Mule Skinner Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

mule skinner American

noun

Informal.

1. a muleteer.

mule skinner British

noun

1. an informal term for muleteer

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of mule skinner

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Luckily, bushes blocked some of the most vertigo-inducing views, and I had a mule skinner behind me strumming his ukulele and singing in that sweet Hawaiian male soprano that calms the rawest of nerves.

From Washington Post

A young mule skinner named Milton Humason helped to transport mechanical and optical equipment, scientists, engineers and dignitaries up the mountain.

From Literature

With the film industry in its growing stages, even a former mule skinner by the name of Hal Roach could quickly become a major player.

From Los Angeles Times

So when brother January he come home, de massa took down his long mule skinner and tied him wid a rope to a pine tree.

From Project Gutenberg

A brightly painted Indian with eagle feathered bonnet and a string of grizzly claws around his neck, won a mule skinner's money.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.