shotgun seat

noun

Definition of shotgun seat

US

: the front passenger seat of a vehicle We blasted out of bayou country, Bernie behind the wheel, me in the shotgun seat.— Spencer Quinn — see also ride shotgun at ride entry 1

History and Etymology for shotgun seat

after ride shotgun "to occupy the seat next to the driver," from the practice in the U.S. West during the late 1800's of seating a guard armed with a shotgun next to the driver on stagecoaches containing valuables.

Note: The phrase ride shotgun was used by the journalist and fiction writer Alfred Henry Lewis (1855-1914) in a short story published in 1912 ("Old Monte: Official Drunkard," Cosmopolitan Magazine, vol. 53, no. 4, September, 1912, p. 470). Cf. earlier shotgun messenger, denoting the guard sitting next to the coach driver (Express Gazette, vol. 18, no. 7, July 15, 1893, p. 159).

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Dictionary Entries near shotgun seat

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Last Updated

14 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for shotgun seat

The first known use of shotgun seat was in 1940

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