The following list identifies some favorite terms and phrases from The Cowboy Dictionary*. The ones listed below are among the wisest and wittiest this blog author found in the book. Enjoy!
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- “Airin’ the lungs” – cussing
- “A wink’s as good as a nod to a blind mule.”
- “As full of arrows as a porcupine” – struck by a lot of arrows in a battle with Native Americans
- “Barking at a knot” – trying to accomplish the impossible
- “Brains in the head saves blisters on the feet“
- “Built high above his corns” – a tall person
- “Chaparral bird” – a roadrunner
- “Chinning the moon” – horse that rears up on its hind legs
- “Colorado Mockingbird” – a burro
- “Conversation fluid” – whiskey
- “Corpse and cartridge occasion” – a gunfight
- “Couldn’t drive nails in a snowbank” – a person who is not very smart
- “Down on the skillet” – in the Texas Panhandle
- “Dragging his navel in the sand” – leaving in a hurry
- “Dressed up like a sore toe” – dressed all fancy
- “Dying with throat trouble” – the victim of a hanging
- “Entitled to a warm corner” – an old or retired cowboy
- “Fartknocker” – thrown onto the ground by your horse
- “Feedin’ off his range” – a busybody or meddling in other people’s business
- “Five beans in the wheel” – bullets in your gun
- “Flannelmouth” – a blabbermouth
- “Fork end down” – standing up straight or sitting up straight in the saddle
- “Fork end up” – thrown from your horse especially if landing on your head
- “Get rid of his leaf lard” – to lose weight
- “Got callouses from pattin’ his own back” – braggarts
- “Grabbin’ the brandin’ iron by the hot end” – taking risks and it not turning out well
- “Gritty as fish eggs rolled in sand” – a brave person
- “Had a taste in my mouth like I’d had supper with a coyote.“
- “He’ll fight us till hell freezes over, them skate with ya on the ice.“
- “His cinch is gettin’ frayed.” – someone who wears our their welcome
- “Hobble your lip.” – be quiet
- “Homeless as a poker chip” – a restless soul
- “Kiss the ground” – thrown from your horse
- “Makin’ the town smoky” – a gunfight
- “Man’s the only animal that can be skinned more than once.“
- “Met his shadow on the ground” – thrown from your horse
- “More wrinkles on his horns” – an aging cowboy
- “Narrow at the equator” – to be very hungry
- “No beans in the wheel” – any empty gun
- “Only a fool argues with a skunk, mule, or a cook.“
- “Paintin’ his tonsils” – drinking whiskey
- “Powder-viewin’ contest” – a gunfight
- “Prairie coal” – Buffalo chips
- “Quartz on the brain” – one suffering from gold fever
- “Raised on prunes and proverbs” – a fastidious or religious person
- “Raised on sour milk” – a grumpy person
- “Riding out of town with nothing but a head” – morning after hangover
- “Saddle a dead horse on him” – an unwelcome obligation
- “Scratching gravel” – climbing a steep bank on horseback
- “Shaved behind the skin” – very short grass on the prairie
- “Six-shooter coffee” – strong coffee that you could float gun on it
- “Sober side of the bar” – where the bartender is
- “Somebody stole his rudder” – a drunk cowboy walking aimlessly down the street
- “Sticking like a postage stamp” – a good ride on a bucking horse
- “Stretching the blanket” – a tall tale
- “Success is the size of the hole a man leaves after he dies.“
- “Takin’ off the first layer of his tonsils” – drinking whiskey
- “The bigger the mouth, the better it looks when shut.“
- “The man that always straddles the fence usually has a sore crotch.“
- “Too thick to drink too thin to plow” – muddy water
- “Wash off the war paint” – cool down from being angry
- “Wearin’ callouses on his elbows” – leaning on elbows at the bar
- “Wild, woolly, and full o’ fleas” – a genuine cowboy
SOURCE:
- Adams, Ramon F. The Cowboy Dictionary, 1993 edition.
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