Ace-high - first class, respected.

According to Hoyle - Correct, by the book.

A hog-killin' time - a real good time. "We went to the New Year's Eve dance and had us a hog-killin' time."

A lick and a promise - to do haphazardly. "She just gave it a lick and a promise."

All down but nine - missed the point, not understood. (Reference to missing all nine pins at bowling.)

All-fired hell-fired.

All to pieces completely, absolutely.

Almighty huge.

Arbuckle's - slang for coffee, taken from a popular brand of the time. "I need a cup of Arbuckle's."

At sea - at a loss, not comprehending. "When it comes to understanding women, boys, I am at sea."

Back down - yield, retract.

Bad egg: a bad person.

Balled up - confused.

Bang-up - first rate. "They did a bang-up job."

Barkin' at a knot: doing something useless; wasting your time.

Bazoo - mouth. "Shut your big bazoo."

Bear sign - cowboy term for donuts. A cook who could and would make them was highly regarded.

Beat the devil around the stump - to evade responsibility or a difficult task. "Quit beatin' the devil around the stump and ask that girl to marry you."

Bee: a gathering of friends, family and neighbors to get a specific job done (quilting bee.)

Bee in your bonnet: an idea.

Beef - to kill. (From killing a cow to make beef to eat.) "Curly Bill beefed two men in San Antonio."

Bend an elbow - have a drink. "He's been known to bend an elbow with the boys."

Bender - drunk. "He's off on another bender."

Between hay and grass - neither man nor boy, half-grown.

Best bib and tucker - your best clothes. "There's a dance Saturday, so put on your best bib and tucker."

Biddy hen.

Big bug - important person, official, boss. "He's one of the railroad big bugs."

Biggest toad in the puddle: the most important person in a group.

Bilk - cheat.

Blow - boast, brag. "Don't listen to him, that's just a lot of blow."

Blowhard - braggart, bully.

Blow-up - fit of anger. "He and the missus had a blow-up, but it's over, now."

Body: person.

Bone orchard - cemetery.

Bosh - Nonsense.

Boss - the best, top. "The Alhambra Saloon sells the boss whiskey in town."

Bulldoze - to bully, threaten, coerce.

Bully - Exceptionally good, outstanding. (Used as an exclamation.) "Bully for you!"

Bunko artist - con man.

Burg - town.

Buzzard food: dead.

Buckaroo: a cowboy from the desert country of Oregon, Nevada, California or Idaho.

Buck up: cheer up; chin up.

By hook or crook - to do any way possible.

Calaboose - jail.

California widow - woman separated from her husband, but not divorced. (From when pioneer men went West, leaving their wives to follow later.)

Chisel, chiseler - to cheat or swindle, a cheater.

Clean his/your plow - to get or give a thorough whippin'.

Coffee boiler - shirker, lazy person. (Would rather sit around the coffee pot than help.)

Cold as a wagon tire: dead.

Come a cropper - come to ruin, fail, or fall heavily. "He had big plans to get rich, but it all come a cropper, when the railroad didn't come through."

Consumption - slang for pulminary tuberculosis.

Cooling yer heels: staying for a while. "He'll be cooling his heels in the pokey."

Coot: an idiot; simpleton; a ninny.

Copper a bet - Betting to loose, or being prepared against loss. "I'm just coppering my bets."

Cotton to: To take a liking to.

Crazy as a loon: very crazy.

Croaker - pessimist, doomsayer. "Don't be such an old croaker."

Crowbait - derogatory term for a poor-quality horse.

Curly wolf - real tough guy, dangerous man. "Ol' Bill is a regular curly wolf, especially when he's drinkin' whiskey."

Cut a swell - present a fine figure. "He sure is cutting a swell with the ladies."

Daisy good; excellent.

Dicker - barter, trade.

Difficulty - euphamism for trouble, often the shootin' or otherwise violent kind. "He had to leave Texas on account of a difficulty with a gambler in San Antonio."

Directly - soon. "She'll be down, directly."

Deadbeat - bum, layabout, useless person.

Dinero - from the Spanish, a word for money.

Don't care a continental - Don't give a damn.

Don't get your dander up: anxious; excited.

Douse-the-lights: lights out. Time to hit the hay.

Down on - opposed to. "His wife is really down on drinking and cigars."

Doxology works - a church.

Dragged out - fatigued, worn out.

Dreadful - very. "Oh, her dress is dreadfully pretty."

Dry gulch - to ambush. Reference from abandoning a body where it fell.

Ducky used in early century as term of endearment.

