being a lone ranger fan dating back to radio days… kemosabe was a fictious name such as the lone ranger…it was part of a program…it initially mant trusted scout. as tontos horses name was scout, it would follow that sabe meant horse…so trusted horse wouldnt work…it was then established that sabe meant friend…hence kemo sabe meant trusted friend…so far as the fictious program was concerned…
MODERATOR NOTE: THis is a thread from Dec 2012/Jan 2013, updated in Post #9 in Oct 2014. We’re OK with such resurrections, keeps the topic together; we just want you to be aware and not get too worked up about responding to a very old post. – CKDH
being a lone ranger fan dating back to radio days… kemosabe was a fictious name such as the lone ranger…it was part of a program…it initially meant trusted scout…:smack: as tontos horses name was scout, it would follow that sabe meant horse…so trusted horse wouldnt work…it was then established that sabe meant friend…hence kemo sabe meant trusted friend…so far as the fictious program was concerned… :smack:
How does that follow? I think you skipped a couple of steps here. Tonto and the Lone Ranger called one another “kemosabe.” What does the horse’s name have to do with anything?
I and my friends thought it was “Flashy c*** in a mask”
On another note - when the (bad) Injuns were surrounding the Lone Ranger and Tonto and about to attack, LR “Ok Tonto here’s what we’re gonna do…” Tonto replied, “Whaddya mean ‘we’, Whiteman ?”
That doesn’t follow at all. Just because the horse’s name is Scout, it doesn’t follow that the Indian word for “scout” also means “horse.”
I have a friend who had a dog named “Bandit.” The Spanish word for “bandit” is “bandido.” According to your logic, then, “bandido” is Spanish for “dog.”
Haven’t been able to add this comment to the earlier thread, but here is my input.
On the old radio shows, the Lone Ranger called Tonto kemosabe. On the TV show, it was always Tonto calling the Lone Ranger kemosabe.
I have also seen a 30’s movie of safaris in Africa where everyone was calling everyone else kemosabe. This might have preceded the creation of the Lone Ranger.
When commenting on one of Cecil’s columns, it’s necessary to copy and paste the link of the column into your post since that doesn’t happen automatically when you click on “Comment on this answer.” That way people can click on your link and go straight to the column without having to do a search.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, RR//, we’re glad to have you with us. You noted that you couldn’t add this to the old thread on same topic, but I’ve done that as Moderator. Hope that’s OK with you, helps to keep the same topic together.
