Well Done, Sir Knight!
Seeking his adversaries, the knight rides to their hideout. Despite his callow
appearance, he is reputed to disdain the dangers and to be a prodigious horseman.
The kidnapers lose their equanimity at his approach. They are appalled at the
prospect, and they are in a quandary as to which one should meet him at the field
of combat. The leader, under duress, rides out. "Do you have penchant to die?"
derides the knight. More vituperative remarks follow. They spur their horses
towards each other. It takes but one blow for our hero to decapitated the villain.
The others flee to avoid their imminent destruction. The knight takes the maiden
on his horse. They ride back to the castle. Their wedding soon follows. Little
does the knight realize that the fair maiden is a garrulous termagant who will
make his life miserable with caustic remarks. Still, the cliche, "They lived
happily ever after," must conclude our fabricated tale.


coup de grace--the finishing stroke.
When my girl friend left me, it was a bitter pill to swallow, but the coup de
grace was that she kept my engagement ring.