Visiting fireman

Posted by ESC on September 03, 2000

In Reply to: Meaning/origin posted by Marion on September 03, 2000

: What is a "Visiting Fireman" ?

"VISITING FIREMAN -- A distinguished visitor from out-of-town. Here 'fireman' is not related to a firefighter but to a Native American dignitary responsible for lighting his tribe's fires." From Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997).