ProbableNamed from the place
Missouri canary
noun · first attested 19th century
Missouri bred the mules that hauled the American West, and the bray is the punchline.
Rare American slang for a mule.
38.5000°N -92.5000°W · Q1581
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- ProbableThe conventional story is likely, with caveats.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Missouri
- In English
Missouri canary
Missouri was the center of American mule breeding through the nineteenth century, supplying Southern plantations, the Santa Fe trade, and later the armies of both world wars. The mule is the state animal. Calling one a canary sets its bray against a songbird, the same joke as Rocky Mountain canary for a burro.
Also pinned to Missouri
1 more from the same place
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