Cowboy Glossary: A Dictionary of Western Slang & Phrases

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Learn the cowboy lingo with this slang guide

Co-authored by Aly Rusciano

Last Updated: August 21, 2025 Fact Checked

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Cowboy Glossary

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Phrases & Sayings

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Cowboy Insults

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Slang for Modern Day Use

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Old West History

Yeehaw! Are you ready to learn some cowboy lingo? If so, you’re in the right place! Below you’ll find a glossary of Old West slang words, phrases, and insults. Legend has it that these terms were all born in the Wild West. So, whether you’re writing a cowboy character or just want to learn something new, keep on reading!

Cowboy Slang & Lingo

Above board: To be honest and not deceptive (adjective)
Airin’ the lungs: To curse (phrase)
Bellyaching: To complain (noun)
Cash in: To die (adjective)
Huckleberry: Someone up for a task; a sweetheart (noun)

Section 1 of 5:

Cowboy Glossary

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Whether you’re writing a book or just looking for ways to talk more like a cowboy, you’re sure to find all your Western slang right here! We scoured the internet for the most popular cowboy words and terms. Take a look below for common words that were used back in the Old West:
- Ace in the hole: A hideout or a hidden gun (noun)
- Adam’s ale: Water (noun)
- Addle-headed: Not smart (adjective)
- All-fired: Great (adjective)
- Apple peeler: Pocket knife (noun)
- Attitudinize: To assume an affected attitude (verb)^{[1]
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- Bach: For a man to keep house without a woman; to be a bachelor (verb)^{[2]
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- Backdoor trots: Diarrhea (noun)^{[3]
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- Ballyhoo: Sales talk; exaggeration (noun)
- Black-eyed Susan: A six-gun (noun)
- Blue devils: Low spirits (noun)^{[4]
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- Bone orchard: Cemetery (noun)
- Bosh: Nonsense (noun)^{[5]
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- Boss: The best (noun)
- Buckaroo: A cowboy from desert country (noun)^{[6]
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- Choke strap: A necktie (noun)
- Chuck: Food (noun)
- Docity: Ability to comprehend quickly (noun)^{[7]
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- Dry gulch: To ambush someone (transitive verb)^{[8]
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- Dude: Someone in upscale town clothes (noun)^{[9]
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- Dull music: Something tedious (adjective)
- Eatin’ irons: Silverware (noun)
- Eventuate: To come to an end (verb)^{[10]
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- Exfluncticate: To destroy (verb)
- Fandango: A big party (noun)^{[11]
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- Gospel mill: A church (noun)
- Gully washer: Heavy rainfall (noun)^{[12]
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- Heeled: To be armed (adjective)^{[13]
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- Huckleberry: Someone up for a task; a sweetheart (noun)^{[14]
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- Iron horse: A train (noun)
- Leap the book: An illegal or false marriage (noun)
- Lunger: Someone with tuberculosis (noun)
- Mormon tea: Liquor (noun)
- Peckish: Hungry (adjective)^{[15]
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- Poppet: Endearing term for “doll” or “dear” (noun)^{[16]
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- Sand: Courage; toughness (noun)
- Sawbones: A surgeon (noun)
- Sodbuster: A farmer (noun)^{[17]
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- Tin: Money (noun)
- Wheel-horse: One’s right-hand man; someone you can count on (noun)

Section 2 of 5:

Popular Cowboy Phrases & Sayings

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To act like a cowboy, you’ve got to know how to talk like one. The phrases and sayings below were spoken by cowboys back in the Old West. Some of them you may still even hear today!
- Above board: To be honest and not deceptive (adjective)^{[18]
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- Above snakes: To be alive (adjective)
- According to Hoyle: Correct (phrase)
- Acknowledge the corn: To admit the truth or confess a lie (phrase)
- A hog-killin’ time: A real good time (phrase)
- Airin’ the lungs: To curse (phrase)
- A lick and a promise: To do a bad job (phrase)
- Amputate your timber: Go away; run off (phrase)
- Apple pie order: In top shape or perfect order (phrase)
- Barkin’ at a knot: Wasting your time; doing something impossible (phrase)
- Bee in your bonnet: To have an idea (phrase)
- Been through the mill: To have experienced a lot in life (phrase)
- Between hay and grass: Neither man nor boy; half-grown; teenager (phrase)
- Biggest toad in the puddle: The most important person in a group (phrase)
- Buckle up: Ready for a task (phrase)
- Cash in: To die (adjective)
- Catch a weasel asleep: Referring to something impossible (phrase)
- Cotton to: To taking a liking to (adjective)
- Cowboy up: Toughen up (phrase)
- Didn’t have a tail feather left: Broke (phrase)
- Don’t care a continental: I don’t care (phrase)
- Fair to middlin’: Feeling good (phrase)
- Fat in the fire: To have your plans ruined (phrase)
- Fine as cream gravy: Very good; top notch (phrase)
- Fix one’s flint: To settle a matter (phrase)
- Get my back up: To get angry (phrase)
- Get the mitten: To be rejected by a lover (phrase)
- Go boil your shirt: Take a hike; get lost (phrase)
- Hair in the butter: A delicate situation (phrase)
- Hang up one’s fiddle: To give up (phrase)
- Hard row to hoe: A difficult job to accomplish (phrase)
- Hitch in the giddy-up: Not feeling well (phrase)
- Hobble your lip: Shut up (phrase)
- Keep that dry: Keep it secret (phrase)
- Keep the pot a boiling: Keep it going (phrase)
- Like energy: To do something quickly with energy (adjective)
- Like a thoroughbred: Like a gentleman (phrase)
- On one’s own hook: On one’s own account (phrase)
- Paintin’ his nose: Getting drunk (phrase)
- Piece of pudding: A piece of luck; a welcome change (phrase)
- Pop your corn: Say what you want (phrase)
- Pull in your horns: Back off; stop looking for trouble (phrase)
- Ride for the brand: To be loyal to your ranch (phrase)
- Set her cap for him: To win his affections (phrase)
- Shoot the crow: To get a drink at a saloon and leave without paying (phrase)
- Skin a razor: To drive a hard bargain (phrase)
- Sold his saddle: To be disgraced (phrase)
- Someone to ride the river with: Someone you can count on (phrase)
- Sure as a gun: To be absolutely certain (phrase)
- Three ways from Sunday: To move quickly from a location (phrase)
- Twisting the tiger’s tail: To play poker (phrase)

