What's the History Behind the "Shotgun Wedding" and Is It a Good Idea to Marry This Way?
Where did the term "shotgun wedding" come from?
Shotgun wedding. I rarely hear this term because it's quite outdated. Most importantly, it's judgmental. The last time I heard it was from a former colleague who loved gossiping about people and judging them left and right. He was telling us about his relative getting married because he got his long-term girlfriend pregnant and making snarky comments about both of them. The colleague was older and almost retired, which made sense because the younger generation doesn't use this idiom often.
I often think about words' origins. I'm not a linguist, but I get why linguists have fun "decoding" interesting terms and archaisms, especially those with funny histories. I'm sure you can guess the origin of the shotgun wedding, but it would be fun to discuss the good and bad aspects of such a wedding, too.
So, let's dive into the historical meaning behind the idiom "shotgun wedding".
The History of Shotgun Wedding
You don't need to be a genius to guess that the term "shotgun wedding" involves a wedding and a shotgun. Duh. And yes, someone got a shotgun pointed at them. If you think it was the groom, you're…
