Look up parley in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A parley (from French: parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. As a verb, the term can be used in both past and present tense; in present tense the term is referred to as parleying.[1][2][3][4] In some cases, opposing parties would signal their intent to invoke parley by using a white flag,[5] however the use of a white flag to invoke or request parley is not considered mandatory.
The term parley has been used to refer to numerous high-profile meetings of the 20th century, including the London and Paris Conferences held in 1954 to determine the status of West Germany.[6]
In popular culture
Below are some examples where a parley is a significant element of the plot.
In the 2013 film Riddick, Riddick and the mercenaries are forced to parley to reach an agreement so both sides could escape an impending storm. The mercenaries violate the spirit of parley by capturing Riddick and killing his dog.
In the 2017 Fear the Walking Dead episode, "The Unveiling", Jake Otto and Chief Qaletaqa Walker agree to parley, in order to spare bloodshed in their escalating feud over land. However, Madison Clark goads Troy Otto to violate the parley rules of engagement by leading a surreptitious "rescue mission" to extract Alicia from the Black Hat reservation. The rescuers are discovered, blood is shed, and the temporary truce is broken.[7]
