# How universal is the term ‘shotgun’ for a vehicle’s front passenger seat?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 12, 2026, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620 "2026-07-12T13:03:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Onthefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9de053/32.png) [@Onthefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onthefly)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 2026, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620/61 "2026-07-16T23:22:14Z")

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Cowboy is the middle of the front seat. It’s where the most experienced cowboy sits. You don’t have to drive and you don’t have to mess with the gate.

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**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 2026, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620/62 "2026-07-17T15:18:27Z")

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I know what it means but I’ve never used the term in my life, and I don’t remember anyone using it around me.

I can just imagine, if my teenage son ever used it, it would result in my wife giving him a lecture on the dangers of firearms.

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**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\
**Post date:** [July 18, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620/63 "2026-07-18T17:28:30Z")

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The Breakfast Club was released in 1985, and there is a pretty flip reference to “[Shotgun](https://youtu.be/UiR30ksh8Qw?si=Asu167hKIxvlmvJ1&t=19)” in there.

I grew up in PacNW 1967-1989, the son of immigrants from (urban)Missouri and (rural)Arkansas. My brother and I knew the term since the time we started to understand spoken language. Maybe we got it from our parents. Mom insisted the term came from the front seat passenger being the one who harvested roadside rabbits & such during spotlight hunts along country roads. This etymology seems legit to me, as every kid I knew who lived in MS and AR even in the 1970s had at least a .410 just as assuredly as they had two legs (Ronnie being the only exception, who possessed a .410 and only one leg). Still, the other kids in my neighborhood, 2500 miles away from there, were familiar with the term.

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**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2026, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-universal-is-the-term-shotgun-for-a-vehicle-s-front-passenger-seat/1031620/64 "2026-08-11T19:47:27Z")

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> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#):
>
> I think the first time I ever heard it was in the song ‘Woodstock,’ although I’m not sure it makes a lot of sense.

Which always bugged me, as making no sense. Jet planes can’t “ride shotgun in the sky”.  
Dumb Joni Mitchell, thinks she can write…

😉

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