diff --git a/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst b/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst
index 7f638251602c72..d1566957e7ed14 100644
--- a/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/logging.handlers.rst
@@ -917,8 +917,9 @@ should, then :meth:`flush` is expected to do the flushing.
 
    .. method:: flush()
 
-      You can override this to implement custom flushing behavior. This version
-      just zaps the buffer to empty.
+      For a :class:`BufferingHandler` instance, flushing means that it sets the
+      buffer to an empty list. This method can be overwritten to implement more useful
+      flushing behavior.
 
 
    .. method:: shouldFlush(record)
@@ -950,9 +951,9 @@ should, then :meth:`flush` is expected to do the flushing.
 
    .. method:: flush()
 
-      For a :class:`MemoryHandler`, flushing means just sending the buffered
+      For a :class:`MemoryHandler` instance, flushing means just sending the buffered
       records to the target, if there is one. The buffer is also cleared when
-      this happens. Override if you want different behavior.
+      buffered records are sent to the target. Override if you want different behavior.
 
 
    .. method:: setTarget(target)
diff --git a/Lib/logging/handlers.py b/Lib/logging/handlers.py
index f5a9760fd496b6..eadd1b6340bcb6 100644
--- a/Lib/logging/handlers.py
+++ b/Lib/logging/handlers.py
@@ -1399,7 +1399,7 @@ def flush(self):
         records to the target, if there is one. Override if you want
         different behaviour.
 
-        The record buffer is also cleared by this operation.
+        The record buffer is only cleared if a target has been set.
         """
         self.acquire()
         try: