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Old West Cowboy Speak
Talk Like a Cowboy in One Easy Lesson…
You got the boots. You got the hat. You’re working on that smooth swagger. Time to talk the talk—Old West style! Have fun with this small sampling of folksy and gritty Wild West cowboy phrases. Don’t just sit there
barkin’ at a knot
(wasting time);
get a wiggle on
(hurry up) and start reading now!
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
A
Sheriff Wilson stomped into the jail
all horns and rattles
when he heard tell the bank robber was
among the willows
, in another county,
above his reach
.
Above my bend
– Beyond my power, out of reach
Addle-pot
– A spoilsport, a killjoy, a real wet blanket, a downer. You get the picture.
A lick and a promise
– To do a shoddy, careless job
All hands and the cook
– You’d holler this when you need every man and woman available to deal with a situation. Similar to “All hands on deck.”
All horns and rattles
– A temper tantrum, a hissy fit
Among the willows
– Escaping or dodging the law
B
Martha broke out the
baldface dishes
for Mr. Mortimer, a fancy gentleman and potential suiter who appeared rag proper, but was quite the
blatherskite
, yammerin’ his
ballyhoo
out the
bazoo
.
Baldface dishes
– Got guests coming for supper? Break out the good china.
Ballyhoo
– A sales pitch or gross exaggeration
Bazoo
– One’s mouth
Belly wash
– Weak coffee…definitely not espresso!
Blatherskite
– An annoying person who talks non-stop. You might want to tell them to “Hobble your lip!”
Bone orchard
– May they rest in peace. This is a cemetery.
Buffaloed
– Confused, baffled, deceived. Though the image of buffalo is one of power and strength, it’s possible that observing captured buffalo reacting in a confused fashion gave birth to this interpretation, hence the word, “buffaloed.”
Bull nurse
– One of many words describing a cowboy
Bunko artist
– A con man, a phrase still in use today
Burn the breeze
– Ride flat out, at full speed
C
Leonard was all done up in his finest
choke strap
, ready to
cut a rusty
with his
catalog woman
, but he didn’t make the impression he intended, as his horse shied, and Leonard promptly
chewed gravel
!
Catalog woman
– Before there was online dating…A mail-order bride
Cattle Kate
– The name given to describe a female cattle rustler, based on a real person, and a controversial accusation. In 1889, Ella Watson was suspected of cattle rustling. On July 20, a vigilante mob abducted her and her husband and lynched them for the alleged crime. Ella became the only woman ever hanged in Wyoming. The phrase “Cattle Kate” stuck, because a reporter incorrectly identified Ella as Kate Maxwell, a local prostitute, calling her Cattle Kate.
Chew gravel
– Get tossed off a horse. Nothing more humiliating or ouchy than an involuntary dismount!
Choke strap
– Not a wardrobe item associated with cowboys riding the range! So, when a ranch hand had to wear a necktie, he probably felt like he was being strangled!
Clean his plow
– Get beat up in a fight
Corral dust
– Lies, tall tales
Cut a rusty
– Ah, love…to go a courtin’
D
Jimmy
didn’t have a tail feather left
, but he
didn’t care a continental
. He had his
dream sack
and the wide open plains.
Didn’t have a tail feather left
– Flat broke, bankrupt
Don’t care a continental
– Alternate: Don’t give a continental. To be disinterested, to not give a darn.
Down to the blanket
–
Almost
broke, but soon won’t have a tail feather left!
Dragging her rope
– When a woman is out to snag herself a husband
Dream sack
– A cowboy’s sleeping bag
Dull music
– Tedious, boring
E
When Horace came home jingled and saw Esther by the
ears
, he took cover because he knew the
eatin’ irons
were about to zit by his head.
Ears
– When one is “by the ears,” they’re in a fight or are arguing.
Eatin’ irons
– Tableware, cutlery, knives, forks, spoons, etc.
Equalizer
– A gun, a pistol
Eventuate
– Something that comes to an end, to close, terminate
F
Wade led the wide-eyed,
fan tail
out of the barn, saying the gelding was bomb proof, hoping to
funkify
the
flannelmouth
, mail-order cowboy into going back east.
Fan tail
– A wild or rogue horse
Fat in the fire
– When all your plans go awry!
Fill a blanket
– To hand-roll a cigarette
Flannelmouth
– Someone who has a lot to say, a talkative person
Flea trap
– A bedroll
Fob off
– To trick someone
Funkify
– To scare or frighten
G
Stella may have been a
grass widow
dragging her rope, but she didn’t hesitate to
give the mitten
to Jacob, a most eligible, but quite jingled suitor, shouting, “
Go boil your shirt
!”
