"Travelin' shotgun"

[Douglas G. Wilson]

>Maybe this shift is a result of the death of the horse opera, when
>evryone knew what the literal meaning of "ride shotgun" was. I asked
>my seventeen-year-old niece what it meant to "ride shotgun" and she
>unhesitatingly replied that it means to go riding with one's best
>friends.

A 13-year-old Pittsburgh-area informant says "ride shotgun" = "ride in the
seat next to the driver". She says she has heard this from peers as well as
older folks; she does not recall encountering the above-mentioned new
'improved' sense.  It was not immediately obvious to her why the word
"shotgun" should be used for the front passenger seat.

-- Doug Wilson



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