Transcript of “A Sidesaddle Gift is One for the Giver”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Alex from Lexington, Kentucky.
Hi, Alex in Lexington. Welcome to the show.
What’s on your mind, Alex?
I was talking with a co-worker of mine the other day, and she described a present as a side saddle gift.
And being from Lexington, I’m familiar with a decent amount of equine jargon, but I hadn’t heard this phrase before.
So I thought about calling you all and seeing if you had and maybe knew a little history on it.
So talking about a side saddle gift, what does that mean?
How did they use it in context?
A side saddle is instead of a traditional saddle where you might be facing front or forward on the horse with both legs on each side,
A side saddle allows you to put both of your legs on one side.
So it was traditionally used by a woman with like a big dress.
That way they could ride a horse but have the kind of big hoopy dress on them.
And in the context, it was used to describe a present given by someone to a partner or a recipient.
But the real ultimate benefactor of the present was the person giving it.
So in the, I guess, the way it explained to me was that, you know, a wife may give her husband a side saddle.
But in reality, she’s going to be the only one using it.
So it’s a gift that really kind of comes back to only benefit you.
Exactly.
Yes, it’s a gift that the giver gives and then ends up using at least as much as the recipient does.
There’s another great example of this in a newspaper from 1966.
There’s a column in the Daily Oklahoman where this woman is talking about how when she was a child,
Her family had a relative who showed up quite often for surprise visits and expected to stay a long time each time.
And one year, the Christmas gift that this relative brought for them was a luggage rack.
And obviously, that’s supposed to be a thoughtful gift for the family.
But hey, who’s the person who’s going to end up using the luggage rack?
It’s that person.
And yes, it comes from that idea of a side saddle.
You know, a woman who keeps asking her husband for a new side saddle,
And he keeps saying, no, you don’t need one.
And then come Christmas Day, what does she give him?
Here, darling, a lovely side saddle.
But it’s not a widespread term, though, is it?
No, it’s not that widespread.
But we do see instances of it, and it’s taking matters into your own hands.
I had never heard it before. When I explained, I had asked my family about it.
And while they hadn’t heard the phrase, when I had kind of gave them a little context,
They had definitely been familiar and received side-saddle gifts before.
Yeah. I mean, as Grant said, it’s not that common, but I’m just so glad to know that there’s a term for this
Because I think we’ve all experienced it and now we have a term for it.
Yeah, I think when you become an adult, couples, a lot of gifts you give each other are side saddle gifts on purpose where you buy things for the house and you just address it to your partner.
Oh, there’s the new cushions for the dining set.
Here’s a dust buster.
Yeah, exactly.
It’s not that you want them to use it, just the house needed one.
I appreciate you all giving me a bit more illustration to it because I like the phrase and I definitely hope to maybe use it in the future.
I’m glad there’s a name for kind of the experience you’ve all had.
I think you bringing it to the radio show will put this in the mouths and ears of a lot of people.
So there’s a good chance we’ve given it new life.
Well, that’s exciting.
Well, thank you for calling from the bluegrass.
Thanks for talking with me.
You know, it wouldn’t be a side saddle gift if you called us and asked us a question,
Because Martha and I love to get those kinds of questions.
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