Get gaited
– Get moving, hurry up
Get it in the neck
– To be cheated or misled
Get shed of
– To get rid of
Get/Give the mitten
– To reject or be rejected by a suitor
Get the wrong pig by the tail
– When you choose someone for any reason—to take up a cause, share a secret, do a job—and it turns out it was a huge mistake!
Go boil your shirt
– Get lost! Go take a hike! Get out of here!
Go heeled
– When you go out carrying a six-shooter, packing iron.
Grass widow
– A divorced woman
H
Nora searched the entire house, and was about to
hang up her fiddle
when little Bobbi-Jo ran into the kitchen,
hair case
in hand. “I
haint
seen it nowhere, then I had a
hankerin
’ for an apple, and there it was in the orchard!”
Haint
– A contraction of “have not”
Hair case
– What you put on your head! A hat
Hair in the butter
– Shall we say, a rather delicate situation that must be handled with great tact and sensitivity
Hammer and tongs
– Acting out in a boisterous, angry manner
Hang fire
– To delay, postpone
Hang up one’s fiddle
– To give up
Hang onto one’s fiddle
– To carry on
Hanker or hankering
– A longing, a desire or a want
Happifying
– Bringing joy and happiness
Hobble your lip
– Shut up
I
Drifter Jack was
in for it
now, in liquor, shootin’ off his
iron
in the middle of town. He was trying to mount his old paint
Indian side
when the sheriff nabbed him.
Illy
– Sick
Indian side
– The right side of a horse. Indians mounted from the right side, while settlers, cowboys, traditionally, mounted from the left.
In for it
– When you’re so deeply involved in a situation, there’s no going back
In liquor
– Plastered! Intoxicated, drunk
Iron
– Depending on the context, it could mean a branding iron, or a six-gun.
J
Lucy stood cooking supper,
jawing
away about the
jollification
at the church on the day her eldest daughter, Millie finally
jumped the broom
.
To jaw
– To reprimand, or scold in an abusive manner
Jawing
– Shooting the breeze, talking
Jingled
– Drunk
Jollification
– Great festivity!
Joy juice
– Whiskey
Jump the broom
– To wed, get married
Juniper
– A mean-spirited name for a greenhorn cowboy or an eastern cowboy wannabe.
K
Molly burst into the
keeping-room
, feeling quite
kedge
.
“Oh, promise me you’ll
keep it dry
! You’re never gonna believe who’s gonna jump the broom!” she shouted.
That’s when she saw Rev. Gunderson sitting in the chair across from her mother, and realized her wobblin’ jaw just might
kick up a row
.
Kedge
– Feeling healthy and in great spirits
Keeping-room
– A parlor, living or sitting room where the family and company gathers
Keep that dry
– Shhhhhh…it’s a secret!
Keep the pot a boiling
– Don’t stop; keep going
Kick
– To complain, protest or raise an objection to something
Kick up a row
– Cause trouble, a disturbance
Kitchen Safe
– A cabinet or cupboard
L
Emma shivered, pulled the
lammy
tight around her shoulders, and took in the sun setting on the vast land. Should she keep it dry, or tell her husband, and make it right? That morning, while tidying William’s desk, she
lit upon
some papers. The error was so glaring now, but, after six years of wedded bliss, it seems they had, unknowingly
leapt the book
!
Lammy
– A blanket
Landed
– Wealthy, set for life
Lead plumb
– A bullet
Leap the book
– An illegal, mistaken or false marriage
Light
on
– Happen to discover
Lookin’ at
the
mule’s
tail
– Plowing
M
“Walter! Git yer
muck forks
in here and set the eatin’ irons on the table. Supper’s ready!” Lottie hollered.
Walter stood in the doorway watching her push the
mysteries
around the skillet, grease popping and sizzling. She wiped her brow, and hummed a tune. Some men would say he was a
man-a-hangin
’, but he knew he had
made his jack
. After all these years, through the good and the bad, he was still hopelessly
mashed
.
Made his jack
– Achieved his goal, got what he was aiming for
Mail-order cowboy
– Unlike a mail-order bride, a mail-order cowboy was hardly welcome in the Old West. In fact, the term was quite rude, and often used to bully newcomers. Western cowboys would badger eastern tenderfoots who arrived out west, wearing clothes that looked more like cowboy costumes, than work clothes.
Makins
– Everything one needed to roll cigarettes: tobacco and papers.
Man-a-hanging
– Poor guy! This is a man going through some hard times.
Man at the pot –
A sacred rule of chuck wagon etiquette! If a cowboy goes to refill his cup from the campfire coffee pot, and another cowboy yells, “Man at the pot,” the cowboy at the coffee pot is obliged to refill or top off every man’s cup.
