A scythe is a large farming tool with a long, curved blade attached to a long wooden handle, used for cutting grass, grain, or wheat. To use a scythe, you grip the handle with both hands and swing the blade in wide, sweeping arcs close to the ground, slicing through stalks in smooth, rhythmic motions.

For thousands of years, farmers used scythes to harvest their crops before modern machines were invented. A skilled worker with a scythe could cut acres of wheat in a day, though it required strength, practice, and proper technique. The blade needed regular sharpening with a whetstone to stay effective.

You might recognize the scythe as the tool traditionally carried by the Grim Reaper, a symbolic figure representing death in art and stories. This connection comes from the scythe's association with harvest: just as farmers cut down grain, the Grim Reaper was imagined as “harvesting” souls. The image appears in old paintings, Halloween decorations, and fantasy stories.

Today, most farmers use mechanical harvesters instead of scythes, though some people still use them for cutting grass in areas too steep or delicate for modern mowers. The word scythe can also be used as a verb: to scythe through something means to cut through it powerfully and completely, like a hockey player scything through the defense.