# Kemosabe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [December 19, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559 "2012-12-19T14:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ol\_fart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@ol\_fart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ol_fart)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/1 "2012-12-19T14:41:23Z")
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 ---
**Author:** ![ol\_fart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@ol\_fart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ol_fart)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/2 "2012-12-19T14:53:10Z")
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: ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/3 "2012-12-19T19:22:47Z")
Hi there, I bet you’re referring to this: > **[In the old Lone Ranger series, what did “kemosabe” mean?](https://www.straightdope.com/21342134/in-the-old-lone-ranger-series-what-did-kemosabe-mean)** Unless, of course, you’re referring to THIS, which is a whole 'nother thing altogether: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vQObWW06VAM/hqdefault.jpg "Sugarhill Gang Apache (Jump On It)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQObWW06VAM) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/4 "2012-12-20T20:22:42Z")
> [@ol\_fart](#): > > as tontos horses name was scout, it would follow that sabe meant horse 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? ---
**Author:** ![TheTrevor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TheTrevor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTrevor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/5 "2013-01-13T17:55:14Z")
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 ?” ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/6 "2013-01-13T19:30:53Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > 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? If “Kemosabe” supposedly meant “trusty scout” and the horse’s name was “Scout” then it implies that “Sabe” is the Indian name for the horse. And thus, by implication, whenever someone said “Kemosabe”, they could be saying “KemoSabe”, i.e. “KemoScout”, i.e. “Kemo Horse”. Or something like that. Essentially, the similarity would be too easily confused, or something, for the young viewer. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/7 "2013-01-13T19:50:22Z")
I solved this one five years ago. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9485775&postcount=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9485775&postcount=1) It meant “scout runner,” a title that a kid could obtain, invented by a white guy. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/8 "2013-01-14T02:12:45Z")
According to [Gary Larson](http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=PXv&sa=X&tbo=d&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=671&tbm=isch&tbnid=0bh-bP940leD-M:&imgrefurl=http://onthepatio.typepad.com/on_the_patio/2011/10/kemosabe.html&docid=GIXCtKUM1EGqfM&imgurl=http://onthepatio.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8345374b869e2015392781cdc970b-800wi&w=800&h=652&ei=OmnzUNa1NM7V0gHw5oDABQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=91&vpy=119&dur=935&hovh=203&hovw=249&tx=113&ty=108&sig=110485686246947629711&page=1&tbnh=133&tbnw=168&start=0&ndsp=31&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0,i:87), “Kemosabe” means “A horse’s rear end”. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/9 "2013-01-14T20:12:50Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > If “Kemosabe” supposedly meant “trusty scout” > and the horse’s name was “Scout” > > then it implies that “Sabe” is the Indian name for the horse. > > And thus, by implication, whenever someone said “Kemosabe”, they could be saying “KemoSabe”, i.e. “KemoScout”, i.e. “Kemo Horse”. 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.” ---
**Author:** ![RR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@RR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RR)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/10 "2014-10-16T17:22:28Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/11 "2014-10-16T18:03:55Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **RR//**. Is this the article you’re commenting on? [In the old Lone Ranger series, what did “kemosabe” mean?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/971/in-the-old-lone-ranger-series-what-did-kemosabe-mean) 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. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/12 "2014-10-16T18:13:53Z")
[The Lone Rangers finds out.](http://deskofbrian.com/wp-content/uploads/Lone-Ranger-Far-Side.jpg) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/13 "2014-10-16T18:17:56Z")
> [@RR](#): > > 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. 1. I’ve listened to the radio shows and never heard the Lone Ranger call Tonto “Kemosabe”. 2. Never heard this claim about a safari movie before. Was it fiction, or a documentary? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/14 "2014-10-16T18:57:47Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > [The Lone Rangers finds out.](http://deskofbrian.com/wp-content/uploads/Lone-Ranger-Far-Side.jpg) 😃 Johnny Carson’s version: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/J8uSUcAFiXc/hqdefault.jpg "Johnny Carson Tonto Bette Midler") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8uSUcAFiXc) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2014, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/15 "2014-10-16T20:07:55Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/16 "2014-10-19T00:58:45Z")
In Spanish, “tonto” means “silly”. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2014, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kemosabe/644559/17 "2014-10-21T11:29:04Z")
Are you telling me that it doesn’t mean “[wrong brother](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210819/quotes?item=qt1961352)”? 😛