To learn more about the chuck wagon, and the curmudgeon ranch hands called “cookie,” check out
The Chuck Wagon: America’s First Food Truck
.
Mashed
– Yes, the birds are chirping and music is playing…because when you’re mashed, you’re in love!
Mouthpiece
– A lawyer. ‘nuff said!
Muck Forks
– A crude way of saying hands or fingers.
Mysteries
– You might know the term “mystery meat.” In the Old West, “mysteries” were sausages for the same reason—no one (perhaps, except the butcher) knew exactly what was in them.
N
“Greta is just a
nose parker
!” Louisa said, as she bounced a
nipper
in her arms, and another tugged at her dress, “She got
nailed to the counter
, accusing that
nester
of being a
nibbler
. Look at him, as
nobbish
as he is; he’d do nothin’ of the sort.”
Nailed to the Counter
– Proof that a rumor, accusation, or what someone said or did is false
Nobby or Nobbish
– Fashionable, stylish
Nose Parker
– Someone who sticks their nose in everyone’s business
Nester
– A squatter. A person who takes up residence on government land to farm.
Nibbler
– A common thief, a petty thief
Nipper
– Awwww! A wee one! A baby or young child
O
Most folks around this
one horse
town know to avoid Wilbur. He’s an
odd fish
,
on the dodge
, always yelling that
Old Scratch
is after him. Yeah, best to steer clear of Wilbur, lest you become
over head and ears
with his yammerin’ corral dust.
Odd fish or odd stick
– An eccentric person or someone who’s just plain strange, in their manners or way of thinking. An odd bird, as it were
Off one’s feed
– Not hungry, having no appetite
Old Scratch
– A euphemism for the devil
One horse
– Small or not up to par
On the dead
– No charge, free
On the dodge
– In hiding
Over head and ears
– Too much to handle, overwhelmed
P
Mr. Albert Withers rode up on his old
puddin’ foot
chestnut mare, leanin’ left and right on the weathered
pancake
, singing at the top of his lungs,
playing to the gallery
! Some speculated he’d been
paintin’ his nose
over in Dodge.
Paintin’ his nose
– Out getting plastered, drunk
Pancake
– A rude name for an English saddle
Piece of pudding
– Good luck, a change for the better
Plank, plank down, plank up, (pony up)
– Paying cash
Play to the gallery
– Showing off
Prairie tenors
– Coyotes
Puddin’ foot
– A clumsy, awkward horse
Pulling a kite
– Making a face (silly, mean, sarcastic, etc.)
Q
“Yes, your papa is a bit of a
queer fish
,” Ella told little Carrie and Charlie, when they ran to tell her their pa locked himself in the
quincy
to smoke a
quirley
.
Queer fish
– Like an odd stick or odd fish, a quirky, eccentric, odd individual
Quincy
– Let’s hear it for indoor plumbing! A toilet inside a house—what a luxury in the Old West!
Quirley
– A cigarette, usually one that is hand-rolled
R
A right
ranny
, Jesse is usually a
rag proper
gentleman, but come Saturday night, he sure can
raise sand
down at the saloon, hitting up a
raft
of
red eye
, getting
roostered
! By closing time, he looks like he’s been
rode hard and put up wet
!
Raft
– A lot, a large amount or quantity
Rag proper
– Dressed stylishly, dressed well
Raise sand
– Raise a ruckus, start trouble
Randy
– A wanton or lecherous person
Ranny
– A highly regarded, expert cowhand
Red eye
– Whiskey
Rode hard and put up wet
– Looking quite rough, whether inherently ugly, or appearing ragged due to enduring difficult circumstances. The phrase refers to a horse that’s been ridden to exhaustion, is sweating, breathing hard, and is put up in the barn, hot and uncared for.
Roostered
– Inebriated, drunk
Run against a pill
– Getting shot, taking a bullet
S
Sadie set her cap for Elmer, though some called him a
saphead
and
saddle tramp
. Sure enough, Elmer was
soft down on
this tough
sage hen
! Not only could Sadie brew up a mean
six-shooter coffee
, but she could also
string a whizzer
as good as any bull nurse he knew. She was definitely
someone to ride the river with
. Yes, Elmer’s
sparrow chasing
days were over.
