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4^8 S.
observed spot, a fellow bunkie grin' ned and decided, "Guess he jest got tired of bein' fried and decided to broil awhile."
THE cowboy picks his words and phrases from the life around him. In a single sentence he'll incorporate something that is an integral part of his daily life and give the listener a graphic word picture of what hap' pened. "He's caught in his own loop," when he's in trouble, or he's "coyotin' around," when he's being deceitful. When on the run, he's "headin' for the settin' sun," and "in hell with the hide off" when things are really tough. And when he tells you that "his calves jest don't follow the right cow," he's accusing someone of rustling.
He has forged his own language for his own needs, making of it a pithy, pungent, always forcible vehicle of tart expression. His is, above all, a language springing from deep thought and continual observance. The admo' nition to think before speaking is unnecessary; such practice is second nature. It is thought and observation that give his talk its dynamic force, high originality, its salty and unique flavor.
He'll tell you to "hurry while the gates are still open," v/hen urging you to take advantage of an opportunity. With true prairie sagacity a cowboy will say "only a fool would argue with a skunk, a mule, or a cook." He'll decide to try "playin' a hand with his eyes shut," his way of letting the listener know that this time he's really taking a chance. When
October, 1931
he's angry, his language "would take the frost out of a fall mornin'." Dis' like of a fellow worker may lead him to point the man out as one who was "raised on sour milk," establishing
once and for all the other's cranky disposition. On a morning after an over-large Saturday night he may confess that "this mornin' I ain't got nothin' but a head," cowboyese for the world's worst hangover.
Many of the slang words and phrases we use in everyday conversation are actually cowboy Hngo. "Ace in the hole," generally thought to be an ancient gambling expression, is a cowboy phrase dating back to the early days. A man who carried his gun in an unusual place, his boots or waist band, carried an "ace in the hole."
"Beefing," "bendin' an elbow," "gypped," "the first rattle outa the box," "dealin' from the bottom of the deck," and "bite the dust" were all born on the lone prairie.
Tellingly accurate is the cowboy's description of a companion, who, newly paid, sallies forth for a night