covered wagon
Definition
- Noun:
- A large wagon with broad wheels and an arched canvas top: A vehicle used for transporting goods and people, historically significant for its use by pioneers in the 19th century, particularly in the United States, to travel across vast, undeveloped lands like the prairies.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The family packed all their belongings into the covered wagon before beginning their journey west.
- Museums often display a covered wagon to illustrate the challenges of pioneer life.
Advanced Usage
- "to circle the wagons": While not using "covered wagon" directly, this idiom originates from the practice of pioneers forming a defensive circle with their wagons. It now figuratively means to become defensive or to unite against a common threat.
- When the scandal broke, the company's executives circled the wagons.
Variants and Related Words
- Prairie schooner (n): Another name for a covered wagon, drawing a comparison to a ship sailing across the grassy "sea" of the prairie.
- Conestoga wagon (n): A specific, heavy type of covered wagon used for freight, originating in Pennsylvania.
- Wagon train (n): A group of covered wagons traveling together for safety and mutual support.
Synonyms
- Wagon: A general term for a four-wheeled vehicle for transporting loads.
- Carriage: A horse-drawn vehicle for passengers, typically more refined and enclosed than a covered wagon.
Related Phrases
- Covered wagon is typically used as a fixed noun phrase. It does not commonly form phrasal verbs.
Related Idioms
- "Off one's wagon": This idiom relates to a different type of wagon ("water wagon") and means to resume drinking alcohol after a period of abstinence. It is not directly related to the "covered wagon" but is a common wagon-related idiom.
Noun
-
a large wagon with broad wheels and an arched canvas top; used by the United States pioneers to cross the prairies in the 19th century
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