Dude - an Easterner, or anyone in up-scale town clothes, rather than plain range-riding or work clothes.

Eucher, euchered - to out-smart someone, to be outwitted or suckered into something.

Fandango - from the Spanish, a big party with lots of dancing and excitement.

Feller: fellow. "That big feller over there is the sherrif."

Fetch - bring, give. "Fetch me that hammer." / "He fetched him a punch in the nose."

Fight like Kilkenny cats - fight like hell.

Fine as cream gravy - very good, top notch.

Fish - a cowboy's rain slicker, from a rain gear manufacturer whose trademark was a fish logo. "We told him it looked like rain, but left his fish in the wagon anyhow."

Fixin': intending. "I'm fixin' to get supper started."

Flannel mouth - an overly smooth or fancy talker, especially politicians or salesmen. "I swear that man is a flannel-mouthed liar."

Flush - prosperous, rich.

Fork over - pay out.

Four-flusher - a cheat, swindler, liar.

Full as a tick - very drunk.

Fuss - disturbance. "They had a little fuss at the saloon."

G.T.T: Gone To Texas. A common expression in use following the Civil War.
People would find the letters G.T.T. carved into their doors, left by a kin. Many outlaws went to Texas.

Galvanized Yankees: former Confederate soldiers who served in the U.S. Army in the West following the Civil War, and during the Indian Wars.

Game - to have courage, guts, gumption. "He's game as a banty rooster." Or, "That's a hard way to go, but he died game."

Get a wiggle on - hurry.

Get it in the neck - get cheated, misled, bamboozled.

Get my/your back up - to get angry. "Don't get your back up, he was only joking."

Get the mitten - to be rejected by a lover. "Looks like Blossom gave poor Buck the mitten."

Give in - yield.

Goner - lost, dead.

Gone up the flume - same as goner!

Gospel mill - a church.

Gospel sharp - a preacher. (Apparent opposite of a card sharp!)

Got the bulge - have the advantage. "We'll get the bulge on him, and take his gun away."

Go through the mill - gain experience. (Often the hard way.)

Grand - excellent, beautiful. "Oh, the Christmas decorations look just grand!"

Granger - a farmer.

Grass widow - divorcee.

Grassed to be thrown from a horse.

Good-fer-nothin': someone who is no good, causes trouble.

Hang around - loiter.

Hang fire - delay.

Half seas over - drunk.

Hard case - worthless person, bad man.

Heap - a lot, many, a great deal. "He went through a heap of trouble to get her that piano."

Heeled - to be armed with a gun. "He wanted to fight me, but I told him I was not heeled."

Here's how! - a toast, such as Here's to your health.

Hit pay dirt: mining term. To find something of value.

Hobble your lip - shut up.

Hold a candle to - measure up, compare to.

Hold your horses: stay calm. "Hold your horses, we're on our way."

Hoosegow - jail.

Horse feathers: ridiculous.

Hot as a whorehouse on nickel night - damned hot.

Hotter than a burnin stump

In apple pie order - in top shape.

Injun Indian

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, rendered useless.

Knock galley west - beat senseless.

Lands sake!: acceptable alternative term of profanity.

Let slide/ let drive/ let fly - go ahead, let go. "If you think you want trouble, then let fly."

Light (or lighting) 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: somthing that is easy; not hard.

Lily liver - somene who is a coward.

Loco: crazy.

Lower than a snake's belly in a wagon rut.

Lunger - slang for someone with tuberculosis.

Madder than an old wet hen: "Mama woke up madder than an old wet hen."

Make a mash - make a hit, impress someone. (Usually a female.) "Buck's tryin' to make a mash on that new girl."

Make hay while the sun shines - To make the most of the day, or an opportunity.

Meaner than a one-eyed rattlesnake.

More scared than a chicken in the rain: someone who is very scared.

Muddy end of the stick: short end of the stick.

Mudsill - low-life, thoroughly disreputable person.

Nailed to the counter - proven a lie.

Namby-pamby - sickly, sentimental, saccharin.

Notion: idea.

N.G.: no good. "He is n.g. and can't be trusted."

Nosey Parker someone who is nosey.

Obliged: thankful. Indebted for a favor. "Thank you fer the coffee and eggs, ma'am. Mighty obliged."

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, 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 shoot - looking for trouble. "Looks like he's on the shoot, tonight."

Ornery as a fried toad: "He shore is ornery as a fried toad."

Packin': carry a weapon.

Pard: friendly version of partner.

Pass the buck - evade responsibility.

