Amber Alert
"Amber Alert" is a notification system to law enforcement and the media about a child abduction. "Amber Alert" is named for Amber Hagerman, the 9-year-old who was kidnapped…
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Chuck Eater
A "chuck eater" is another cowboy term for a "greenhorn" or "pilgrim" or "tenderfoot." To the old hands, a "chuck eater" can't do the work and…
Pooch (puchera/puchero?)
"Pooch" was a cowboy stew of tomatoes, sugar, and bread. The name probably comes from the Spanish puchera or puchero, meaning a stew. However, more historical citations are needed;…
Brain Tablet (cigarette)
A "brain tablet" was a cowboy term for a cigarette. Maybe they looked like brain capsules at the time, or did cowboys think the cigarettes made them smarter? The term "brain…
Cowboy Cocktail (whiskey)
A "cowboy cocktail" is simply whiskey -- any whiskey on hand will do. The 2000 book Cowboy Cocktails publicized the term, and now it applies to whatever the establishment wants to call a…
“Winning Ugly” (Texas Rangers manager Doug Rader)
The 1983 Chicago White Sox won their division, but Texas Ranger manager Doug Rader didn't think they were all that good. "They're not playing that well. They're winning…
Horse Opera
The "horse opera" was an early name for the western (in radio and on the movie screen), dating from at least 1923. The term "horse opera" had long been in use before that,…
Mail-Order Cowboy
A "mail-order cowboy" was a person newly arrived to the west, dressed as if from a mail-order cowboy catalogue. Other names for the "mail-order cowboy" include
“Never kick a cow chip on a hot day”
"Never kick a cow chip on a hot day" appears on the internet on several Texas and cowboy joke websites. Some attribute the quote to Will Rogers, but there no evidence of this. It's…
“Only newcomers and fools predict the weather in Texas”
The old Texas weather saying (dating from at least the early 1900s) is: "Only newcomers and fools predict the weather in Texas." It's alleged that a newcomer once responded that…
Sun Belt (or Sunbelt)
Texas is part of the "sun belt" states of the South. The term has existed from at least the 1920s, but was popularized in the late 1960s when federal government programs specifically used…
Mississippi Mud Cake (Mississippi Mud Pie)
Mississippi Mud Cake (or Mississippi Mud Pie) may come from Mississippi -- or it may not. The name "Mississippi Mud" was popularized by a 1927 song of that title. In 1953,…
“Texas—Where men are men and women are governors”
The old phrase "Texas, where men are men and--" goes back to the 1800s. In the play Texas Steer (1890), the lead character declared that he came from a town in Texas "where men are…
Pilgrim
"Pilgrim" was a term used from at least the 1860s to refer to a new person to the West -- a "greenhorn" or "tenderfoot." It's said that the "pilgrim"…
“Malfunction at the junction” (SWC football announcer Kern Tips)
Kern Tips (who died in 1967 at age 62) was the "Voice of the Southwest Conference" football for about 30 years. Some consider Tips the greatest Texas football announcer; others consider…
“Chief executives have no more feeling for stockholders than for African baboons” (T. Boone Pickens)
T Boone Pickens is one of the richest people in America. In the 1980s, he headed Mesa Patroleum and successfully bid for Gulf Oil. He had no sympathy for the entrenched Big Oil managers. In 1985,…
Friday Night Lights
"Friday Night Lights" is the title of a 1990 book by H. G. Bissinger about the 1988 football season of the Permian High School Panthers, of Odessa, Texas. The book was made into a 2004…
“To get along, go along” (Sam Rayburn)
Sam Rayburn (1882-1961) was a Texas Congressman who was a longtime and effective Speaker of the House. "To get along, go along" (also sometimes phrased "go along to get along")…
“Any jackass can kick a barn down, but it took a carpenter to build it” (Sam Rayburn)
Sam Rayburn (1882-1961) was a distinguishment Speaker of the House as a Texas Congressman. When the Democrats lost power, he wondered about the Republicans and how they'd treat the programs…
“I feel safer on a racetrack…than on Houston expressways” (A. J. Foyt)
A. J. Foyt is a racing driver from Houston. He once said that he felt safer driving on the racetrack than driving on Houston expressways. The Foyt quote is on many internet sites, but usually…