What does that mean? More cowboy expressions:
Nov 28, 2024 by Tempe Javitz
What does that mean? More cowboy expressions:
Jam the breeze: In cowgirl talk, to go full steam ahead,
very like this old RR engine in 1929 at Spear Siding at shipping
time.
Jawbone: To talk. It’s also used as a verb—to jawbone. To
buy something on jawbone was to buy it on credit. “Some cowmen
have lived on jawbone.”
Jimson Weed: Common name for Datura-Datura meteloides, or
stinkweed, which is hallucinogenic. There are many articles
online about its uses and side effects when consumed!
Jingle Bob: The jingling danglers on a cowgirl’s spurs.
Also, an earmark on cattle which is ugly. The ear is cut
from tip to base with the bottom half flapping loosely.
Jingle Your Spurs: Get a move on cowgirl!
Jockey Box: The box carried on a wagon or today in your
pickup to hold small articles, such as hobbles, a hoof pick,
plyers, or a punch hole for leather. On a chuck wagon it
held larger articles such as horseshoeing equipment, hobbles
or extra rope.
Jughead: A dumb horse or a stubborn one that doesn’t want
to do what the rider asks of it.
Justins: This name for cowboy/cowgirl boots comes from the
famous bootmaker, Joseph Justin. His firm began on the Red
River, but now is in Fort Worth, Texas. “Justins is to boots
what Stetson is to hats and Levis are to jeans."
Keep the Double Doors Swinging: To kick up your heels,
sometimes with the help of whiskey, as you enter or exit
the saloon doors.
Kick Up Your Heels: Indulging in celebration or vigorous play,
often associated with dancing or celebrating.
Kidney Plaster: A mocking cowboy name for the Eastern (hornless)
saddle, which was also called a kidney pad or a postage stamp!
Kitchen String. The horses that hauled the chuck wagon.
Packers called their mule that carried the kitchen gear the
kitchen mule.
August 1928, the kitchen string stands calmly while
the wagon is loaded.
Knight of the Ribbons: The driver of the stagecoach. The
ribbons are the reins.
Knobhead: A mule.
Knothead: A brainless cowboy or horse; a jughead!
Lallygag: To dawdle or lie around. Also spelled lollygag.
Hanging around the roundup camp, circa 1923.
Lap Robe: A buffalo robe, usually with the hair still on,
which provided warmth on carriage rides.
Lariat. Initially meant a picket rope, then it came to mean
the cowboy’s catch rope for roping horses or cattle. Lariats
can be made from rawhide, horsehair, or fiber. Also known
as a Lasso, primarily on the West Coast.
Here in 1927 is George Pitman, trick roper,
practicing with his lariat.
Lariat Pin or Picket Pin: A stake for picketing your horse.
Last Roundup: A Westerner’s expression for death. Also
“to cash in your chips.”
1929, Jack Murray and the phantom herd…
While you are waiting for more tales about Jessamine and her
family, do read my book and prior blogs.
Here’s the link for my book.
https://www.sdhspress.com/books/bighorn-visions
Note: I’m indebted to my perusals of the internet, but I wish
to thank Win Blevins (author) and his grand “Dictionary of the
American West”. His publisher, Sasquatch Books of Seattle,
Washington, created a real winner.