Pass the hat: make a contribution. "They passed the hat and collected money to help the widow."

Pay through the nose - to over-pay, or pay consequences.

Peter out - dwindle away.

Pining away for longing for.

Play to the gallery - to show off. "That's just how he is, always has to play to the gallery."

Played out - exhausted.

Plumb: entirely, completely. "He's plumb crazy."

Plunder - personal belongings. "Pack your plunder, Joe, we're headin' for San Francisco."

Pokey jailhouse.

Pony up - hurry up!

Pony up pay the bill.

Poppet: term of endearment. "Come along, poppet."

Powerful - very. "He's a powerful rich man."

Pray tell: tell me.  "What do you wish to know, pray tell?"

Promiscuous - reckless, careless. "He was arrested for a promiscuous display of fire arms."

Proud - glad. "I'm proud to know you."

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" (Thanx to the kind soul who sent this saying to me!)

Purty: pretty. "That woman shore is purty."

Put a spoke in the wheel - to foul up or sabotage something.

Quakin' in your (their) boots: someone who is scared.

Quirley - roll-your-own cigarette.

Reckon: to guess or think. "I reckon that'll do right fine."

Rich - amusing, funny, improbable. "Oh, that's rich!"

Ride shank's mare - to walk or be set afoot.

Right as a trivet - right as rain, sound as a nut, stable.

Right as Rain: fine. "After a good night's rest, he'll be right as rain."

Rip - reprobate. "He's a mean ol' rip."

Roostered - drunk. "Looks like those cowboys are in there gettin' all roostered up."

Sand: guts; courage; toughness. "You got sand, that's fer shore."

Scoop in - trick, entice, inveigle. "He got scooped into a poker game and lost his shirt."

Scuttlebutt - rumors.

See the elephant - originally meant to see combat for the first time, later came to mean going to town, where all the action was.

Seegar: cigarette. "I reckon I'll sit on the porch an' smoke a seegar."

Shave tail - a green, inexperienced person.

Shin out - run away.

Shindy - uproar, confusion.

Shoddy - poor quality.

Shoot, Luke, or give up the gun - poop or get off the pot, do it or quit talking about it.

Shoot one's mouth off - talk nonsense, untruth. "He was shootin' his mouth off and Bill gave him a black eye."

Shove the queer - to pass counterfeit money.

Sick as a poisioned coyote pup: "I was feelin' sick as a poisoned coyote pup."

Simon pure - the real thing, a genuine fact. "This is the Simon pure."

Skedaddle: scurry away (cira Civil War.) "I best skedaddle."

Slack: slow. "This is the slack season."

Slower than molasses in January: slow.

Soaked - drunk.

Soft solder - flattery. "All that soft solder won't get you anywhere."

Someone to ride the river with - a person to be counted on; reliable; got it where it counts.

Sound on the goose - true, staunch, reliable.

Spell: time; for a while.

Spirits: alcohol. "The men go down to the saloon and git their fill of spirits."

Stand the gaff - take punishment in good spirit. "He can really stand the gaff."

Steamed up: Another version of riled up. "He was all steamed up after comin' back from town.

Stew in one's own juice: to suffer from one's own action.

Stop - stay. "We stopped at the hotel last night."

Strong enough to float a colt: very strong coffee.

Stumped - confused.

Superintend - oversee, supervise. "He just likes to superintend everything."

Take on - grieve. "Don't take on so."

Take French leave - to desert, sneak off without permission.

Take the rag off - surpass, beat all. "Well, if that don't take the rag off the bush."

The Old States - back East.

The whole kit and caboodle - the entire thing.

Three ways from Sunday: moving quickly; high-tailing it out of there.

Throw up the sponge - quit, give up, surrender.

Tie to - rely on. "He's a man you can tie to."

To beat the Dutch - to beat the band. "It was rainin' to beat the Dutch."

To the manner born - a natural. "He's a horseman to the manner born."

Twig - understand.

Up the spout - gone to waste/ruin.

Wake up/Woke up the wrong passenger - to trouble or anger the wrong person.

Who-hit-John - Liquor, beer, intoxicating spirits. "He had a little too much who-hit-John."

Windbag: talking nonsense. "If that windbag gets outta hand, you come tell me an' I'll take care of the old coot."

Wind up - settle. "Let's wind up this business and go home."

Wipe your chin: be quiet.

Worse than a cat in a roomful of rockers: someone who is really nervous.

Yammerin': quit talking. "Drink yer coffee an' quit yer yammerin'."

Yellow Belly: a Coward.

Y'all - you all "Hiya, y'all."