Saddle tramp
– A cowboy who spends more time at the chuck wagon than working the herd
Sage hen
– A woman
Saphead
– A person who is not bright, stupid, a dolt
To saw
– To prank, play a joke on
Schruncher
– A person who eats as if he hasn’t seen food in days, shoves down food hungrily
See how the cat jumps
– Discovers a someone’s secret or their ulterior motives, plans
Set her cap for him
– To try to get a potential suitor’s attention, to have eyes for
Six-shooter coffee
– Ah…can you smell that enticing aroma? Good, strong coffee
Soft down on
– In love, enamored
Sold his saddle
– When a cowboy disgraces himself
Someone to ride the river with
– This is
your
person, the one you can always count on to have your back
Sparrow catching
– When a man looks for a girl to court, or go out with
Spread oneself
– When a person is full of himself and boasts
String a whizzer
– Tell an exaggerated story, a tall tale
T
Everyone remembered Herman as a
ten-cent man
, the type you’d
throw off on
when he came around with his
tinker’s news
and
taradiddles
,
talking a donkey’s hind leg off
. No one missed him when he went
three ways from Sunday
. Five years passed, and the whole town was surprised when he returned, now the
tall hog at the trough
!
Table muscle –
One’s potbelly
Taffy
– Fawning, flattery, smooth talk
Talk a donkey’s hind leg off –
Idle chatter, talking just to talk, yammering with no purpose
Tall hog at the trough
– An outstanding leader, one with superior vision and groundbreaking ideas
Tan your hide
– To spank, paddle, slap
Taps
– Taps refer to feet. When you’re “on your taps,” you’re on your feet, ready to take off.
Taradiddles
– Tales or yarns told by imaginative travelers, animated tall tales with many false elements
Tear squeezer
– A story filled with sadness, gloom, sorrow, heartbreaking enough to make one cry
Ten-cent man
– A small-minded, petty, inconsequential man
Three ways from Sunday
– Flee, move fast, hightail it out from a place
Throw off on
– Goof on, make fun of, joke about
Tinker’s news
– Old news, news that people have already heard
‘Twa’n’t
– Contraction for “It was not.”
Two whoops and a holler
– A place that’s not far away
U
Best be wary of Jed, he may be
ugly as a mud fence
, and look to be like ain’t nothin’ in the
upper story
, but he’s
up to trap
!
Ugly as a mud fence
– Description of a very, very ugly person
Unwound
– When a horse bucks
Upper story
– One’s brain, their head
Up the spout
– Something, like a farm, town or ranch, that’s gone to ruin or waste
Up to trap
– A person who is sharp, shrewd, aware
V
The old
vaquero
scanned the desert for
varmints
then polished off the
valley tan
and passed out on the
velvet couch
.
Valley tan
– Mormon whiskey
Vaquero
– A cowboy, cattle herder, used in the southwest U.S./central Texas. Also, the Spanish word for “cowboy,” derived from the Spanish word
vaca
, which means cow.
Varmint
– Vermin
Velvet Couch
– A cowboy’s bedroll
W
That
waddie
sure could
wake snakes
, the way he
whales on
, he’s liable to
wabble
the
wattles
off ya, leaving ya
white-eyed
and whomper-jawed!
Wabble
– To yabber on, tongue wag, be quick to speak
Waddy
or
Waddie
– Another word for “cowboy,” but usually a ranch hand who was a drifter, one who traveled from ranch to ranch, working as needed during the busy season.
Wake snakes
– To raise Caine, raise a ruckus
Wake up/Woke up the wrong passenger
– To get the
wrong
person angry or upset, as they might retaliate!
War bag or war sack
– A cowboy’s travel bag in which they carried only the bare essentials
Wattles
– One’s ears
Wearing the bustle wrong
– Expecting, with child, pregnant
Whale away
– To lecture, preach or blabber non-stop, passionately, fervently
White-eyed
– Tuckered out, exhausted
Whomper-jawed
– Crooked, sideways, uneven, messed up
Wobblin’ jaw
– The image of a person’s jaw constantly wobbling when they gossip
X
Jasper planked down the fee, marked the paper with an “
X
,” staking his claim to the gold mine he hoped would make him rich.
X
– Yes, the letter X, the signature of a man who couldn’t read nor write, witnessed by another, considered legally binding.
Y
“That bunko artist musta took me for some kinda
yack
, stealin’ my
yellow hammer
like that,” Old Ben said, and tossed back another red eye, “But I sure cleaned his plow!”
Yack
– A person who is not intelligent
Yam
– To eat
Yammerin’
– Blabbering, talking
Yellow Belly
– A coward
Yellow Hammer
– A gold coin
Z
“I saw them bees
zittin
’, heared ‘em
zoonin
’, and I was on my taps, hightailin’ it outta there!” Tommy said, all puffed up, spreading himself. But by the look on Becky’s face, he realized, perhaps it wasn’t the story to tell when you’re trying to cut a rusty with a girl.
Zit
– To zip, fly
Zoon
– To hum, buzz, or bark
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