The Parthians, a warrior tribe from what is now modern-day Iran, were expert archers. Riding at full gallop on light horses, they pretended to retreat from an enemy, but turned in the saddle and fired arrows with deadly precision. This was not easy, especially because stirrups hadn’t yet been invented. Roman poets Ovid and Virgil dubbed it a “Parthian shot.” By the nineteenth century, the phrase seems to have morphed into a “parting shot,” which means delivering a hostile statement or gesture as you depart, and that your opponent has no opportunity to reply to.