<P> Riding shotgun was used to describe the guard who rode alongside a stagecoach driver, ready to use his shotgun to ward off bandits or Native Americans . In modern use, it refers to the practice of sitting alongside the driver in a moving vehicle . The phrase has been used to mean giving actual or figurative support or aid to someone in a situation . The phrase was coined in 1919 . </P> <P> The expression "riding shotgun" is derived from "shotgun messenger", a colloquial term for "express messenger", when stagecoach travel was popular during the American Wild West and the Colonial period in Australia . The person rode alongside the driver . The phrase "riding shotgun" was first used in 1919 by The Ogden Examiner in May 1919, in a story titled "Ross Will Again Ride Shotgun on Old Stage Coach ." </P>

Where does the term riding shotgun come from