Below is a list of mostly forgotten terms, people, and the occasional song, drawn from a reading of frontier fiction, 1880–1915. Each week
a new list, progressing through the alphabet, “from A to Izzard.”
light-o’-love =
a woman inconstant in love. “‘His palace,’
came the arresting, accusing, stern tones of Campbell, ‘the palace that he
built for his light-o’love.’” Nancy Mann Waddell Woodrow, The New Missioner.
lighter = a barge or other unpowered boat used to transfer
cargo to and from ships in harbor. “A lighter grounded on Alki Point; he has
been helping to float her.” Ada Woodruff Anderson, The Heart of the Red
Firs.
lightning artist =
an artist-entertainer who draws subjects
very quickly. “A lightning artist appeared, drawing caricatures and portraits
with incredible swiftness.” Frank Norris, McTeague.
lights and liver =
stuffings; literally, lungs and liver. “O’ course ’t ain’t calc’lated t’
sweeten a feller’s temper none t’ have his dog handled, his worst outlaw rid,
’n’ t’ have th’ hull lites ’n’ liver o’ his conceit ’bout bein’ th’ best gun shot
on th’ desert kicked plumb outen him at one kick.” Edgar Beecher Bronson, Reminiscences
of a Ranchman.
limit = a tract or allotment granted for the cutting of
timber. “Kent’s tender for the choice Wind River limits was accepted, somewhat
to his surprise and to Crooks’s profane amazement.” A. M. Chisholm, The Boss
of Wind River.
line out =
to leave, depart. “I has only time to make
camp, saddle up, an’ line out of thar, to keep from bein’ burned before my
time.” Alfred Henry Lewis, Wolfville.
line out / line up =
to scold, discipline, punish. “What do you
mean by usin’ such langwidge? I’ll line you out for this.” Robert Alexander
Wason, Happy Hawkins.
liquidate =
to drink. “We passed into the bar and
liquidated.” Frederick Niven, Hands Up!
lisle thread =
a strong, tightly twisted cotton thread,
named after the town in France where it was first manufactured. “From
lisle-thread stockings; from round, tight garters; from brilliant brass belts;
Kind Devil, deliver me.” Mary MacLane, The Story of Mary MacLane.
listeners = ears. “His
listeners ’peared t’ be workin’ all right, fo’ sometimes he’d loosen up t’ th’
extent o’ a ‘yes’ o’ ‘nop,’ but that was all.” Edgar Beecher Bronson, Reminiscences
of a Ranchman.
“Little Annie Rooney” =
music hall song from 1890, by Michael
Nolan; popular also in the US. “He rattled ‘Playmates’ off, and then he switched
to ‘Annie Rooney.’” William De Vere, Jim Marshall’s New Pianner.
 |
| Sheet music, 1853 |
Little White Bird, The = a novel by
Scottish author and dramatist J. M. Barrie (1860-1937), published in 1902.
“Helen was sitting beside him in an easy chair, and he watched the play of her
face in the lamplight as she read from ‘The Little White Bird’.” William
MacLeod Raine, Wyoming.
 |
| J. M. Barrie, 1901 |
lo-the-poor-Indian =
a reference to 18th century English poet
Alexander Pope’s Essay on Man: “Lo! The poor Indian, whose
untutored mind sees God in the clouds, or hears him in the wind.” “Denver, I’ll
take care of these beauties while y’u step into the pantry with Mrs.
Lo-the-poor-Indian and put up a lunch.” William MacLeod Raine, Wyoming.
loafer = a
subspecies of the wolf, also known as the buffalo wolf and Great Plains
wolf. “The night silence was rent
by the hunting cry of the loafer.” George Pattullo, The Untamed.
lobelia = an herbal remedy for respiratory conditions such as
asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and cough; also called Indian tobacco. “If I’m
sick and have to depend on myself, all right. I’ll dose up with lobelia or
gamboge.” Harry Leon Wilson, The Lions of the Lord.
log cabin = a
patchwork or quilting pattern in which pieces of material are arranged to give
the effect of pieces of wood formed into adjoining squares. “‘Yo’ new log-cabin
quilt, Mrs. Kinchley,’ interposed Mrs. Red Parsons volubly, ‘is the prettiest
quilt.” Mollie Davis, The Wire-Cutters.
logy = slow, lethargic. “Is it that we’re getting on, a
little long in the tooth, logy in our movements?” Marie Manning, Judith of
the Plains.
Lombroso, Cesare = an Italian criminologist (1835-1909), who held that a criminal could be identified by physical defects. “His wife looks like a horse with a straw bonnet on and he ought to be jailed on sight if there’s anything to Lombroso’s theories.” Caroline Lockhart, The Lady Doc.
London alphabet = a children’s book with a page for each letter of the alphabet, printed in red and illustrated with drawings of London landmarks. “Even the remittance-men, who had been wont to spell amusement in the red letters of the London alphabet, were there.” Herman Whitaker, The Settler.
London alphabet = a children’s book with a page for each letter of the alphabet, printed in red and illustrated with drawings of London landmarks. “Even the remittance-men, who had been wont to spell amusement in the red letters of the London alphabet, were there.” Herman Whitaker, The Settler.
 |
| Original Lone Star brewery |
_-_1887_-_ritr._da_Eakins,_Thomas_-_da_Internet.jpg) |
| Walt Whitman, c1887 |
long brown path =
reference to Walt Whitman’s “the long
brown path that leads wherever I choose” from Song of the Open Road.
