Is that a bluff, or do you mean it for real play?: Are you serious?
Jawing: Talking. "We sat around the campfire just jawing."
Jig is up: Scheme/game is over, exposed.
Keep that dry: Keep it secret.
Kick up a row: Create a disturbance.
Knocked into a cocked hat: Fouled up and rendered useless.
Knock galley west: Beat senseless.
Lands Sake: Acceptable alternative term of profanity.
Lightin' a shuck: To get the hell out of here in a hurry. "I'm lightin' a shuck for California."
Like a Thoroughbred: Like a gentleman.
Like lickin' butter off a knife: Something that is easy; not hard.
Lily Liver: Someone who is a coward.
Loco: Crazy.
Llano Estacado: The dry, treeless plains of Texas and New Mexico.
Longrider: An outlaw, someone who usually had to stay in the saddle for an extended period of time while on the run from a crime.
Lunger: Slang for someone with tuberculosis.
Madder than an old wet hen: "Mama woke up madder than an old wet hen."
Make hay while the sun shines: To make the most of the day, or an opportunity.
Make a Mash: Make a hit, impress someone. "Buck's tryin' to make a mash on that new girl."
Man for breakfast: A murdered body in the streets at dawn. Used to describe certain saloons where men were killed the night before. "Lambert's only had two men for breakfast."
Mochilla: A rectangular leather saddlebag popularized by the Pony Express.
Muleskinner: A person who drives and usually rides in a wagon pulled by mules.
Mustard: To unsettle or disturb cattle.
Mutton-puncher: Derogatory name used by cowboys to describe a sheepherder.
Nailed to the counter: Proven a lie.
Nosey Parker: Someone who is nosey.
Namby-pamby: Sickly, sentimental, saccharin.
Odd stick: Eccentric person. "Ol' Farmer Jones sure is an odd stick."
Of the first water: First class. "He's a gentleman of the first water."
Offish: Distant, reserved, and aloof.
Oh-be-joyful: Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "Give me another snort of that oh-be-joyful."
On the Dodge: Hiding out somewhere; laying low for a while.
On the Prod: Full of piss and vinegar and looking for trouble. Said of both people and critters.
On the Shoot: Looking for trouble. "Looks like he's on the shoot, tonight."
Pecker Pole: What a logger called a small tree or sapling.
Pecos: To kill by drowning. To be literally throw into the Pecos River and drowned.
Painting the Town Red: Going out on the town for a fun, sometimes wild, time.
Parade chaps: A pair of chaps strictly for show.
Pass the buck: Evade responsibility.
Pay through the nose: To over-pay, or pay consequences.
Pennyweighter: In the mining camps of the Old West, a pennyweighter was a person who stole very small quantities of gold from the mining operation for whom he worked.
Peter out: Dwindle away.
Pimple: The cowboy's name for the very small saddles used by Easterners.
Pirooting: Having sexual intercourse
Pining away for: Longing.
Play to the gallery: To show off. "That's just how he is, always has to play to the gallery."
Played out: Exhausted.
Plow handle: A single action pistol was sometime referred to as a plow handle. These were also referred to as "thumbusters," "cutters," "smoke poles," and "hawg legs."
Plumb: Entirely, completely. "He's plumb crazy."
Plunder: Personal belongings. "Pack your plunder, Joe, we're headin' for San Francisco."
Poke: A small sack usually made of leather or rawhide.
Pokey: Jail
Pony up: Hurry up! Or, Pay the bill.
Poppet: Term of endearment. "Come along, poppet."
Pot Shot: An Easy shot.
Pray tell: Tell me.
Pull in your Horns: Back off, quit looking for trouble.
Pullin my donkey's tail: A much older way of saying "are you pullin my leg"
Put a spoke in the wheel: To foul up or sabotage something.
Quirley: Roll-your-own cigarette.
Rattle Your Hocks: Hurry up, get a move on.
Reckon: To guess or think. "I reckon that'll do right fine."
