scwilliam

29th Dec 2005

Freaky Friday (2003)

Question: When the family are going out the door to go to the wedding rehearsal, Tess shouts 'Shotgun.'. What does "shotgun" mean? I'm sure I've heard it in other American films.

Answer: It is a claim to ride in the front passenger's seat, rather than in the back seat. On an American western stagecoach, the guard sat up top with the driver, carrying a shotgun, although that position was only referred to as "shotgun" in westerns, not at the actual time. See here for more info: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mrideshotgun.html.

scwilliam

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.