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First use of “packing” as in carrying a gun



The 2019 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Results Are In
Unicorn Meta Zoo #1: Why another podcast?
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar ManaraWhat does “packing heat” mean?Origin of “son of a gun”How old is the phrase “What's your angle?”Did Milton really invent cooking?Etymology of 'doylum'What word can I use instead of “tomorrow” that is not connected with the idea of the rising sun?Why do we refer to car manufacturer as 'Make'?Etymology of “dutchman” to mean a carpentry patch?Origin of “queer as a clockwork orange”Earliest use of “book,” the slang verb meaning “to leave quickly”First use of the word “sequelitis”?





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}







2















A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.



I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?



Does anyone have corroboration?










share|improve this question







New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

    – Ubi hatt
    3 hours ago











  • Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

    – JEL
    6 mins ago













  • Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

    – JEL
    3 mins ago


















2















A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.



I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?



Does anyone have corroboration?










share|improve this question







New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

    – Ubi hatt
    3 hours ago











  • Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

    – JEL
    6 mins ago













  • Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

    – JEL
    3 mins ago














2












2








2








A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.



I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?



Does anyone have corroboration?










share|improve this question







New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.












A friend is using the sentence, “Nobody was packing there,” in an historical novel set in the 1885-90 timeframe.



I suspect “packing” was not used in this slang format until 30-40 years later?



Does anyone have corroboration?







etymology






share|improve this question







New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question







New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question






New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 4 hours ago









RichRich

111




111




New contributor




Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






Rich is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.













  • Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

    – Ubi hatt
    3 hours ago











  • Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

    – JEL
    6 mins ago













  • Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

    – JEL
    3 mins ago



















  • Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

    – Ubi hatt
    3 hours ago











  • Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

    – JEL
    6 mins ago













  • Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

    – JEL
    3 mins ago

















Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

– Ubi hatt
3 hours ago





Possible duplicate of What does “packing heat” mean?

– Ubi hatt
3 hours ago













Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

– JEL
6 mins ago







Thanks for the question. Without more context, any answer needs qualification. For example, "The pack horses had to be left outside of town while the men went on in. Nobody was packing there." gives one context for your friend's sentence, but "In Carson City [in the 1890s] men packing a pistol were hung for being dangerous cowards. Nobody was packing there." gives quite another. Neither use would be anachronistic in a historical novel set in the 1890s.

– JEL
6 mins ago















Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

– JEL
3 mins ago





Note also that in the 1890s another idiom was in use: 'packing a [weapon] for [somebody]' meant that the weapon was being carryed for the purpose or with the intent of using it on the indirect object (somebody). The weapon involved was generally a knife or gun.

– JEL
3 mins ago










4 Answers
4






active

oldest

votes


















2














1898:




He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
horse, and jumped off.




The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898



Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.






share|improve this answer
























  • OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

    – Ubi hatt
    4 hours ago











  • @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

    – Hot Licks
    4 hours ago






  • 1





    I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

    – KarlG
    3 hours ago











  • @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

    – Ubi hatt
    3 hours ago













  • @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

    – Hot Licks
    3 hours ago



















2














from Etymonline.com pack




Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
"to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"




and




1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.







share|improve this answer


























  • Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

    – KarlG
    1 hour ago











  • You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

    – Sven Yargs
    42 mins ago













  • Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

    – Sven Yargs
    31 mins ago



















2














Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:




We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.



Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.




The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.



I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:




The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.




Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.






share|improve this answer































    0














    The earliest instance related to "packing a gun" that I've been able to find is this one, from a poem titled "St. Valentines day," in the [Springfield] Illinois Journal (February 16, 1852):




    Then the second notion was, to save so much runnin / Arter the gals, which 'pays'—about as well as 'gunnin'— / Which don't pay at all, if you never tried it, take my word for it; / For, in my day, I've 'packed' a gun until I fairly abhor it.




    I agree with KarlG's conclusion that "packing"—without "a gun," "a pistol," or "a weapon"—in the sense of carrying a firearm, and in particular a handgun—is a much later development. I suspect that his discovery of a 1970 instance of such usage will be hard to beat.





    share
























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      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes








      4 Answers
      4






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      2














      1898:




      He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
      west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
      and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
      horse, and jumped off.




      The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898



      Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.






      share|improve this answer
























      • OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

        – Ubi hatt
        4 hours ago











      • @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

        – Hot Licks
        4 hours ago






      • 1





        I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

        – KarlG
        3 hours ago











      • @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

        – Ubi hatt
        3 hours ago













      • @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

        – Hot Licks
        3 hours ago
















      2














      1898:




      He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
      west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
      and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
      horse, and jumped off.




