Above
snakes
— Above ground; alive Afeared
— Afraid Among
the Willows
— Dodging
the Law Bed
ground
— Where
cattle are held at night Beeves
— Cattle Best
bib and tucker
— Best
clothes Between
hay and grass
— Half grown; not a boy anymore
but not
yet a man Big
pasture
— Jail or penetentiary Burn
the breeze
— Ride at
full speed Buzzard
bait
— A worn-out horse or nag Choking
the horn
— Holding
on to the pommel or saddle horn (something no cowboy wants to be seen
doing) Chow
— Food; dinner Churn
twister
— Farmer (an insult) Conchas
— Ornamentation that resembles shells Corral
dust
— Lies or tall tales Cow
chip
— Dried cow
manure Cuttin’
more dirt
— Going
faster Diggings
— Home,
either lodgings or community Draw
cuts
— Also called to draw
straws or decide something by blindly drawing stalks of grass cut to
different lengths) Drover
— Cowboy driving cattle Dry
gulched
— Ambushed (surprised by someone hiding
in
a dry creek bed or gully) Dusted
— Thrown from what you’re riding Flapping
your gums
— Talking Goose
flesh
— Goosebumps Got
wind of
— Heard about Grub
pile
— Meal or the
contents of the chuck wagon Flea-trap
— Cowboy’s bedroll Hang
your hat
— Make yourself at home Hard
pushed for cash
— Short of
money Hear
tell —
Hear a
report of Jawing
— Talking Like
lickin’ butter off a knife — Something
is easy, not hard Lynching
bee
— An event around the hanging (of a person) Night
hawk
— Cowboy
taking night watch with the herd No
ways bridlewise
— Not
controllable One-horse
— Small or
inferior Painting
the town red
— Having a
good time Peck
of trouble
— Lot of
trouble Pilgrim
— Someone
from the city, thus unfamiliar with frontier ways Pull
in their horns
— Back off
and quit looking for trouble Puncher
— Cowboy
taking care of cattle Remuda
— Herd of
spare horses Scooped
in
— Tricked Shank
of the evening
— Late
afternoon Slipe
— Considerable distance Sowbelly
— Side pork
or bacon String
party
— Term for a hanging or lynching Toad
strangler —
Heavy rain storm Trampous
— Wander Wake
snakes
— Raise a ruckus
