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Definition 2024


shotgun_shack

shotgun shack

English

Noun

shotgun shack (plural shotgun shacks)

  1. (colloquial, idiomatic) A house with no internal barrier between the front and back doors.
    • 1980, Talking Heads (band), Once in a Lifetime (song)
      And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
      And you may find yourself in another part of the world.
    • 2004: Familiar in working-class neighborhoods all over the South, the “shotgun” name reflects the fact a bullet fired at the front door could pass right out the back door, travelling the full length of the narrow house without ever encountering any obstructions. Duncan Spencer in The Hill, November 8, 2004