Riding shotgun: Difference between revisions
→Etymology
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The expression "riding shotgun" is derived from "[[shotgun messenger]]", a colloquial term for "express messenger", when [[stagecoach]] travel was popular during the American [[American frontier|Wild West]] and the [[Colonialism|Colonial]] period in [[Australia]]. The person rode alongside the driver. The first known use of the phrase "riding shotgun" was in the 1905 novel ''The Sunset Trail'' by Alfred Henry Lewis.
{{quote|Wyatt and Morgan Earp were in the service of The Express Company. They went often as
It was later used in print and especially film depiction of stagecoaches and wagons in the [[Old West]] in danger of being robbed or attacked by [[bandit]]s. A special armed employee of the express service using the stage for transportation of bullion or cash would sit beside the driver, carrying a short [[shotgun]] (or alternatively a [[rifle]]),[https://books.google.com/books?id=QILdMe7lYXgC&lpg=PP1&dq=.gov%3Ariding%20shotgun%20wild%20west%20stagecoach&pg=PR6#v=onepage&q=shotgun&f=false] to provide an armed response in case of threat to the cargo, which was usually a strongbox.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Old West in Fact and Film: History Versus Hollywood|last=Agnew|first=Jeremy|publisher=McFarland|year=2012|isbn=0786468882|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|pages=17}}</ref> Absence of an armed person in that position often signaled that the stage was not carrying a strongbox, but only passengers.<ref name=phrases>{{cite web|url=http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/riding-shotgun.html|title=Riding shotgun|work=phrases.org.uk|accessdate=May 1, 2010}}</ref>
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