Bar Sinister: Difference between revisions

The '''Bar Sinister''' is the single most famous element of Hollywood Heraldry, a diagonal line on a coat of arms that indicates illegitimacy. "Sinister" just means that the line starts at the top left,<ref>As always in heraldry, "left" and "right" are in relation to the person holding the shield, not the person looking at it.</ref> but the connotations of the word may have something to do with the trope's persistence (to avoid embarrassment, it's important to remember that "left" in heraldry means [[Your Other Left|the shield-bearer's left]], which is "right" from the point of view of the person looking at the coat of arms).