Real cowboy slang of the late 19th century was a lot different from the way it’s been depicted in movies and on TV.
Coffee boiler:
A lazy person who sits around the coffee pot instead of helping with the work.
Big bug:
Important person; big shot.
Bone orchard:
Cemetery.
The boss:
The best.
He only gave it a lick and a promise:
He did a poor job.
Crow bait:
A poor-quality horse.
Shin out:
To run away.
Clean someone’s plow:
To beat them up.
You’re all down but nine:
You don’t understand—refers to missing all the pins in a game of nine-pin bowling.
Coffin varnish:
Bad coffee.
Grub-line rider:
Someone who travels from ranch to ranch looking for work.
Curly wolf:
A very tough, very dangerous person.
Flannel mouth:
A smooth talker.
California widow:
A wife who lives apart from her husband because he has gone West to seek his fortune.
Gospel sharp:
A preacher. (As skilled with the Bible as a card sharp is with cards.)
Quirley:
A cigarette you roll yourself.
Cowboy change:
Bullets (sometimes used as quarters or dimes when coins were short).
Fightin’ wages:
Extra money paid to cowboys for fighting Indians or cattle rustlers.
Take French leave:
To desert, or leave without permission.
Dude:
An Easterner or well-dressed person (they wear “duds”).
Someone to ride the river with:
Someone dependable.
Beat the Devil around the stump:
To procrastinate.
Honda:
The eyelet at the end of a lasso that’s used to make the loop.