Gun, hunting and shooting language that has made it way into poplular Americaculture

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Learned a new one last week. A cannon service: a church service so poorly attended that one could fire off an artillery piece during the service without endangering anyone.

mike
 
"It's a good day for ducks." People today seem to think that ducks enjoy, cold, rainy, windy weather.

In truth, the expression refers to a good day to HUNT ducks. During bad weather ducks are forced to move around seeking shelter. They don't care for bad weather any more than we do.
 
dont think this one was mentioned yet:
Fire one across their bow: The firing of a cannon across the bow of an enemy ship, giving warning that were ready to do battle. To give warning.
 
Sorry if this one was there and I missed it:

"Pull the trigger" = actually do something you've been contemplating/ planning for a while

I always understood a "shotgun house" to be one designed in such a way as to minimize street frontage and thereby minimize property taxes, an 18th or early 19thC term. Houses built to accomplish this were one room wide and 4-6 rooms deep, with doorways aligned in the same spot in every room. It was said you could open the front door, the back door, all the interior doors then fire a shotgun from the street to the back porch without hit anything in the house.
 
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Sitting duck: A sitting duck is much easier to hit than a flying one. Easy prey. Vulnerable.

Dead duck: Doomed.
 
give them the whole nine yards

The lenghts of the cloth belt for the maxim
 
Bite the bullet refers to tearing open paper cartridges with pre-measured powder. You would bite the bullet, tear the paper dump the powder, ram home the bullet.
 
couple more:
High tail it: An expression used to describe the hasty retreat of whitetail deer when they raise their tails in alarm. To make a hasty retreat. A fast getaway.

Gun shy: A condition when gun dogs are afraid of the sound of gunfire. Overly cautious. Fearful.
 
had no idea the origin of this phrase had anything to do with hunting but it odes!
"In the pink": Originated from English fox hunters who wore scarlet riding jackets called "pinks." Dressed and ready.
 
Southern version:

Shotgun House
West African inspired house with all doors in line from front to back. Hence, you could fire a shotgun through it without hitting anything
 
Barking up the wrong tree: Raccoons will often tag a tree to leave their scent and continue on, leaving the hound dogs in pursuit thinking the raccoon went up that tree. Pursing a faulty lead. Looking in the wrong place.
 
"shotgun cloning/sequencing" - a method of DNA sequencing which uses a somewhat random approach to sequence short lengths of DNA which are then aligned to deduce the sequence of the entire DNA strand.
 
A feather in your cap: A term expanded to hunters who would pluck a single feather from a game bird and display it in their hat bands. A badge. Symbol of accomplishment.
 
Bite the bullet refers to tearing open paper cartridges with pre-measured powder. You would bite the bullet, tear the paper dump the powder, ram home the bullet.
Click to expand...

Also a good thing to note is that "Biting the Bullet" got its common meaning from Indian soldiers in the British colonized areas. The paper cartridges were greased with animal fat and it is against common religious practices to consume animal parts. So the soldiers would either refuse to open the cartridges (necessary to the companies survival in a warzone) or do so unwillingly. I'm pretty sure this led to some sort of revolt (don't quote me on that though:p)
 
Bite the bullet means something unpleasant is coming:


Often cited as a Hollywoodism of 'biting on a bullet while some sawbones cut another one out of you. I can see the older British and French versions having validity too.

Also "taking a slug" could be a bullet made of whiskey/rum/gin/brandy to stave off the pain of having a bullet removed.

I've heard 'Kentucky windage' described as wild guess by a college Prof., akin to a 'shot in the dark'. Of course a lot of old timers and backwoods types know it's a form of precision shooting.
 
you guys have come up with some good one...pretty cool how hunting and guns have influenced the core of our language and culture.
Pot shot: A shot taken by a hunter to put game in the pot without regard for rules of fair chase. To slur or slight someone unfairly.
 
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