Cowboy Lingo

I bought this book to help give me some different authentic words for my western stories. I didn't know I'd derive so much enjoyment from doing research! Cowboy Lingo not only gave me interesting phrases, but it's full of information about their mannerisms, clothing, horses, names, and habits. I know I'm leaving out some things because the book is too full of all the tidbits a good writer needs to know. Plus, Ramon Adams will make you laugh if nothing else. The book is lively unlike a lot of other research books that I find dull. I recommend it for all types of readers whether you're writing your own novel or just want some fun.

I must say that I'd never grinned so much as I did in reading Adam's COWBOY LINGO. Not only did it make me chuckle, it made me appreciate the 'uneducated' cowboy and his ingenious way with words.

Having need of a character who could 'talk a cow out of her calf' in a recent children's novel, I found this book invaluable. Now Grandpa Albert drinks coffee that's 'strong enough to kick up in the middle and carry double' and when aiming at a rattlesnake he has as much luck in hitting it as he would 'tryin' to scratch his ears with his elbow'.

Adams covers a multitude of topics ranging from brands and cattle, to a cowboy's riding equipment. I learned more about cowboys and roping in one chapter than I did in any other book I'd used for research.

Not only is this a fun read, it's an excellent resource.

Larry McMurtry once said he based "Lonesome Dove" on a handful of reference books about the Old West. This classic compendium of cowboy terminology first published in 1936 by Ramon Adams is surely one of them. In the chapter on cowboy nicknames, there is told the story of Dishwater Martin, who like Dish Boggett in the novel, got his name by mistaking dishwater for drinking water.

And if you've read "Lonesome Dove" much of the early material in this book will be a little familiar. Adams discusses at length the duties of cowboys on the job in open rangeland, on cattle drives, and on ranches. Their manners, habits, attitudes, and codes of behavior are discussed, especially the close bond between cowboys and their horses. And interwoven through all of this are the words, terms, and phrases borrowed and invented by cowboys, observed and noted by Adams over many years as an amateur lexicographer.

I found the reading got more interesting as Adams explored topics that spilled over into storytelling and something I guess we'd call socio-linguistics today. The chapter on cooks, cooking, food, meal-time etiquette, the chuckwagon itself, and the sharp wit of cooks is especially enjoyable. Adams also makes good reading out of his chapters on cattle rustling, guns, the afore-mentioned nicknames, and (much too briefly) cowboy dances, also known as 'hoe-digs,' 'shin-digs,' 'hoe-downs,' and 'stomps.' I learned square dancing as a boy but never heard calls as arcanely mystifying as the ones Adams records here.

While Adams observes that cowboys were also notoriously profane and wildly inventive in their profanity, the mores of 1936 prevent him from giving any examples. Sad to say, that's the only chapter I have to report as missing from this otherwise entertaining and informative book.

"Cowboy Lingo" is one of those rare reference books you can read for pleasure. It opens a wide and richly detailed window into a uniquely Western world.

Ramon F. Adam's book of Cowboy lingo is a great addition to the growing library of reference books dealing with cowboy culture and the cowboy way of life. This book is great for writers and cowboy enthusiasts alike.

Here's why:

The Author Adam's divides his 'dictionary' into chapters, with specific themes ranging terms for cattle, to nicknames for people. Chapters include the commentary of modern cowboys and the author's own observations. (This is NOT a dictionary in the traditional sense, so don't expect a sterile list of terms with definitions or you might be disappointed). =-) Words and phrases are scattered throughout each chapter in no particular order.

Find out for yourself what the words "Buckaroo," "Fence-Stretcher" and "Talk Turkey" mean.

Saddle up, and prepare yourself for an exciting adventure into the ways and words of a Cowboy life!