      The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898



      Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.






      share|improve this answer
























      • OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

        – Ubi hatt
        4 hours ago











      • @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

        – Hot Licks
        4 hours ago






      • 1





        I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

        – KarlG
        3 hours ago











      • @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

        – Ubi hatt
        3 hours ago













      • @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

        – Hot Licks
        3 hours ago














      2












      2








      2







      1898:




      He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
      west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
      and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
      horse, and jumped off.




      The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898



      Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.






      share|improve this answer













      1898:




      He passed in between his horse and that of his son's, "and got on the
      west side of my son, and said to him: 'You are packing a gun for me,
      and now, then, God damn you, use it' " At this, witness wheeled his
      horse, and jumped off.




      The Southwestern Reporter, June 27 -- August 22, 1898



      Ngram finds one earlier use of "packing a gun", but it appears to refer to loading a cannon.







      share|improve this answer












      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer










      answered 4 hours ago









      Hot LicksHot Licks

      19.5k23777




      19.5k23777













      • OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

        – Ubi hatt
        4 hours ago











      • @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

        – Hot Licks
        4 hours ago






      • 1





        I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

        – KarlG
        3 hours ago











      • @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

        – Ubi hatt
        3 hours ago













      • @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

        – Hot Licks
        3 hours ago



















      • OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

        – Ubi hatt
        4 hours ago











      • @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

        – Hot Licks
        4 hours ago






      • 1





        I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

        – KarlG
        3 hours ago











      • @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

        – Ubi hatt
        3 hours ago













      • @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

        – Hot Licks
        3 hours ago

















      OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

      – Ubi hatt
      4 hours ago





      OP thinks that packing meaning "carrying a gun".

      – Ubi hatt
      4 hours ago













      @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

      – Hot Licks
      4 hours ago





      @Ubihatt - And that is the sense that the above quote appears to be using.

      – Hot Licks
      4 hours ago




      1




      1





      I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

      – KarlG
      3 hours ago





      I always thought it was just short for packing heat.

      – KarlG
      3 hours ago













      @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

      – Ubi hatt
      3 hours ago







      @KarlG yep! you are correct. Packing heat means carrying a gun.

      – Ubi hatt
      3 hours ago















      @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

      – Hot Licks
      3 hours ago





      @Ubihatt - I don't understand. If you read the context (click on the link) the quote clearly refers to carrying a gun. "Packing heat" didn't enter the argot until the 1980s.

      – Hot Licks
      3 hours ago













      2














      from Etymonline.com pack




      Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
      "to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"




      and




      1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
      his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.







      share|improve this answer


























      • Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

        – KarlG
        1 hour ago











      • You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

        – Sven Yargs
        42 mins ago













      • Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

        – Sven Yargs
        31 mins ago
















      2














      from Etymonline.com pack




      Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
      "to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"




      and




      1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
      his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.







      share|improve this answer


























      • Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

        – KarlG
        1 hour ago











      • You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

        – Sven Yargs
        42 mins ago













      • Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

        – Sven Yargs
        31 mins ago














      2












      2








      2







      from Etymonline.com pack




      Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
      "to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"




      and




      1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
      his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.







      share|improve this answer















      from Etymonline.com pack




      Sense of "to carry or convey in a pack" (1805) led to general sense of
      "to carry in any manner;" hence to pack heat "carry a gun,"




      and




      1865 Atlantic Monthly One of the best of Rosecrans's scouts..lost
      his life because he would..‘pack’ (carry) his gun.








      share|improve this answer














      share|improve this answer



      share|improve this answer








      edited 2 hours ago

























      answered 2 hours ago









      lbflbf

      22.3k22575




      22.3k22575













      • Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

        – KarlG
        1 hour ago











      • You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

        – Sven Yargs
        42 mins ago













      • Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

        – Sven Yargs
        31 mins ago



















      • Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

        – KarlG
        1 hour ago











      • You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

        – Sven Yargs
        42 mins ago













      • Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

        – Sven Yargs
        31 mins ago

















      Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

      – KarlG
      1 hour ago





      Where did you dig up the Atlantic Monthly quote? It didn’t show up in a COHA collocation search.

      – KarlG
      1 hour ago













      You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

      – Sven Yargs
      42 mins ago







      You can find the entire October 1865 Atlantic quote here. Interestingly, the context involves a "scout" from eastern Kentucky working for the U.S. army who was found out by southern troops in the Confederate army because his dialect and habits differed from those of soldiers who really were from the mountains of Alabama, as he claimed to be.

      – Sven Yargs
      42 mins ago















      Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

      – Sven Yargs
      31 mins ago





      Also of interest, from deposition taken March 19, 1869, from Andrew Hampton in Barnes vs. Adams: "Q. Did you never carry a gun, and go in company with Union soldiers ; and were you ever in the service as a soldier? — A. I have packed a gun to try to protect myself and my property, and to try to keep these men from stealing my property. I never was a soldier in any army."

