Crows & Cards (29 page)

chock-full

So full that nothing more can be added. This usage may come from combining
choke
and
full.

cipher
(SIGH-fur)

To do arithmetic.

clapboards

Narrow boards used as siding.

cob

A man.

combust

To burn. You may be more familiar with the noun form,
combustion.

Conestoga
(con-eh-STOW-guh)

Wide wagon used to haul freight or belongings. It is usually pulled by a team of six horses. The wagon is named after a valley in Pennsylvania, where it was first built in the 1700s.

consarn

Mild cuss word used in place of
confound
or
damn.

consumption

Disease that is called tuberculosis or TB today. It is caused by bacteria that infects the lungs. In 1849 it could have been fatal.

cooper

Craftsman who makes and repairs wooden barrels, casks, and tubs.

corn-shuck tick

Tick (or mattress) filled with corn shucks that rustle whenever you roll over.

corn squeezings

Liquor made from corn.

craw

Throat and stomach. The word is most often used to describe a wide spot in the throat of a bird where food collects. It's also used to describe a human throat, particularly if something is caught in it.

crockery

Bowls made of baked clay with covers and used to store food. The Tupperware of its day on the frontier.

crowbait

Worn-out horse that's so close to death, you can use it as bait to attract crows.

cubbing

Working as an apprentice. In the context of this story, it applies particularly to young men learning to be steamboat pilots.

cuss

May be short for
customer.
It's usually said in a humorous or mean-spirited way and refers to a man.

D

dang

Civilized way of saying
damn.

darn

Another civilized way of saying
damn.

dast

To dare.

dealing seconds

A way to cheat at cards by dealing out the second card from the top of the deck. The cheater stacks the deck by placing a card that he or she wants beneath the top card (in the
second
position) then dealing it out whenever it is needed. A slick cardsharp can deal seconds without anyone noticing.

deck passage

Ticket that allows you to ride and sleep on the deck of a ship. It was a cheap way to travel back then.

deed

A legal document showing ownership of something (in this case, the inn).

deuce

Playing card with the number two on it. It's from the French word
deux.

dickens

Polite way to say
devil.

dilly-dally

Fancy way to say
dally,
which means to waste time.

dithers

Trembles or shivers.

dotage

Old age.

drat

Mild way of saying
damn.

dray

Low two-wheeled cart that was used for pulling heavy loads. Originally, the word described a sled used for dragging logs in the woods.

dromedary
(DROM-uh-dare-ee)

Another name for a camel. It comes from the ancient Greek language and means "running camel." The picture showing this animal is the very one that Chief Standing Tenbears wanted to take to his father.

du ska
(DOO shkuh)

Translates as "open it." The phrase is from the Hidatsa language. The Hidatsa are an Indian tribe that lived on the upper Missouri River in the 1840s. They still live in the same general area, which today is part of North Dakota.

E

egg

Not from a bird. This
egg
is a verb that means to push or agitate someone into action. It is usually formed with
on.

epizootic
(ep-ih-zoe-OTT-ick)

General illness or misery.

F

fallback

Something you can resort to (or fall back on) if you need help.

fandango

Silliness, playfulness, or foolishness. The word's origin is Spanish. In that language it is the name of a lively dance.

fantods

Irritable fidgets, occurring when you're mad about something and can't sit still.

fare

Food.

faro

Card game of the Old West. It was the most popular gambling game of its day but is no longer played, mostly because it is so easy for the dealer to cheat. The game is played on a cloth that has pictures for each card value (though not each suit) in a deck. Players set their bets atop the pictures. The name is a shortened spelling of
pharaoh,
the name for the ruler of ancient Egypt. At one time the cards used in the game may have included one with a picture of a pharaoh.

fess up

To confess.

five-card

Type of card game. Also called poker.

fisticuffs

Fistfight. Formed from
fist
and
cuff.
In this case cuff is a verb that means to hit someone.

fix

Difficult position or dilemma.

fixings

Food that goes along with the main dish of a meal.

flay

To skin something.

flimflam

Deception or trickery.

flinty

Something or someone who is stern.

flummoxed

Embarrassed, confused, or perplexed.

flush

A poker hand in which all cards are of the same suit but are not in consecutive order. For example, the two, five, seven, ten, and queen of hearts.

forge

Furnace that heats metal. Hot and glowing!

forty-rod

Liquor so strong that one sip can knock you forty rods back. A rod is a length equal to about 16½ feet. Forty rods would equal 660 feet, or slightly more than a city block. Strong stuff.

Free States

States where slavery was not allowed before the Civil War.

G

Galena

Wealthy Illinois town that was at the center of the lead mining district along the upper Mississippi River. Lead mining was the major business on the upper Mississippi for several decades in the early and middle 1800s.

garter

Band that holds up a stocking or sleeve. Quite stylish.

gibble-gabble

To chatter fast and foolishly. You may be more familiar with its shortened form,
gab.

giddyup

Command to go faster, usually given to a horse.

goatee

Pointed beard that first became popular in the 1840s. It got the name because it looks like the beard of a male goat.

gold eagle

Ten-dollar gold piece that is also called a liberty head by coin collectors. It has a woman's portrait on one side, an eagle on the other.

goldurn

Polite way to say
goddamn.

Good Book

The Bible.

goose flesh

Same as
goose bumps,
a term that describes what the skin of a plucked goose looks like.

gristmill

Mill that grinds corn into flour. In the 1800s, mills used stones, which were turned by gears, to do the grinding. Water wheels often powered the gears.

grog

Alcohol or liquor. Often it is mixed with water, lemon juice, and sugar, then served hot. A grog shop is a bar or tavern that serves this drink. The word comes from an Englishman, Admiral Vernon (of the 1700s), whose nickname was Old Grog because of a grogram cloak he liked to wear (a grogram is a coarse, stiff coat made of mohair and wool). The admiral had a special drink that he served to the men on his ships, and that drink became known by his nickname.

grubstake

Money or supplies used to start an undertaking. The word often referred to what a gold miner needed to start prospecting. If the grubstake was loaned to the prospector, the person making the loan was entitled to a share of all discoveries.

gumption

Energy or willingness to do something.

gut shot

Shot in the gut (stomach).

H

ha ka ta

Translates as "Halt!" or "Wait!" It is from the Hidatsa language. The Hidatsa are an Indian tribe that lived on the upper Missouri River in the 1840s. They still live in the same general area, which today is part of North Dakota.

hang fire

To be delayed. The phrase originally de- scribed an explosive charge that was slow in going off once its primer was lit or discharged. For this reason, the expression suggests a delay with some tension to it.

hankering

A want of something badly.

hawk

To sell something on the street by calling out to passersby.

high hat

Refers not only to a hat with a high crown but also to the fact that anyone who could afford such a hat would be well-off financially.

high roller

Someone who spends money freely.

high toned

Acting snobbish, as if you're important.

highwayman

Robber who steals from highway travelers.

hobnob

To be friendly and socialize with someone.

hogshead