shotgun wedding
a marriage to which one or both partners are forced
TRANSLATION
shotgun wedding = die Mussehe, die Zwangsheirat --- GOOGLE INDEX shotgun wedding: approximately 1,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Their sudden marriage announcement after just four months of dating has sparked speculation that it is a SHOTGUN WEDDING.
(Channel News Asia)
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According to a recent article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Merrill Lynch's SHOTGUN WEDDING to Bank of America has produced a rocky marriage, with a great deal of dissatisfaction.
(about.com)
(Channel News Asia)
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According to a recent article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Merrill Lynch's SHOTGUN WEDDING to Bank of America has produced a rocky marriage, with a great deal of dissatisfaction.
(about.com)
Did you
know?
shotgun wedding
idiom
- a wedding into which one or both partners are coerced, usually because the woman is pregnant
(Collins English Dictionary)
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In the ideal world, often portrayed by Hollywood, couples meet, date for a while, get married and then have children and raise a family. Sometimes life turns out differently however. Couples meet, date and then comes an unplanned pregnancy. In some cultures, especially those that are based on strict religious views, such situations are considered embarrassing or dishonourable to the families involved. The result is a forced marriage, or a shotgun wedding as it is called.
This expression originated in America and stems from the idea of a father who demands that a man who has gotten his daughter pregnant marry her in order to restore honour to the family. It paints a picture of the father standing behind the couple at the altar with a shotgun during the wedding ceremony to make sure the groom doesn't try to flee from his obligations. While the shotgun aspect may seem a bit out of date these days, in some countries and cultures the concept of the forced marriage is not.
In the business world, shotgun wedding is sometimes used to describe business relationships that are forced for one reason or another, such as when a majority shareholder forces a public company to merge with another company over the objection of the board or other shareholders.
In politics, the equivalent of the shotgun wedding is referred to as "gunboat diplomacy," which is defined as diplomacy involving intimidation by threat or use of military force, usually with something bigger than a shotgun.
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Even though it was a shotgun wedding, they've been happily married for more than 30 years."
---
Thanks to Peter for suggesting today's word!
idiom
- a wedding into which one or both partners are coerced, usually because the woman is pregnant
(Collins English Dictionary)
---
In the ideal world, often portrayed by Hollywood, couples meet, date for a while, get married and then have children and raise a family. Sometimes life turns out differently however. Couples meet, date and then comes an unplanned pregnancy. In some cultures, especially those that are based on strict religious views, such situations are considered embarrassing or dishonourable to the families involved. The result is a forced marriage, or a shotgun wedding as it is called.
This expression originated in America and stems from the idea of a father who demands that a man who has gotten his daughter pregnant marry her in order to restore honour to the family. It paints a picture of the father standing behind the couple at the altar with a shotgun during the wedding ceremony to make sure the groom doesn't try to flee from his obligations. While the shotgun aspect may seem a bit out of date these days, in some countries and cultures the concept of the forced marriage is not.
In the business world, shotgun wedding is sometimes used to describe business relationships that are forced for one reason or another, such as when a majority shareholder forces a public company to merge with another company over the objection of the board or other shareholders.
In politics, the equivalent of the shotgun wedding is referred to as "gunboat diplomacy," which is defined as diplomacy involving intimidation by threat or use of military force, usually with something bigger than a shotgun.
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"Even though it was a shotgun wedding, they've been happily married for more than 30 years."
---
Thanks to Peter for suggesting today's word!
