smoking ponies

phrase

The Native American practice of visiting other tribes in order to receive horses as gifts.

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Meanings

phrase
  1. historicalThe Native American practice of visiting other tribes in order to receive horses as gifts.

    […] the Washitaws with their lovely squaws are on their way to visit the Delawares, who have a reservation not far north of Lawrence. This sort of visiting they call "smoking ponies."

    1953, The Kansas Magazine, page 89
    1 more example

    […] visiting other Indians and the State for the purpose of trading, smoking ponies, and begging, whichever seems best to accomplish the end in view — that is, getting a living without physical exertion.

    1885, United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Report, page 89
Cite this entry
APA

smoking ponies. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoking%20ponies

MLA

“smoking ponies.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoking%20ponies. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smoking ponies,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smoking%20ponies.

Source: smoking ponies on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.