the light that flies in darkness during a gunfight

[alpacinou]

Hello,

In movies, when there is a gun fight at night, you can see some orange things fly in the air:



First, are they called "muzzle flash"? And how can a scene like be described?

Does this work?

I could see muzzle flash cleaving the darkness. Muzzle flashes were flying from both sides to the other side.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The photo isn't good.

To me, they look like tracers.

I don't like "from both sides to the other side." Natural: "from both sides."

 

[GoesStation]

Muzzle flashes are the flares of explosives leaving the muzzle of a firearm. They don't travel more than a short distance from the weapon.

Tracers are projectiles that emit light as they travel to let the gunner follow, or "trace", the path of a stream of bullets. As far as I know, only automatic weapons and repeating artillery like anti-aircraft guns use tracer rounds.

 

[alpacinou]

I see. Could I say something like this?

Could you please look at these three examples and tell me if they are okay?

1. I could see gun tracers cleaving the darkness, flying from both sides.

2. Weapon's tracers lit up the night sky, flying from both sides amid a brutal fight with no end in sight.

3. Darkness was cleft by the tracers from the weapons as the battle raged on all night.

 

[GoesStation]

They don't trace the gun or the weapon, so none of the descriptions work. They're tracers, tracer rounds, or tracer bullets. Maybe tracer shells exist, too. The subject is distasteful to me (though it's a perfectly legitimate one to write about) and I'm no expert.

 

[alpacinou]

What about now?

1. I could see tracer bullets cleaving the darkness, flying from both sides.

2. Tracer's bullets lit up the night sky, flying from both sides amid a brutal fight with no end in sight.

3. Darkness was cleft by the tracer rounds as the battle raged on all night.

Imagine something like this:

https://curiositynew.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Tracer_ammunition.jpg

 

[GoesStation]

What about now?

1. I could see tracer bullets cleaving the darkness, flying from both sides.

2. Tracer's bullets lit up the night sky, flying from both sides amid a brutal fight with no end in sight.

3. Darkness was cleft by the tracer rounds as the battle raged on all night.

Fix the misplaced possessive in number two and they're all grammatical. In most contexts, number three would need an initial article.

 

[alpacinou]

Fix the misplaced possessive in number two and they're all grammatical. In most contexts, number three would need an initial article.

Thanks for commenting, even though this subject is not particularly interesting for you.

1. I could see tracer bullets cleaving the darkness, flying from both sides.

2. Tracer bullets lit up the night sky, flying from both sides amid a brutal fight with no end in sight.

3. The darkness was cleft by the tracer rounds as the battle raged on all night.



What do you think about the use of "cleave" here?

 

[GoesStation]

1. I could see tracer bullets cleaving the darkness, flying from both sides.

2. Tracer bullets lit up the night sky, flying from both sides amid a brutal fight with no end in sight.

3. The darkness was cleft by the tracer rounds as the battle raged on all night.



What do you think about the use of "cleave" here?

The sentences are all okay now. "Cleave" is never used in everyday American English. I'm quite sure most Americans never use it in their entire lives. You'll find it in comic-book writing and the like, and it can work well in that context.

 

[alpacinou]

The sentences are all okay now. "Cleave" is never used in everyday American English. I'm quite sure most Americans never use it in their entire lives. You'll find it in comic-book writing and the like, and it can work well in that context.

These sentences are not meant to be used in everyday conversations. I am practicing writing.