Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings

Tue Mar 13 18:21:07 UTC 2007

I was once a major fan of pulp fiction, especially science-fiction,
westerns, and Tarzan-esque jungle stories. So, strictly speaking, I
didn't come across my version in a book. Rather, it was in a
pulp-fiction magazine of cowboy stories. At that time, ca.1945-1950, I
literally judged a book - well, a pulp-fiction mag, anyway - by its
cover. Hence, there's no possibility that I might recall the name of
the mag, unfortunately.

-Wilson

On 3/13/07, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I know it as "There ain't no horse that can't be rode, / There ain't no man that can't be throwed."
>
>   Am pretty sure it's in Ramon Adams's _Western Words_ (1944), if not in his earlier _Cowboy Lingo_ (1936).
>
>   JL
>
> Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Wilson Gray
> Subject: Re: Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> East Texas being cotton, sugar cane, lumber, and oil country, the only
> (supposed) cowboy sayiing that I know is:
>
> There never was a horse that coudn't be rode.
> There never was a man that couldn't be throwed.
>
> I read it in some book of cowboy stories, back in the 'Forties.
>
> -Wilson
>
> On 3/13/07, Bapopik at aol.com wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> > Sender: American Dialect Society
> > Poster: Bapopik at AOL.COM
> > Subject: Cowboy Proverbs/Sayings
> > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > I'm having trouble finding historical citations for a lot of these alleged=20
> > cowboy proverbs/sayings.
> > ...
> > ...
> > ...
> > Horse Quotes, Hors=
> > e=20
> > Sayings, Horse Proverbs
> > Never approach a bull from the front a horse from the rear and a fool from=20
> > any direction. Old cowboy saying, wise, simple and true.
> > ...
> > ...
> > Anne Johnson
> > There's an old cowboy saying that in his lifetime, a cowboy should have one=
> > =20
> > good horse, one good dog, and one good woman. A judge friend of mine added=20=
> > to=20
> > that one time saying all a woman needs is a good horse and a good dog! Well=
> > ,=20
> > if that's true, I have succeeded.
> > ...
> > ... =20
> > Stay in the Saddle=
> >
> > 12/20/2006
> > (...)
> > There=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying that says, =E2=80=9CIn a lifetime, you=
> > =E2=80=99ll have one=20
> > good mate, one good dog, and one good horse=E2=80=9D
> > ...
> > ...
> > Skip on Hippie Fashions<=
> > /a>
> > This is a story published in the New York Sun, on July 25, 2002. I was=20
> > interviewed by email and was featured in this fashion piece.=20
> > (...)
> > So what does Ms. Raine think of high-falootin=E2=80=99 designers like Ralph=
> > Lauren=20
> > and Hogan =E2=80=94 not to mention celebrities such as Madonna =E2=80=94 co=
> > pping her style?=20
> > After all, there=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying: =E2=80=9CIf you climb in t=
> > he saddle, you=20
> > better be ready for the ride.=E2=80=9D
> > ...
> > ...
> > > href=3D"http://www.filmvault.com/filmvault/austin/d/dillscallion2.html">Aust=
> > in Chronicle (10-11-99)
> > There's an old cowboy saying: "Any cowboy can carry a tune. The trouble=20
> > comes when he tries to unload it."
> > ...
> > ...
> > Retracing the=20
> > Spanish Trail
> > There=E2=80=99s an old cowboy saying that =E2=80=9Conly cattle know why the=
> > y stampede and=20
> > they ain=E2=80=99t talking=E2=80=9D.=20
> > ...
> > ...
> > Gregory R. Ford & Associates,=20=
> > =20
> > Inc.
> > _"Admire a big horse. Saddle a small one."_=20
> > (ftp://grfordassociates:floyd@swiftsite.com/grfpartner.html)=20
> > ...
> > ...
> > > href=3D"http://www.cattletoday.com/archive/2000/July/Cattle_Today101.shtml">=
> > Cattle Today (July 2000)
> > There's a lot of truth in the old cowboy saying that the fastest way to mov=
> > e=20
> > cows is slowly.
> > --Old Cowboy Saying=20
> > ...
> > ...
> > ...
> > _http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/its_the_last_thing_you_take=
> > _o
> > ff_and_the_first_thing_that_is_noticed_cowboy_/_=20
> > (http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/texas/entry/its_the_last_thing_you_take=
