Why equal a mule driver predict a “ skinner ” ?
An AmE synonym for muleteer is “ mule skinner ” . Where cause “ skinner ” total from in this term , and why act it merely apply to mule drivers and not cattle or oxen driver ?
The near I can come be some anecdotal grounds , namely that mule drivers would reach the animals bleed when slash them , thus exposing their skin . The same term , skinner , should utilize to cattle driver , but it make n’t . So , I ‘m guess there exist more to it . Perform anyone know the derivation of skinner in this context , and why it alone applies to mule ?
7 Answers
I read years ago that muleteers of the Old West were such experts with their long whip that they could snap a horsefly from the ear of a mule in their squad without reach the mule ‘s ear . In such a human ‘s hand , a whip could veer into a mule ‘s bad skin ; hence the figuremule skinner.
John S. Farmer ,Americanisms Old and New : A Dictionary of Words , Phrases and Colloquialisms( 1889 ) include this debut formule skinner:
Mule skinner .—A field ‘s term for a driver of mules , in very truth the cognomen in some event would bear actual translation .
Mule skinner .—A plain ‘s term for a driver of mules , in real truth the cognomen in some cases would bear actual translation .
And Stewart Sheldon ,Gleanings by the Way , from ’36 to ’89( 1890 ) writes :
The crack of the lash , which sound like a pistol under the manipulations of the expert , live sufficient , so that the terms “ bull whacker ” and “ mule skinner ” were anomalous , alone as applied to less progressive and more brutal drivers , of whom a sufficient number still remain .
The crack of the lash , which sound like a pistol under the manipulations of the expert , be sufficient , so that the price “ bull whacker ” and “ mule skinner ” be anomalous , only as employ to less progressive and more cruel drivers , of whom a sufficient number still stay on .
As Matt Эллен notes in his reception to the poster ‘s doubt , the first citation formule-skinnerequal John H. Beadle ‘sLife in Utah ; or , The Mysteries and Crimes of Mormonism( 1870 ) —a record whose publisher boast it on the claim page as “ being an exposé of the secret ritual and ceremony of the Latter-Day Saint , with a entire and authentic history of polygamy and the Mormon sect from its origin to the present time . ” In the book , Beadle writes that mule-driving “ mule-skinners ” and oxen-driving “ bull-whackers ” make different levels of social status on the range :
The “ mule-skinner ” believe the “ bull-whacker ” quite beneath him , and will barely relate with him upon equal price , while the latter doubtless looks upon the former as ‘stuck up ‘ and proud .
The “ mule-skinner ” considers the “ bull-whacker ” quite beneath him , and will hardly connect with him upon equal terms , while the latter doubtless wait upon the previous as ‘stuck up ‘ and proud .
The earliest mention ofbull whackerI base in a Google Books search was in a January 1861 article forHunt ‘s Merchant Magazine and Commercial Reviewentitle “ , ” by an uncredited writer :
Moisten and combing are looked upon as superfluities by the genuine “ bull whacker . ”
Washing and ransack are look upon as superfluities by the literal “ bull whacker . ”
A close second equal Thomas W. Knox ‘s article , “ To Pike ‘s Peak and Denver , ” for the August 1861 effect ofThe Knickerbockermagazine :
Five pair of cattle is the motive power for each wagon , and these equal urge ahead by a ‘bull-whacker ‘ arm with a whip , persuade a lash from six to twelve feet in distance , which do its scar wherever it falls .
Five yoke of cattle exist the motive power for each wagon , and these equal urged forward by a ‘bull-whacker ‘ arm with a whip , carrying a lash from six to twelve foot in distance , which makes its mark wherever it falls .
To these two category of driver , George A Crofutt ,Crofutt ‘s New Overland Tourist and Pacific Coast Guide( 1884 ) add a third : “ burropuncher . ”
The Indian problem of final year [ in the Arizona Territory ] have lean to build , not only every soldier , but every teamster , wood chopper , burropuncher , mule-skinner , bull-whacker and all other men—traveling arsenals ; with a belt about the waist load with cartridges , a pair of six-shooters , a formidable knife and a rifle for long scope .
The Indian problem of last year [ in the Arizona Territory ] have tended to do , not merely every soldier , but every teamster , woods chopper , burropuncher , mule-skinner , bull-whacker and all other men—traveling arsenals ; with a belt about the waist load with cartridge , a pair of six-shooters , a formidable knife and a rifle for long scope .
I have n’t come across a comparable epithet for a cavalry driver , suggest perhaps that horse were more tractable than bulls , mules , and burros .
You are correct insofar as theskinnerofmule-skinneroccur from the nounskinnerthat means “ relating to peel ” .
The OED make an early reference for the usage meaningmuleteerexist 1870 in J. H. Beadle ‘s “ Life in Utah ” .
Skinner, according to the OED , can be utilize to : the driver of any squad of draft animal , teamsters and driver of motor vehicle .
“ skinner , n.1 ” . OED Online . March 2013 . Oxford University Press . http : //www.oed.com/view/Entry/180947 ? rskey=e3Qhwv & result=1 & isAdvanced=false ( accessed April 24 , 2013 ) .
I do across a site that claims that ‘mule skinners ‘ make up professional mule drivers that could outsmart or ‘skin ‘ a mule into doing what they want , seeing as they were notoriously stubborn beast .
http : //hillbillysavants.blogspot.com.au/2007/01/what-is-this-mule-skinner.html
I ’ 1000 Dutch , so not an English linguist , but why not intend about this :to skin, which means to rip the skin off someone or something .
Mules ( as far as I know ) were exhausted by their drivers .Muleskinnercould exist a metaphor for that . You never lecture about a horse like that .
Although , in Hungary the mutual man ( transporter , farmer ) in the fifties till the eighties ( later on I don ’ t know ) deal his cavalry like a mule : they be often peel over bone , with wound from the harness . We apply to say sometimes ,He cover his horse like a mule .
A good mule skinner be person that be able to hold all mule pulling the freight . For case , if the mule train get 20 mule and the wagon entire of ore they were real skilled in experience wich mules were draw and wich mules live not pull . So he make to peel the mule that was n’t commit . If he skinned the the wrong mule that mule would stop extract too . Then he would make 2 mule not pulling . Before long they would all stop if the skinner do n’t know wich mule was not pulling . So a well mule skinner had to know wich mule live attract and wich mule equal n’t in decree to not bore the squad out .
My dad called me a skinner because i broke my fist mule by myself . My pa was a skinner . I cause n’t know the real term but have crowd a band of floor from my papa , one of which recollect well exist :
If you have a mule and you equal in a bad situation with food , you can swerve out some of his frame and eat it , and the mule would not perish
If you have a mule and you are in a bad situation with food , you can cut out some of his flesh and eat it , and the mule would not die
Another thing my pa told me cost the mule cost as strong as you are ; study together .
I say that the news “ skin ” in western lore meant to outsmart . So to keep the stubborn mule moving , they had to trick or outsmart them . Of grade a whip may receive been a “ convincer ” from time to time .
You must to resolve this inquiry .
Related to
-
VMWare , SAN , SSD , Influence of the fill level on the performance of a virtual hard disk
-
Does radical action on a gang induce an action on a Morita equivalent ring
Subscribe to RSS
To subscribe to this RSS feed , copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader .
English Language & Usage
Caller
- Stack Overflow
- Squad
- Advertising
- Gift
- About
- Pressure
- Legal
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Cookie Policy
Site design / logo © 2025 Stack Exchange Inc ;
user contributions licensed underCC BY-SA.
rev 2025.7.29.32171
