shotgun

To verbally claim the ability to ride in the front passenger seat of a car. An allusion to stage coaches in 19th-century America, which were often protected from outlaws by someone who sat wielding a shotgun next to the driver. Mom, don't let Jake ride up front—I called shotgun! A: "OK, let's get back on the road." B: "I call shotgun!"

To ride in the front passenger seat of a car. An allusion to stage coaches in the 19th-century US, which were often protected from outlaws by someone who sat wielding a shotgun next to the driver. Mom, Jake got to ride shotgun this morning—it's my turn! OK, let's get back on the road. Who wants to ride shotgun?

In business, a marketing strategy in which a wide and nonselective population or demographic is reached or advertised to. We don't yet have much brand recognition in the market, so we're going with a shotgun approach to reach as many potential customers as we can.

(chiefly Southern United States slang) A one-story house in which each room is in a straight alignment with the others, connected by a continuous hallway running from the front to the back of the residence. When our whole family goes to stay in my grandmother's shotgun cottage in New Orleans, it always feels like we're all right on top of one another.

(chiefly Southern United States slang) A one-story house in which each room is in a straight alignment with the others, connected by a continuous hallway running from the front to the back of the residence. When our whole family goes to stay in my grandmother's shotgun house in New Orleans, it always feels like we're all right on top of one another.

(chiefly Southern United States slang) A one-story house in which each room is in a straight alignment with the others, connected by a continuous hallway running from the front to the back of the residence. When our whole family goes to stay in my grandmother's shotgun hut in New Orleans, it always feels like we're all right on top of one another.

A marriage that happens quickly due to an unplanned pregnancy. We knew it was a shotgun marriage when Frank's new wife had a baby five months after the wedding.

(chiefly Southern United States slang) A one-story house in which each room is in a straight alignment with the others, connected by a continuous hallway running from the front to the back of the residence. When our whole family goes to stay in my grandmother's shotgun shack in New Orleans, it always feels like we're all right on top of one another.

A wedding that happens quickly due to an unplanned pregnancy. After finding out she was pregnant, Gina and Tom had a shotgun wedding.

To ride in the front passenger seat of a car. An allusion to stage coaches in the 19th-century US, which were often protected from outlaws by someone who sat wielding a shotgun next to the driver. Mom, Jake got to sit shotgun this morning—it's my turn! OK, let's get back on the road. Who wants to sit shotgun?

Fig. a forced wedding. (From imagery of the bride's father having threatened the bridegroom with a shotgun to force him to marry the bride because he made her pregnant.) Mary was six months pregnant when she married Bill. It was a real shotgun wedding. Bob would never have married Jane if she hadn't been pregnant. Jane's father saw to it that it was a shotgun wedding.

Guard someone or something while in transit, as in The reporter found himself in the odd position of riding shotgun for an accused mobster. This term alludes to the armed defender of a stagecoach who sat beside the driver to protect against marauders and bandits. Later it was transferred to anyone riding in the front passenger seat of a motor vehicle, as well as to the more general function of protection. [Mid-1900s]

An agreement or compromise made through necessity, as in Since neither side won a majority, the coalition government was obviously a shotgun wedding . This expression alludes to a marriage precipitated by a woman's pregnancy, causing her father to point a literal or figurative gun at the responsible man's head. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1900s.

If someone rides shotgun, they sit in the front of a vehicle, next to the driver. I was riding shotgun on a night patrol when a boy darted out from an alley and ran towards the truck. Note: This expression comes from times in the past when a man with a shotgun sat next to the driver of a coach and horses for protection.

To sit in the front passenger seat of a vehicle during a trip.

A wedding made compulsory by bride's pregnancy. At a time and in social circles where a baby's illegitimacy stigmatized both mother and child, something had to be done, and in a hurry. As soon as his unwed daughter broke the news of her pregnancy and the father-to-be's unwillingness to marry her, the father grabbed his shotgun off the wall. With such motivation, the young man was forced to accompany the young lady to the nearest preacher or justice of the peace to make her an honest woman. The phase is sometimes used to describe business mergers made only for reasons of expediency.