http://www.englishforums.com/English/BasicEnglishVocabularyQuestions/Forum44.htmFor Basic English ONLY. Please post only <b><font color=red>easy</font></b> questions and answers here.enXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#881723Mon, 31 Aug 2009 23:12:19 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:881723Anonymous0http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#881723http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-881723.xmlA mule driver was someone who made mules do work, like plowing or pulling something. Mules are traditionally very stubborn and uncooperative. So mule drivers are said to curse a lot because it is so hard to get the animals to do work. Someone who curses like a mule driver or uses language like a mule driver curses a lot. It may be in that context that you saw the expression.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#663594Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:39:12 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:663594Marcos El Malo1http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#663594http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-663594.xmlI joined for the sole purpose of answering this question. A mule driver is one who works driving mules, either with the mules pulling a cart, or more likely, a group of mules, each one carrying a load on its back. The mules are roped together in a line, with each mule following the one in front of it. This is called a &quot;string of mules&quot;. As another poster pointed out, mules are the result of crossbreeding horses with donkeys, specifically a male donkey and a female horse. Mules are sterile, something to remember if someone unknowingly compares their sexual powers to a mule. (Doh!) Mules are known for their strength and endurance, however, their most famous quality is their  stubbornness,  which borders on &quot; orneriness...http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#637850Sat, 23 May 2009 02:06:03 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:637850Anonymous2http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#637850http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-637850.xmlMule Driver is a 19th century expression referring to an unskilled laborer. They were generally lower class white workers. In those days many were Irish immigrants. They were relegated to back breaking manual labor.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#573637Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:573637Feebs113http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#573637http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-573637.xmlA mule driver is a person who controls a mule; in this particular context it is a metaphor for an officer controlling his men, and is not a compliment, implying that the men are stupid and the officers are lacking effectiveness.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#573071Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:573071Anonymous4http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/2/zdddb/Post.htm#573071http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-573071.xmlat first i thought &quot;mule driver&quot;= someone brave (someone who successfully tame a mule) but then i read on and read &quot;he had thought of a fine revenge upon the officer who had referred to him and his fellows as mule drivers&quot;. If he thought of a revenge on the one calling him &quot;mule driver&quot;, then is the phrase a positive phrase?http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#544737Sat, 23 May 2009 02:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:544737Feebs115http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#544737http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-544737.xmlA &quot;mule&quot; in a plant environment refers to an electric pallet jack, which a species of fork truck noted for its agility and capability to operate efficiently in confined spaces. There are two types, one of which the operator walks behind, andthe other is mounted and driven. Unlikely to be this in &quot;The Red Badge of Courage&quot; which is set in the American Civil War and is about the battlefields.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#544604Sat, 23 May 2009 02:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:544604Anonymous6http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#544604http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-544604.xmlA &quot;mule&quot; in a plant environment refers to an electric pallet jack, which a species of fork truck noted for its agility and capability to operate efficiently in confined spaces. There are two types, one of which the operator walks behind, andthe other is mounted and driven.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#505476Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:505476Anonymous7http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#505476http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-505476.xmlA &#39;period based film&#39;? Understand, before television there were things called Books . This book was set duing the American civil war. I remember the line, the Commander I believe, speaking of henry&#39;s batallion: &quot;The best of any, fight like a pack of mule drivers&quot; He goes on to label them &#39;mud diggers&#39;. Indeed, a mule driver is one who drives a mule powered cart, however this term is also assigned to a labourer, or physical worker. Similarly, Mud Digger refers to one who digs ditches. Good fighting stock, no doubt, but the text presents the term in a derogative tone, and certainly the listening batallion members apprecited this. Possibly, both terms could be utilized to describe an uncouth, uneducated...http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449089Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:449089Annvan8http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449089http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-449089.xmlI don't know if "mule driver" is used here as an idiom. Instead I think it's probably used in the literal sense, i.e. a worker who drives mules.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449043Sat, 23 May 2009 02:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:449043Bmxbandit9http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449043http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-449043.xmlthe person mentions hearing it in "the red bad of courage" I imagine that is a period based film. I think it might be quit likely they used the term "mule driver" in the same way as "slave driver" in a certain period setting.http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449017Thu, 23 Apr 2009 02:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:449017Clive10http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#449017http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-449017.xmlHi, The phrase could also be used to describe a person who makes you work very hard - like a mule! I've never heard the expression used that way. Perhaps you are thinking of this common expression. My boss is a slave driver . Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#448972Sat, 23 May 2009 02:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:448972Anonymous11http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#448972http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-448972.xmlThe phrase could also be used to describe a person who makes you work very hard - like a mule!http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#433266Fri, 23 Jan 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:433266Clive12http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htm#433266http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-433266.xmlHi, A mule is an animal for which the parents are a horse and a donkey. I imagine 'a mule driver' is someone who drives a wagon that is pulled by one or more mules. I think the idiomatic term is 'a mule skinner'. Best wishes, Clivehttp://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htmMon, 23 Feb 2009 03:06:04 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:433263Recluse13http://www.englishforums.com/English/WhatsAMuleDriver/zdddb/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments44-433263.xmlI don't understand what does a "mule driver" mean. I jot this phrase down from The Red Badge Of Courage. Could any one help me with its meaning and usage? Your reply is appreciated.