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Blood and sand

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on November 26, 2007

In Reply to: Blood and sand posted by Vincent Clough on November 25, 2007

: What is the origin of the exclamation "Blood and sand"?

It's the title of a Spanish novel about bullfighting published in 1909 by Vicente Blasco Ibánez (the Spanish title is "Sangre y arena"). It has been filmed several times, most famously starring Rudolph Valentino. It lends itself to use as a mild imprecation, along the lines of "Hell and death!"

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