Annie Oakley
4
6.9
- proper noun
- The legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley amazed audiences with her skills.
Examples
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Annie Oakley became a symbol of the American West through her incredible marksmanship and showmanship.
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Did Annie Oakley really shoot a cigarette out of her husband's mouth?
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Many young girls looked up to Annie Oakley as a trailblazer for women in sports and entertainment.
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The biography of Annie Oakley details her rise from humble beginnings to international acclaim.
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Annie Oakley became a symbol of the American West through her incredible marksmanship and showmanship.
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Many young girls looked up to Annie Oakley as a trailblazer for women in sports and entertainment.
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The biography of Annie Oakley details her rise from humble beginnings to international acclaim.
Synonyms
3
7.5
An American sharpshooter who performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Surface Forms
Morphology
Annie + Oakley
Annie Oakley is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; knowing the constituent words 'Annie' (a given name) and 'Oakley' (a surname) does not let a B1 learner infer that she was a famous American sharpshooter or performer. Proper names are arbitrary referents and require prior cultural or lexical knowledge, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Annie Oakley was the stage name of Phoebe Ann Moses, a small but amazingly accurate shooter who became a star in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. People remember the clear image of a tiny woman who could hit any target, so Annie Oakley now stands for a very skilled female shooter and a symbol of women who broke rules in the Old West.