Annie Oakley

[ ohk-lee ]

noun

1. a free ticket, as to a theater; pass.

Oakley, Annie

1. A performer in Wild West shows around the turn of the twentieth century, famous for her marksmanship. In one of her acts, she would flip a playing card into the air and then perforate it with bullets before it hit the ground. The musical Annie Get Your Gun is loosely based on her experiences.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Annie Oakley¹

Allegedly so called because such tickets, punched to prevent resale, resembled the playing cards used as targets by Annie Oakley

Example Sentences

The blood-simple plot begins in Paris with an assassin, never named, on an “Annie Oakley job,” lining up his target in an adjacent building with a scoped rifle.

From Los Angeles Times

Kelly’s beloved dog, an elderly, Pomeranian-long haired Chihuahua mix named Annie Oakley, bounded down the carpeted staircase and wriggled across the linoleum kitchen floor, wagging her tail for attention.

From Seattle Times

The very next year, Thomas Edison made a 90-second film of “Little Miss Sure Shot,” Annie Oakley, performing some of her marksmanship.

From Los Angeles Times

"We would often get visits from Terry when he was in the navy," said Terry's cousin Annie Oakley, who now lives in Australia.

From BBC

“The logs documenting these practice sessions list fictitious prisoner names including ‘Wild Bill,’ ‘Con Demned,’ ‘Annie Oakley,’ ‘Doc Holliday,’ ‘Tom Thumb,’ ‘John Henry,’ and ‘Billy the Kid,’” a court filing states.

From Seattle Times