What is a “grass widow?”

What is a “grass widow?”

Brad Peters,
Phoenix, Arizona

Grass widow is a term dating back several hundred years. Originally, it could have referred to an unmarried woman who did her lovin’ in a haystack or on the grassy ground. Over time, it came to mean a woman who was separated or divorced, or an abandoned mistress, who had a baby out of wedlock or had an absentee husband.

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Marshall Trimble is Arizona’s official historian. His latest book is Wyatt Earp: Showdown at Tombstone. If you have a question, write:

Ask the Marshall, P.O. Box 8008,
Cave Creek, AZ 85327 or e-mail him at
marshall.trimble@scottsdalecc.ed