broomstick

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the long handle of a broom, or sometimes the whole broom

   She replaced the cracked broomstick before sweeping the steps.

2. 2
   noun

   in folklore, a broom imagined as a vehicle on which a witch can fly

   The story shows the witch escaping on a broomstick.

3. 3
   noun

   in historical phrases such as marry over the broomstick, a symbol of an informal or legally invalid marriage

   The neighbors believed the couple had married over the broomstick rather than in church.

A compound of broom + stick. The literal handle produced the folkloric flying-broom sense. In the 18th and 19th centuries, broomstick marriage described an irregular, sham, or legally doubtful union, whether or not an actual broom-jumping rite occurred.

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