“She was one of those restless, variable beings to whom the ‘long, brown path,’
with its thousand possibilities and surprises, makes an irresistible appeal.” Nancy
Mann Waddell Woodrow, The New Missioner.
long chalk =
a large amount; from “chalk,” the amount
of credit extended to a bar patron. “He wasn’t so unimpressed by your story as
he seemed—not by a long chalk!” S. Carleton Jones, Out of Drowning Valley.
long clothes =
clothing worn by an infant, extending
below the feet. “‘Compose myself!’ she cried. ‘And me through the war when you
was in long clothes.’” Frederick Niven, Hands Up!
long eared =
clever. “He questioned the soundness of
Nora’s philosophy and swore by his Puritan gods that Torvald was the
longest-eared jack in two hemispheres.” Jack London, A Daughter of the Snows.
long purse =
wealth, riches. “He made the most of such
opportunities for the exercising of his gift as came to one for whom the long
purse leveled most barriers.” Francis Lynde, The Grafters.
long sleever =
large drinking glass. “‘We’re having
lively times, John,’ said the doctor, after emptying his ‘long sleever.’” Ridgwell
Cullum, The Story of the Foss River Ranch.
long yearlings =
steers between the ages of two and three years. “On other occasions the herd
would consist of a certain kind, such as long yearlings, short yearlings, tail
end and scabs.” Nat Love, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love.
long-headed =
discerning, shrewd. “Peets, he shorely is
the longest-headed sharp I ever sees.” Alfred Henry Lewis, Wolfville.
lookout = the person who supervises betting at faro. “While
the ‘lookout’ lazily lolled in his chair, / And his cigarette smoke melted into
the air.” William De Vere, Jim Marshall’s New Pianner.
lop = to bend. “I nacherally wrestles him down an’ lops
one of his front laigs over his antlers.” Alfred Henry Lewis, Wolfville.
 |
| Lorelei, c1900 |
lot on = to count
on, rely on. “She ain’t lottin’ much on me nohow.” Alfred Henry Lewis, Wolfville.
loup cervier =
the Canada lynx. “They set about skinning
the loup-cervier, and spread the pelt upon the floor for a robe.”
James Hendryx, The Promise.
loup garou =
werewolf; a creature able to change
appearance from wolf to human and back again. “And has not Jacques told me of
how you killed the loup-garou; of how you are hated by
Moncrossen, and feared by Creed?” James Hendryx, The Promise.
low watch = the
hours after midnight for riding guard on the herd. “So the low watch turned in
to rest until midnight, when they were to relieve the upper watch, in whose
hands the safety of the camp was placed till that time.” Nat Love, The Life
and Adventures of Nat Love.
lubber = a fool. “Thet little gal mustn’t marry thet lubber
with the money.” Pauline Wilson Worth, Death Valley Slim and Other Stories.
luck cage = an
hourglass-shaped cage containing three dice, used in the gambling game chuck a
luck. “In tents, back rooms and overhead could be heard the b-r-r-r-r of the
little ivory marble as it spun a circuit over the roulette wheel, and the luck
cages, where the idle sports turned them over for their own amusement, to pass
away the time.” Oscar Micheaux, The Conquest.
luff = to bring the head of a ship nearer to the wind.
“Mason leaned forward with a low exclamation; then, no longer able to hold
himself, he lifted his voice in a hoarse shout. ‘Luff, luff ’er.’” Ada Woodruff
Anderson, The Heart of the Red Firs.
lug = ear. “Them lugs o’ yours is gettin’ old.” Ridgwell
Cullum, The Story of the Foss River Ranch.
lump-jaw =
a fungus infection in forage-eating
animals, causing swelling of the jaw. “‘Love is a terrible disease,’ Tubbs
spoke with the emphasis of conviction. ‘It’s worse’n lump-jaw er blackleg.”
Caroline Lockhart, Me—Smith.
lunger = someone
with an illness, specifically a pulmonary disease. “Ma’am, I’m sorry for you,
but I wouldn’t really have picked you out for a lunger.” Emerson Hough, Heart’s
Desire.
lurcher = hooligan, bum. “It must gall you—that lurcher not
being dead!” Frederick Niven, Hands Up!
lyed corn =
corn steeped in weak lye to remove the
husks; hominy. “The deep snow made it impossible to get much game, so that in
less than two weeks our little supply of lyed corn was almost exhausted.” John
Neihardt, The Lonesome Trail.
Previous: L (La France rose – light a shuck)
Next: M (macer –mikonaree)
More:
Sources: Cassell’s
Dictionary of Slang, Dictionary of the American West, The Cowboy Dictionary,
The Cowboy Encyclopedia, Cowboy Lingo, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, and
various online dictionaries
Image credits: Wikimedia
Commons
Coming up: Robert Mitchum, The Wonderful Country (1959)
A lot of new ones to me here. Logy I've heard.
ReplyDeleteHere's a Little Willie limerick:
ReplyDeleteLittle Willie with a grin,
Drank up all his daddy's gin.
His Daddy said when he was plastered,
Go to bed you little . . . love child.
Ha. Good one.
DeleteThanks for putting Lone Star Beer on the list, without it I would have been shut out - nice list, again.
ReplyDelete