Western Vocabulary
Here
are some words that you will see and hear when you read westerns or watch
cowboy movies.
adios
|| "Adios" is a Spanish word =
"Goodbye!"
ain't
|| In comics, "ain't" =
"isn't/aren't" This spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
bloodhound
|| A kind of dog. Bloodhounds have very good noses.
They can help the police find bad guys.
bullet
|| The thing that shoots out (= comes out very
quickly) from a gun
bushwhack
|| To attack somebody by surprise.
bushwhacker
|| In westerns, bushwhackers are usually bad guys
who surprise people by shooting them from a hidden place.
buzzard
|| 1. A buzzard is a bird that eats dead animals OR
a bird that attacks other animals; 2. A bad guy
canyon
|| A low place between two mountains
cattle
|| Cows and bulls
cayuse
|| A kind of horse
Conchita
|| A Spanish woman's name (short form of
Concepción, referring to Maria, the mother of Jesus; she was conceived/born [= Concepción]
without sin).
cowpoke
|| A cowboy
coyote
|| 1 = an animal like a small wolf; 2 = bad guy
critter
|| 1. In comics, "critter" =
"creature" (usually an unpleasant animal). This wrong spelling means
that the person who is talking did not go to school.; 2. A bad guy
deed
|| A deed is a piece of paper from the government.
The paper says that (this house/land etc.) belongs to you.
deputy
|| A deputy is a "policeman's" helper in
the west (A sheriff's deputy, a marshal's deputy)
drygulch
|| When bad guys attack somebody by surprise in a
lonely place (like a dry river or the desert), they "drygulch" them.
fast
on the draw || A man who is "fast on the
draw" is able to take his gun out very quickly
fer
|| In comics, "fer" = "for"
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
fixing
to || "Getting ready to ..."
foller
|| In comics, "foller" =
"follow" This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
foreman
|| A foreman is somebody who watches workers. He
doesn't let them be lazy.
giddyap
|| When a cowboy speaks to a horse,
"Giddyap!" means "Start moving fast!"
git
|| In comics, "git" = "get"
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
grand
|| A grand = $1000
grub
|| In western comics, "grub" =
"food"
gunsel
|| A gunsel works for a bad guy. He shoots good guys
to help his boss.
gunshy
|| A gunshy dog is a dog that is afraid of guns (so
it is not a good hunting dog)
gunslick
|| A gunslick works for a bad guy. He shoots good
guys to help his boss.
gunslinger
|| A gunslinger works for a bad guy. He shoots good
guys to help his boss.
hardware
|| In westerns, "hardware" is sometimes a
slang word = guns
herd
|| A group of animals such as cattle
holster
|| 1. NOUN = A strong "pocket" for guns
made of animal skin (like a wallet for money); 2. VERB = if you holster your
gun, you put it back in its holster
hombre
|| A man (borrowed from a Spanish word;
"hombre" sounds like /ɔmbrɛ/; There is no "h" sound in Spanish)
hoof
|| A horse's foot
hoosegow
|| A jail (a "house" for bad guys)
horseshoes
|| A U-shaped piece of iron to keep horse's feet
safe
hyar
|| In western comics, "hyar" =
"here" This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
ketch
|| In western comics, "ketch" =
"catch" This wrong spelling means that the person who is talking did
not go to school.
kin
|| In comics, "kin" sometimes means
"can" This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
loco
|| Crazy (borrowed from a Spanish word)
marshal
|| A "policeman" sent by the US
government (= police for the whole country)
mebbe
|| In western comics, "mebbe" =
"maybe" This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
mortgage
|| When most people want a house, they ask a bank
to buy it for them. They then pay the bank every month for 15, 20 or even 30
years. This is called "paying a mortgage."
muh
|| In comics, "muh" = "the."
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
pea
shooter || 1 A child's toy gun; 2 Any gun
pinto
|| A kind of horse
play
possum || Pretend to be dead
polecat
|| 1. A skunk (= An animal that fights by making a
very bad smell); 2. A bad guy
pull
iron || If bad guys "pull iron" they take
their guns out and get ready to shoot somebody
purty
|| In comics, "purty" =
"pretty." This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
ranch
|| A "farm" where ranchers raise cattle
and horses
ranny
|| 1. A young cow (calf) that is not strong and
healthy; 2. Somebody that a cowboy doesn't like
reach
|| In westerns, "Reach!" sometimes means
"hold your hands up above your heads" (away from your guns)
ride
shotgun || If somebody with a gun rides shotgun, they ride with a
stagecoach (bus, car, truck etc) to keep the coach safe from bad guys
rustler
|| Someone who steals cattle or horses
saddle
|| A "chair" on a horse (a special seat)
(shy = afraid; saddle-shy = afraid to ride on a horse)
savvy
|| Know, understand (borrowed from a Spanish word
"sabe" [sounds like /sɑβɛ/])
sheriff
|| A local policeman, especially in the west. In the US, people vote for a sheriff.
shoes
|| = horseshoes
shooting
iron || A gun
shore
|| In comics "shore" sometimes means
"sure" ("certainly"). This wrong spelling usually means
that the person who is talking did not go to school.
sidewinder
|| 1. A dangerous snake that moves sideways in the
desert; 2. A bad guy
spurs
|| The sharp small stars on a cowboy's boots.
Cowboys use spurs to make horses move.
stagecoach
|| A travel service which is like a small bus which
is pulled by horses. When the stagecoach comes to a special town, the horses
rest and new horses start pulling.
stampede
|| Make cows and horses start running (because they
are afraid)
steers
|| cattle (= cows, bulls and calfs)
tenderfoot
|| Newcomer who doesn't know about cowboy life
(guns, horses, etc.)
thar
|| In western comics, "thar" = "there" (western pronunciation). This spelling means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
thet
|| In comics, "thet" = "that"
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
thuh
|| In comics, "thuh" = "the."
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
tinhorn
|| A small unimportant person who likes to tell
other people that he is rich and important
tuh
|| In comics, "tuh" = "to" This
spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to school.
vamoose
|| = (in western comics) You go/Let's go ("Vamoose" is a word
borrowed from Spanish "Vamos" /ˈβɑmɔs/)
varmint
|| 1 = Unpleasant animal; 2 = Bad guy
whoa
|| "Whoa" tells a horse to stop
whut
|| In comics, "whut" = "what"
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
yonder
|| Over there
yore
|| In comics, "yore" sometimes means
"you're" This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is
talking did not go to school.
yuh
|| In comics, "yuh" = "you"
This wrong spelling usually means that the person who is talking did not go to
school.