> > _off_and_the_first_thing_that_i
> > s_noticed_cowboy_/)=20
> > ...
> > =20
> > =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and the first thing that i=
> > s noticed=E2=80=9D=20
> > (cowboy hat)
> > =20
> > "It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and the first thing that is notice=
> > d=E2=80=9D is =20
> > supposed to be an old cowboy proverb about the cowboy hat, but only recent =20
> > citations seem to exist.=20
> >
> >
> > _Google Books_=20
> > (http://books.google.com/books?vid=3DISBN1586852582&id=3D9Fmyk73jqYgC&pg=3DP=
> > A8&lpg=3DPA8&ots=3D5Uxzp5NdwC&dq=3D"old+cowboy+saying"&ie=3DISO-8859-1&sig=
> > =3DSHr
> > V8659RmxUKaooeI9UKGFzPZo) =20
> > The Cowboy Hat Book=20
> > by William Reynolds and Ritch Rand =20
> > Gibbs Smith=20
> > 2003=20
> > Pg. 8:=20
> > As the old cowboy saying goes, It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and=
> > the=20
> > first thing that is noticed.=20
> >
> > _Cowboy Hats in History_ (http://www.cowboyhathistory.org/) =20
> > Cowboy Hats in History=20
> > There are few items in the history of American culture that carry the same=20
> > iconic weight as the cowboy hat. It is the one item of apparel that can be=20
> > worn in any corner of the world and receive immediate recognition. As the o=
> > ld=20
> > cowboy saying goes, =E2=80=98It=E2=80=99s the last thing you take off and t=
> > he first thing that=20
> > is noticed.=E2=80=99=20
> >
> > The history of the cowboy hat is not that old. Before the invention of the=20
> > cowboy hat, which means before John B. Stetson came along, the cowpunchers=20=
> > of=20
> > the plains wore castoffs of previous lives and vocations. Everything from=20
> > formal top hats and derbies to leftover remnants of the civil War headgear,=
> > to=20
> > tams and sailor hats, were worn by men moving westward.=20
> >
> > Today=E2=80=99s cowboy hat has remained basically unchanged in construction=
> > and=20
> > design since the first one was created in 1865. As the story goes, John B.=20
> > Stetson and some companions went west to seek the benefits of a drier clima=
> > te.=20
> > During a hunting trip, Stetson amused his friends by showing them how he co=
> > uld=20
> > make cloth out of fur without weaving.=20
> >
> > After creating his =E2=80=98fur blanket,=E2=80=99 Stetson fashioned an enor=
> > mous hat with a=20
> > huge brim as a joke, but the hat was noted to be big enough to protect a ma=
> > n=20
> > from sun, rain, and all the rigors the outdoors could throw at him. Stetson=
> > =20
> > decided to wear the hat on his hunting trip, and it worked so well that he=20
> > continued wearing it on his travels throughout the West. In 1865, he began=20=
> > to=20
> > produce the first incarnation of his big hats in number, and before long,=20
> > Stetson was considered the maker of this newfangled headwear, the cowboy ha=
> > t. The=20
> > original Stetson hat sold for five dollars.=20
> >
> > Shortly after the turn of the century, the cowboy hat, although still in it=
> > s=20
> > infancy, nevertheless infused its wearer with a singular link to the histor=
> > y=20
> > of the wild and woolly West. Even after the wild aspect of the West was=20
> > somewhat tamed, the cowboy hat never really lost its ability to lend that =20
> > reckless and rugged aura to its wearer.=20
> >
> > =20
> >
>
>
> **************************************
> AOL now offers free=20
> > email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at=20
> > http://www.aol.com.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
> -Sam'l Clemens
>
> Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
> you through times of no dope.
> -----
> -Free-Wheeling Franklin
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Finding fabulous fares is fun.
> Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains.
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                                      -Sam'l Clemens

Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
you through times of no dope.
-----
                                         -Free-Wheeling Franklin

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org