereal crop
oatsCereal grain for porridge

hay · sheaf · swath · mowing · reaping · glean · threshing · chaff · winnowing · crop

death

reaper

One who gathers crops

Grim ReaperSkeletal embodiment of mortality
skeletonInternal supportive framework
SaturnRinged gas giant

mortality · specter · personification · hooded · allegory · memento mori · iconography · symbol

blade

tang

Sharp, biting flavor

heelFoot's rear underside
edgeBoundary or sharpness
honeMake keener or better

whetstone · sharpen · grindstone · strop · keen · curved · sweep · arc · forged · steel

technique

swing

Suspended recreational seat

strokeSudden brain blood blockage
arcCurved line segment
rhythmPatterned stress and silence

stance · grip · mowing · cradle · windrow · laying · sharpening · peening · honing · fieldcraft

agriculture

meadow

Grassy field for grazing

grassNarrow-leaved ground cover
pastureGrazing ground for livestock
prairieOpen grassy flatland

field · lawn · tillage · farming · husbandry · cultivation · peasant · rural · traditional · pre-industrial

Categories

cuttersknife, blade, scissors, shears, cutter
farm toolspitchfork, hoe, rake, shovel, plow
garden toolshand trowel, trowel, hoe, rake, spade
haymakinghay, hay bale, hay bales, hay field, hayfield
Russian countrysidebirch trees, birch tree, birch forest, birch forests, dacha
Halloweenjack-o-lantern, trick or treating, haunted mansion, pumpkin, trick-or-treat

Opposites

mechanization/technology

scythecombine harvester

All-in-one grain gatherer

harvesting machine · tractor · threshing machine · lawnmower · power tools

symbolic association (death vs. life)

scythecornucopia

Abundance symbol, horn-shaped

cradle · seedling · Tree of Life · fountain of youth · staff of life

agricultural action (cutting vs. planting)

scytheseed drill

Machine for sowing crops

hoe · spade · plow · trowel · seeder

Family

scythed, scythes, scything

Familiarity: Top 100,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Negative · Everyday, not technical · Rated G