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Why did Tonto call the Lone Ranger "kemosabi" or"kemosabey"? Does it have an English translation?

Question #33642. Asked by huh.
Last updated May 18 2021.

Related Trivia Topics: English  
kerry8888
Answer has 8 votes
Currently Best Answer
kerry8888
21 year member
311 replies

Answer has 8 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
It means "trusty scout".

link https://tinyurl.com/trustyscout
slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/06/26/kemosabe_meaning_
origin_and_history_of_tonto_s_word_in_lone_ranger.html

liketelevision.com/web1/lonerange/wwwboard/55.html no longer exists

Response last updated by gtho4 on Feb 11 2018.
May 14 2003, 4:23 AM
Friar Tuck
Answer has 4 votes
Friar Tuck

Answer has 4 votes.
There are various sites that try and find out the true meaning and they vary from 'Trusty Scout', 'Faithful Friend', 'Chicken Shit' and 'Soggy Bush' as in:
link http://www.tcnj.edu/~hofmann/kemosabe.htm

May 14 2003, 6:15 AM
Son of The Household Cavalry
Answer has 7 votes
Son of The Household Cavalry

Answer has 7 votes.
Tonto is Spanish for 'stupid' or 'fool.' And Tonto, who was not so tonto, responded by calling the Lone Ranger 'qui no sabe' (with an Indian accent), which roughly translates from Spanish as 'he who knows nothing' or 'clueless' .. chicken droppings.

straightdope.com/classics/a4_061.html webpage no longer exists

Response last updated by gtho4 on May 18 2021.
May 20 2003, 8:57 AM
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BRY2K star
Answer has 5 votes
BRY2K star
16 year member
3707 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.
"It is usually assumed that Kemo Sabe is how the Ranger refers to Tonto. However, in many of the early radio broadcasts, the Ranger calls Tonto "Kemo Sabe" AND Tonto also calls the Ranger "Kemo Sabe."

A scholar from the University of California at Berkley thought that Kemo Sabe came from the Yavapai, a dialect spoken in Arizona and meant "one who is white," since the Ranger always wore a white shirt and trousers in the earliest publicity photos. The Yavapai term is "kinmasaba" or "kinmasabeh."

link http://onthepatio.typepad.com/on_the_patio/2011/10/kemosabe.html


write101.com/kemosabe.htm no longer exists

Response last updated by gtho4 on Feb 11 2017.
Jun 17 2008, 10:51 AM
avatar
knud77 star
Answer has 7 votes
knud77 star
20 year member
94 replies avatar

Answer has 7 votes.
Interesting piece of trivia I heard years ago regarding Spanish-language insults and I have no idea as to the accuracy of it. Tonto called the Lone Ranger "quien no sabe" (he who knows nothing) and the Lone Ranger called his sidekick "tonto" (fool).

NOTE: Tonto called the Lone Ranger "Kemo Sabe" which was actually a bastardization of the spanish "Quien no sabe". The writers were trying to come up with a phrase that meant "he who no one knows". Instead the phrase means "he who doesn't understand (or know)". Also Tonto in spanish means "stupid". Just fun (and ironic) facts.


tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/004686.php no longer exists

Response last updated by gtho4 on Feb 11 2017.
Jun 17 2008, 5:01 PM
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pehinhota star
Answer has 5 votes
pehinhota star
10 year member
404 replies avatar

Answer has 5 votes.
"Kemo sabey" was supposed to be an Indian (native American) word, but the actor who played Tonto said it came from Spanish "Quien No Sabe" - the person who knows nothing.

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006050308506 webpage no longer exists


Response last updated by gtho4 on May 18 2021.
Feb 11 2018, 3:53 PM
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sportsherald star
Answer has 2 votes
sportsherald star
13 year member
695 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.
While both Tonto and Quien No Sabe both mean, more or less, "stupid" in Spanish, that was not the writer's intent. There is considerable evidence that it was intended to mean something like "trusty scout," as presented at link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ke-mo_sah-bee Jay Silverheels, who portrayed Tonto in the TV series, had several lines that explained this:
His reply was invariably, "It mean Trusty Scout!"

There are other speculations outlined in link http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/06/26/kemosabe_meaning_origin_and_history_of_tonto_s_word_in_lone_ranger.html, but it seems unlikely that sries writer Fran Striker would have used the term in addressing letters to his own children, if it had meant to him any of the negative meanings.

Response last updated by sportsherald on Feb 11 2018.
Feb 11 2018, 9:44 PM
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