The two dollar pistol

[GunnyGene]

Some history of the phrase we've all heard that had it's origins in the early 20th century. Adjusted for inflation since 1913 that pistol in now a $63.54 pistol.

https://www.chroniclecollectibles.com/hotter-than-a-two-dollar-pistol/

 

[RC44Mag]

Cool song and Vettes. I'll have to add that tune to my iPhone list. Taken today along with buddies new ride.

 

[eveled]

I don't believe their explanation. It all seems too AI. And they missed the point. AI usually does.

HOT means it was stolen

The hotter it is, the more likely it was used in a crime, or recently stolen. Hence the bargain price of $2.

So a $2 pistol would be extremely "Hot".

Hot also means an extremely attractive female.

It has nothing to do with the popularity of $2 affordable pistols at the time. Or the heat generated by them. Ridiculous.

 

[Ride1949]

Cool song and great video though. Haven't heard that one in a long time.

 

[Tenbore]

That article misses the meaning by a mile.

 

[Bob Wright]

From Judy Canova days................

Pedro (Mel Blanc): "Hasta la vista."

Judy Camova: "You're hotter than a two dollar pistol, too, Pedro"

Reall funny dialog back in our unsophisticated days.

Bob Wright

 

[blume357]

Even at my age now I can remember what 'hot' meant when you were talking about a young woman.... I even dated one for a while. Looking back now; like most muscle cars,, she was more than I could handle.

 

[eveled]

Fast motorcycles, cars, & women. I’m lucky I survived, but I’d do it all over again.

 

[John in WYO]

eveled hit the nail on the head
when he typed and said
that a hot pistol was a stolen one and the price was a dead giveaway.
That's my takeaway.
The rest of the explanations are trash

Haiku
Please forgive my use of literary license in my response….


Edited to add a comment to Bob W.: Thanks for the introduction to Judy Canova!

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

Whenever I hear this phrase I think of the WWII FP-45 Liberator handgun, which cost $2.10 to make at the time.

 

[eveled]

Whenever I hear this phrase I think of the WWII FP-45 Liberator handgun, which cost $2.10 to make at the time.

I always wanted to shoot one of those.

 

[Mike J]

This phrase can be used a lot of different ways. Hot can mean attractive or stolen. It can also mean exactly what it says-hot. I remember being a kid helping my dad work on a car that had been running a short time before. He told me to be careful what I touched as it was, "hotter than a 2 dollar pistol on Saturday night." Language is fun.

 

[Joe Chartreuse]

I always wanted to shoot one of those.

Ditto. I actually found one years ago in rough shape. Was going to work on it, but I got an offer I couldn't refuse before I could. Lose/win situation.

 

[blume357]

Okay, I got it that the $2 pistol is stolen but now the question is who did he steal the girl sitting in the Corvette from?

 

[Busterswoodshop]

Okay, I got it that the $2 pistol is stolen but now the question is who did he steal the girl sitting in the Corvette from?

He didn't.
Some guy at the bank stole her from him.

 

[blume357]

Yep, the first one was stolen by the guy at the bank... but what about the current one?

 

[Terry G]

I don't know if these are $2.00. Could be.

 

[Mike J]

I don't know if these are $2.00. Could be.View attachment 52924

I would think todays equivalent of a two dollar pistol would be more along the lines of a Jennings, Bryco, or Phoenix.

 

[Watertender]

I would think todays equivalent of a two dollar pistol would be more along the lines of a Jennings, Bryco, or Phoenix.

Or a Raven .25!

 

[Terry G]

I would think todays equivalent of a two dollar pistol would be more along the lines of a Jennings, Bryco, or Phoenix.

True. I bought a Jennings .22 when I was young. I was used to U.S. Army guns that worked! The Jennings didn't!

 

[Ride1949]

I would think todays equivalent of a two dollar pistol would be more along the lines of a Jennings, Bryco, or Phoenix.

Add Davis to the list. My wife bought me a new .380 (before she knew anything at all about guns) for $69.95. It was worth maybe two dollars. After four trips back to the factory to try to get a barrel that wouldn't keyhole at ten feet, I gave it away.

 

[Mike J]

Completely off topic but I thread made me think of a great uncle on my mother's side. I only saw him when we would go to Texas once a year to visit relatives. He & my grandmother had grown up in the Ozarks in Arkansas. He once told me that his mother had sewed him a place inside of his overalls to carry a pistol because of how mean the older boys were. I have no doubt he was probably going to a one room schoolhouse. My mother would always want to go see him & his wife. I would get bored & he would call me into the back room where he was drinking four roses whiskey & tell me stories. From other things my mother told me I suspect they were true.

 

[Mike J]

Add Davis to the list. My wife bought me a new .380 (before she knew anything at all about guns) for $69.95. It was worth maybe two dollars. After four trips back to the factory to try to get a barrel that wouldn't keyhole at ten feet, I gave it away.

That was the other brand I was trying to think of I couldn't remember them all. I think there is another but I can't bring it to mind right now. I had a fellow that wanted to show me his gun once. It was I believe a Phoenix .380. He wanted me to shoot it. I did fire a couple of rounds but it made me a bit nervous.

 

[eveled]

Okay, I got it that the $2 pistol is stolen but now the question is who did he steal the girl sitting in the Corvette from?

I always thought they came with the Corvette.

The trouble with Corvette’s no matter how cool you look driving it. Nobody looks cool getting out of one!

 

[Terry G]

Another take. A guy told me the 2 Dollar pistol was made from such cheap metal that it became very hot to the touch after just a little firing.

 

[Randyzzz]

It’s amazing how language is butchered to fit our insatiable need for slang terms. Hot can be temperature, something stolen, a woman, a bad temper, a degree of emotion, or a built vehicle engine.

Let’s see how many I can get in one picture…

Here’s my hot wife sitting on my 1967 Bronco. It had a pretty hot engine, that’s why we had to pull over- it was running hot. I was pretty hot but my wife tried to cheer me up by posing on the hood. It worked. (I won’t show you the next few…)

 

[Fox Mike]

I imagine that is just another southern saying like "she has a butt on her like a $40 mule."

 

[RC44Mag]

I imagine that is just another southern saying like "she has a butt on her like a $40 mule."

I said that to my wife about a year ago, now I'm almost done with the dental work.

 

[Ride1949]

That was the other brand I was trying to think of I couldn't remember them all. I think there is another but I can't bring it to mind right now. I had a fellow that wanted to show me his gun once. It was I believe a Phoenix .380. He wanted me to shoot it. I did fire a couple of rounds but it made me a bit nervous.

Lorcin, Raven & Sundance were right there in "The ring of fire" and produced the same cheap zamak saturday night specials.

 

[Terry G]

Phoenix .22's, my Brother bought two of them against my advice. One for him and one for his girlfriend. His girlfriend never figured out all the safety's and often couldn't get it to shoot. Some protection. I fired his and a 21 feet at a shoulder high target the round would kick up dirt in front of the target. I advised him to throw them both in the river. The guns and his girlfriend.