Antedating? of "shot his wad" 1882!

[Douglas G. Wilson]

> > "Shot his wad" was likely already metaphoric, I think ... I suppose it
> > might mean "exhausted himself" or so here.

>No, this sounds like a literal use of the phrase, not metaphorical. He went
>through all the wadding and much of his powder to no avail.

It is possible. Still I think a solitary jocular citation in which the
expression is being 'played with' cannot decisively fix the etymology.

In order for the interpretation "went through all his wadding" to be
natural, "wad" should be an uncountable noun = "wadding" ... which it may
have been, at least sometimes.

My guess is still that the metaphor is being invoked here ... maybe
together with a literal sense. It's hard to be sure, therefore not
conclusive in isolation IMHO.

-- Doug Wilson