Home Β» Segments Β» Light a Shuck

Light a Shuck

Light a shuck means “to skedaddle” or “leave quickly,” and is often found in cowboy literature. It’s a reference to moving quickly while using a burning corn shuck to light one’s way, and may also be influenced by the swiftness fire burns dry corn leaves. The colloquial expression come to fetch fire refers to someone who drops by a neighbor’s house just briefly, as if to pick up something to light one’s own stove. This is part of a complete episode.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More from this show

Going on Buxtehude

Sean in Oneonta, New York, says that when he was growing up in New Jersey, his family would pile in the car and set off on a surprise adventure, whether a short distance or long, and the kids would be told only that they were going on Buxtehude...

Recent posts