Bad Egg- A mean or untrustworthy person.Bad Box- To be caught in a bad situation.It comes from a bowling reference which means someone has missed all nine bowling pins. All Down But Nine- Failure to understand something.A Lick and a Promise- To do something haphazardly or half-assed.Airin’ the Lungs- To use profanity cursing.A Hog-Killin’ Time- Having a really fun time.Acknowledge the Corn- To confess the truth.Ace in the Hole- A hideout safe house, or a concealed gun.Above Snakes- Being above ground alive.Top 100 Cowboy Expressions and Wild West Slang Phrases If you’d like to learn about both old and new commonly used cowboy expressions and what they mean - keep reading!
Today, cowboys are a symbolic icon of the American West culture that can trace its history back more than two centuries.
Also known as buckaroos, cowpunchers, horse wranglers, and cowhands, the cowboy name is inspired by the old term “cowpoke”. That said, cowboy expressions can be incredibly hard to understand if you haven’t been taught it has a long and rich history that takes root from old mining camps, the battlegrounds of the Civil War, and from the cowboys who still live and work the land to this day. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wondered about the definition or gotten confused by certain cowboy phrases while you were watching an old western, reading a history book, or listening to a classic country song. This got me to thinking about cowboy expressions and commonly used wild west slang words used now and during the old frontier heyday.
STICK EM UP COWBOY MOVIE
The catchphrase “there’s a snake in my boot!” is frequently used throughout the movie by the main protagonist, Sheriff Woody. After the film finished and the children were sent off to bed, we heard one tell the other “make sure to always check your boots for snakes.” Although this might not make much sense to everyone, I immediately knew what he was referring to. While at a friend’s house this past weekend, the famous Disney and Pixar movie Toy Story was playing in the background effectively keeping the children entertained as we chatted and enjoyed our adult libations.