<P> A shotgun wedding is a wedding that is arranged to avoid embarrassment due to premarital sex possibly leading to an unintended pregnancy , rather than out of the desire of the participants . The phrase is an American colloquialism , though it is also used in other parts of the world , based on a supposed scenario that the father of the bride - to - be must resort to using coercion ( such as threatening with a shotgun ) to ensure that the man who possibly impregnated her follows through with the wedding . </P>
<P> A shotgun wedding is a wedding that is arranged to avoid embarrassment due to premarital sex possibly leading to an unintended pregnancy , rather than out of the desire of the participants . The phrase is an American colloquialism , though it is also used in other parts of the world , based on a supposed scenario that the father of the bride - to - be must resort to using coercion ( such as threatening with a shotgun ) to ensure that the man who possibly impregnated her follows through with the wedding . </P>
where does the term shotgun wedding come from
where does the term shotgun wedding come from
American colloquialism
American colloquialism