A besom broom is a traditionally constructed broom made of a bundle of twigs tied to a stouter pole. They are still made today and sold at gardening stores as an outdoor broom.

Contents

• 1 Construction
• 2 Origins
• 3 Uses
  • 3.1 Besom brooms and "flying"
• 4 References

Construction

As a result of its construction around a central pole, the brush of the besom is rounded instead of flat. The bristles can be made of many materials including, but not limited to straw, herbs, or twigs. Traditionally the handle is of hazel wood and the head is of birch twigs. Modern construction uses bindings of wire and string (instead of the traditional split withy) and the head is secured by a steel nail instead of a wooden dowel.

Origins

A Bible quote mentions the besom broom:

[...] I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.

— Isaiah 14:23 (KJV translation)

Noun

broomstick (plural broomsticks)

1. the handle of a broom - a tool used to sweep the floor
2. (witchcraft) A broom, imbued with magic enabling one to fly riding the handle.

• 1997, Diana Wynne Jones, Witch Week [1]

  She really was a witch now. No one but a witch could fly a broomstick.

• 1999 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ISBN 0439136369

  Harry ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. [...] It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley.

• 2002, Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad [2]

  Greebo, hiccuping occasionally, oozed into his accustomed place among the bristles of Nanny’s broomstick. As they rose above the forest a thin plume of smoke also rose from the castle.

• 2003, David Pickering, Cassell's Dictionary of Superstitions [3]

  Most people are familiar with the age-old superstition that witches fly on broomsticks to their covens (though they were formerly also reputed to use shovels, cleft sticks, eggshells, ANIMALS and other means of flight).

• English nouns

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• Old Thread Witch
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