English

Noun

smoke wagon ‎(plural smoke wagons)

1. (US, slang, archaic) A handgun, especially a revolver.
   • 1926, Nicholas Klein, "Hobo Lingo," American Speech, vol. 1, no. 12, pp. 650-653:

     The following list of hobo words, presented in glossary form, was collected by me during twenty years of experience with hobo cases in my profession of attorney-at-law. . . . Smoke wagon—pistol.

   • 1950, C. Merton Babcock, "The Vocabulary of Social Life on the American Frontier," Western Folklore, vol. 9, no. 2, p. 138:

     Familiar epithets for the revolver were equalizer, shootin' iron . . . smoke wagon.

   • 1993, Kevin Jarre, Tombstone (film script):

     Wyatt (Kurt Russell): Go ahead. Skin it. Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens. . . . I'm getting tired of your gas. Jerk that pistol and go to work.