Section 3 of 5:

Cowboy Insults

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Cowboys are known for being hardworking, resilient, and independent. They have a strong honor code—they’re the knights of the West. But, even cowboys get mad. The phrases and words below were used by cowboys in the Old West to insult people or things.
- Barber’s cat: Sickly-looking person (noun)^{[19]
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- Barber’s clerk: A conceited, over-dressed man who acts like a “gentleman” (noun)
- Barrel boarder: A bum (noun)
- Biddy: A complaining woman (noun)
- Biggity: Conceited; self-important (adjective)^{[20]
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- Calico queen: A prostitute (noun)
- California widow: A woman separated from her husband but not divorced (noun)^{[21]
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- Clodhopper: A clown; someone who moves in an awkward way (noun)^{[22]
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- Coffee boiler: A lazy person (noun)
- Coot: An idiot (noun)
- Dead-alive: Someone moping or dull (adjective)^{[23]
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- Goney: Someone unintelligent (noun)
- Gull: A cheat or fraud (noun)^{[24]
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- Hayseed: A derogatory term for someone who farms (noun)
- Lickspittle: Someone who tries to please people in authority (noun)^{[25]
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- Mail-order cowboy: A derogatory term for urban cowboys (noun)
- Mouth-bet: Someone who gambles and promises to pay verbally (noun)
- Mush-head: An unintelligent fellow (noun)
- Petticoat pensioner: A man who lives on a prostitute’s earnings (noun)
- Porch percher: A town loafer (noun)
- Saphead: Someone unintelligent (noun)
- Schruncher: A greedy eater (noun)
- Spooney: Someone silly or foolish (adjective)^{[26]
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- Ten-cent man: A narrow-minded person (noun)
- Tenderfoot: A newcomer or inexperienced person (noun)
- Varmint: A bad man; a rascal (noun)^{[27]
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Looking for more cowboy slang? Check out this article for the best Western quotes and phrases!

Section 4 of 5:

Cowboy Slang for Modern Day Use

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Many of the terms and phrases you use today came from the Old West. Don’t believe us? Check out the list of cowboy slang terms and phrases below. We bet you’ve heard more than one of them this week alone!
- Bad egg: A bad person (noun)
- Baker’s dozen: Thirteen (noun)^{[28]
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- Bamboozle: To trick or deceive (verb)^{[29]
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- Bellyaching: To complain (noun)^{[30]
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- Cracked: Crazy (adjective)
- Fixin’ to: Getting ready to do something (phrase)
- Giddy up: Let’s go (phrase)
- Howdy: A common greeting; “hello” (exclamation)^{[31]
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- Reckon: To think or guess (verb)^{[32]
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- Tarnation: An exclamation of anger or frustration (noun)^{[33]
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- Yeehaw: An exclamation of excitement or joy (interjection)^{[34]
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- Yonder: Over there (adverb)^{[35]
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Section 5 of 5:

What was the Old West?

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The Old West was a time of economic and cultural change. Also known as the “Wild West,” the Old West was a time period that spanned roughly from the end of the Civil War to the early 20th century, and during this time, the western United States went through some big changes. People from the East traveled across the Mississippi to ranch, farm, and mine.^{[36]
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Official library of the U.S. and main research institution for Congress and the American public

Go to source} Cowboys ruled the western plains, and the innovation of the railroad made travel more accessible. Legendary heroes like Jesse James and Horace Tabor later became symbols of the Old West and cowboy culture.^{[37]
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- The Old West is defined by the narrative “winning the West” or “taming the West.” Cowboys lived off the land, and miners dug for gold. The region was transformed by self-made pioneers during this time period.