Please join me in welcoming guest blogger and fellow author Camille Minichino, who is going to treat us to a slang phrase she just recently discovered! Camille, a retired physicist turned writer, is the author of 25 mystery novels in four series. Camille is on the faculty of Golden Gate University in San Francisco, California, and teaches writing in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Website: www.minichino.com.
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I'm not the first person who comes to mind when delving into conversation about the Old West. Or even the New West, for that matter. But I do have a stepdaughter who is a prize-winning horsewoman and here's what she said about a newcomer to the ranch.
CC: He's all hat and no cattle.
Me: Huh?
CC: You know, he talks big, but no action.
So there it is. The West creeping into my personal lexicon. Here's a bit (so to speak) of its history:
Originally used in reference to people imitating the fashion or style of cowboys. These people wore the hats, but had no experience on the ranch -- thus, all hat, no cattle. Similar to talking the talk without walking the walk, also used in reference to wannabe gunslingers.It's going to be hard not to use this newly learned phrase.
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| Camille, "home on the range" and photobombed by two four-footed strangers, all thanks to her awesome Tech/Photoshop expert! |
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6 comments:
Thanks for this opportunity, Ann! And thanks to my stepdaughter for lending her horse for the photo!
That's wonderful! Thanks.
Thank YOU Camille and Camille’s stepdaughter! I think this is the only time I have or will ever see you in a cowboy hat!
I don't know, Ann -- I see great use for the hat on bad hair days!
This is a great phrase. Use it frequently. With gusto. ;)
Being a tenderfoot, I kinda think horses and cows are similar enough. So there may be lots of hat, but I also see plenty of livestock, Camille!
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