What is a pennant? 

One definition I read was “A flag long in the fly as compared with its hoist."  

What an economical and almost lyrical definition, but what does that mean? Let’s break it down.

The hoist is the side of a flag that attaches to the flagpole or the vertical height of the flag. Rarely does the modern pennant attach to a flag pole, but the hoist is the height of the pennant usually on the left side. I have heard of a “Southpaw Pennant '' where the pennant’s point is on the left and the hoist is on the right but that is very rare.

The second part of that definition, the fly, is not where the zipper goes. In fact, flags don’t have crotches as far as I know. The fly refers to a flag’s length. So according to this definition the fly of a pennant doesn’t have to come to a point, but I would say that is what commonly makes a pennant a pennant. A short hoist and a long fly that comes to a point.

1. Hoist: The side that attaches to the flagpole (or the height of the pennant, typically on the left side).
2. Fly: The length of the pennant, usually ending in a point.

Stay tuned for more pennant information and browse our collection of pennants and banners here at HLPennants.com

More pennant breakdowns to come.