bar one's beauty

[IQU3838]

Hi there,

What does the underlined part mean?
Thank you for the answer.

"Before meeting John, Mary swept the thick fall of her auburn hair back from her face, baring her beauty as if girding herself for battle."

[birdeen's call]

Hi there,

What does the underlined part mean?
Thank you for the answer.

"Before meeting John, Mary swept the thick fall of her auburn hair back from her face, baring her beauty as if girding herself for battle."

Hi. Actually, it's not "bar one's beauty". Note that the present participle of "bar" is "barring", not "baring". The verb in this sentence is "bare". Can you understand it now?

[Bennevis]

baring (to bare) her beauty - showing her beauty

[BobK]

baring (to bare) her beauty - showing her beauty

the use of 'bare' implies a possibly aggressive intention on the part of the barer - on the analogy of 'baring her teeth; (That implication is reinfored by the verb 'gird'.)

b