Cowboy Lingo: A Dictionary of the Slack-Jaw Words and Whangdoodle Ways of the American West, by Ramon F. Adams
236 pages, plus index
Library: 427.09 ADA
Description
The Classic Guide to the WAys and Words of Cowboy Life
The cowboy, that enigmatic, larger-than-life icon of American culture, has long been considered a figure of fast hands and steel nerves but few words. Accrding to Ramon Adams, though, cowboys, once among themselves, enjoyed a vivid, coarse, often boisterous repartee. You might say that around a campfire under the open sky, they could make more noise than "a jackass in a tin barn."
Here in one volume is the complete guide to cowboy-speak, including sections on cowboy's duties, his riding equipment, the roundup, roping, branding, even square dancing.
Cowboy Lingo includes terms you'll recognize because they've filtered into everyday language- "blue lightning," "star gazin", "the whole shebang" plus countless others that, sadly, are seldom heard in current speech: lonely as a preacher on pay night, "restless as a hen on a hot griddle," "crooked as a snake in a cactus patch."
As entertaining as it is authoritative, Cowboy Lingo captures the living speech of the Great Plains and serves as a window into the soul of the American West.
Ramon F. Adams (1889-1976) was an American cowboy, a musician, a folklorist, and the author of numerous books on western Americana.
Table of Contents
Foreword by Elmer Kelton
Introduction
1. The Cowboy and his lingo
2. The Ranch
3. The Cowboy and his Duties
4. His Costume and Furnishings
5. His Riding Equipment
6. Ropes and Roping
7. Cattle
8. Horses
9. Riding
10. The round-up
11. Brands and Ear-marks
12. The trail
13. The Commissary
14. Rustkers and Outlaws
15. Guns
16. Nicknames
17. The Cowboy Dance
18. Miscellaneous Expressions
19. Figures of Speech
20. More Figures of Speech
Index
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