      – Sven Yargs
      31 mins ago











      2














      Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:




      We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.



      Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

      Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.




      The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.



      I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:




      The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.




      Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.






      share|improve this answer




























        2














        Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:




        We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.



        Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

        Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.




        The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.



        I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:




        The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.




        Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.






        share|improve this answer


























          2












          2








          2







          Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:




          We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.



          Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

          Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.




          The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.



          I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:




          The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.




          Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.






          share|improve this answer













          Packing meaning to carry a firearm is a shortened form of packing a gun/pistol etc., which emerges in the Western and Southwestern states and territories at least by the 1870s:




          We should be glad to see William out of his troubles but he must quit “packing a pistol” and playing fighter. — Carson Daily Appeal (Carson City NV), 14 May 1873.



          Q. The other men who came up, what did they come up for? —A. I didn’t see them until they got right up there.

          Q. Did they have anything in their hands? —A. They were packing guns. — Modoc War, US House of Representatives, Message from the President [Grant], Washington DC, 1874.




          The quotation marks around the phrase in the Nevada newspaper suggests a fairly new usage.



          I suspect that the shortened form, i. e., with no direct object, is a late 20th c. innovation:




          The brothers were packing, but that was not unusual; the Party was under surveillance at the time because of the fear of us starting trouble in Oakland after Dr. King's death … — Earl Anthony, Picking Up the Gun: a Report on the Black Panthers, 1970, 107.




          Your friend is safe using pack a pistol etc., but it would be wise not to use the verb without a direct object for a narrative set in the late 19th c.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 1 hour ago









          KarlGKarlG

          23.8k73566




          23.8k73566























              0














              The earliest instance related to "packing a gun" that I've been able to find is this one, from a poem titled "St. Valentines day," in the [Springfield] Illinois Journal (February 16, 1852):




              Then the second notion was, to save so much runnin / Arter the gals, which 'pays'—about as well as 'gunnin'— / Which don't pay at all, if you never tried it, take my word for it; / For, in my day, I've 'packed' a gun until I fairly abhor it.




              I agree with KarlG's conclusion that "packing"—without "a gun," "a pistol," or "a weapon"—in the sense of carrying a firearm, and in particular a handgun—is a much later development. I suspect that his discovery of a 1970 instance of such usage will be hard to beat.





              share




























                0














                The earliest instance related to "packing a gun" that I've been able to find is this one, from a poem titled "St. Valentines day," in the [Springfield] Illinois Journal (February 16, 1852):




                Then the second notion was, to save so much runnin / Arter the gals, which 'pays'—about as well as 'gunnin'— / Which don't pay at all, if you never tried it, take my word for it; / For, in my day, I've 'packed' a gun until I fairly abhor it.




                I agree with KarlG's conclusion that "packing"—without "a gun," "a pistol," or "a weapon"—in the sense of carrying a firearm, and in particular a handgun—is a much later development. I suspect that his discovery of a 1970 instance of such usage will be hard to beat.





                share


























                  0












                  0








                  0







                  The earliest instance related to "packing a gun" that I've been able to find is this one, from a poem titled "St. Valentines day," in the [Springfield] Illinois Journal (February 16, 1852):




                  Then the second notion was, to save so much runnin / Arter the gals, which 'pays'—about as well as 'gunnin'— / Which don't pay at all, if you never tried it, take my word for it; / For, in my day, I've 'packed' a gun until I fairly abhor it.




                  I agree with KarlG's conclusion that "packing"—without "a gun," "a pistol," or "a weapon"—in the sense of carrying a firearm, and in particular a handgun—is a much later development. I suspect that his discovery of a 1970 instance of such usage will be hard to beat.





                  share













                  The earliest instance related to "packing a gun" that I've been able to find is this one, from a poem titled "St. Valentines day," in the [Springfield] Illinois Journal (February 16, 1852):




                  Then the second notion was, to save so much runnin / Arter the gals, which 'pays'—about as well as 'gunnin'— / Which don't pay at all, if you never tried it, take my word for it; / For, in my day, I've 'packed' a gun until I fairly abhor it.




                  I agree with KarlG's conclusion that "packing"—without "a gun," "a pistol," or "a weapon"—in the sense of carrying a firearm, and in particular a handgun—is a much later development. I suspect that his discovery of a 1970 instance of such usage will be hard to beat.






                  share











                  share


                  share










                  answered 3 mins ago









                  Sven YargsSven Yargs

                  115k20251508




                  115k20251508






















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