Riding shotgun: Difference between revisions

[[File: Nearby InhabitantsIndians Attacking a Stage-Coach BAH-p243.png|thumb|right|200px|Riding shotgun. The driver is holding the whip with the shotgun messenger on his left.]]

'''Riding shotgun''' was used to describe the guard who rode alongside a [[stagecoach]] driver, ready to use his [[shotgun]] to ward off bandits or other hostile persons (notably some [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]] during the time stagecoaches transported settlers through the western U.S.). In modern use, it refers to the practice of sitting alongside the [[driver (person)|driver]] in a moving [[vehicle]]. The phrase has been used to mean giving actual or figurative support or aid to someone in a situation.<ref>{{cite web|work=dictionary.reference.com|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/shotgun|title= Define Shotgun at Dictionary.com|publisher =Dictionary.com|accessdate=11 February 2013}}</ref> The coining of this phrase dates to 1905 at latest.<ref name=phrases/>