• S_H_K@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    1·
    13 days ago

    Years ago I read “shotgun wedding” and thought it was common to see a guy having to marry a girl he fucked while her father was there at the side with a rifle.

    Capaz son asi andá a saber…

    • oatscoop@midwest.social
      1·
      13 days ago

      It means “quick marriage because the bride is pregnant” and that is 100% the origin of the phrase.

      Particularly in poorer, rural parts of the USA having a child out of wedlock was incredibly shameful, and the financial burden of a single motherhood was intolerable. So the bride’s family would ensure the man responsible married their daughter … regardless of how he felt about it. Sometimes that meant having a shotgun at the wedding to ensure he didn’t run off.

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
    1·
    13 days ago

    Not many countries had to arm the person next to the coach driver to fight off natives defending their country against foreign invaders.

    • rockstarmode@lemmy.world
      1·
      14 days ago

      The apocryphal story is actually kind of interesting.

      Roads and right of way established during the pre-firearm era were that you’d ride on the left, with people going the opposite way on your right. This was so you could use your dominant hand (usually your right) to use a sword to defend yourself.

      Roads after firearms were available often established right of way with riding on the right, with oncoming traffic on the left. This is because when you shoulder a firearm on your right shoulder it’s easier to aim left.

      Stagecoach drivers would sit in the left seat, with the extra person sitting on the right, holding a shotgun, hence the colloquial term for the front passenger seat.

      I have no idea how true this is, but it makes for an interesting story.