Montana Lingo: Brush Up On Your Big Sky Vocabulary

Throughout history, humans have demonstrated creativity in developing language to describe the world around them. In every corner of the world, cultures have their own slang, sayings, and colloquialisms to describe their way of life.

Montana is no different and has developed a distinct word bank from which to choose. Many of these expressions originate from the rugged days of cowboys, pioneers, and the demanding lifestyle that required resilience, grit, and a touch of wit.

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Here is a fun list of sayings, words, and slang you can brush up on if you are a newbie to the West.

Montana Shoeshine
This is what you call the opposite of a regular shoeshine because you stepped in cow poop.

Don't Squat With Your Spurs On.
This is cowboy culture at its finest and a funny way to say, "Don't be dumb." If you don't know how spurs work, they attach to the back of your heel, and if you squat... you'll get poked in the butt.

Rocky Mountain Oysters
This sounds like a delicious mountain seafood dish, right? Wrong! If you want an authentic taste of the West, order rocky mountain oysters, otherwise known as fried bull testicles. Other names for this are cowboy caviar or Montana tender groins.

Let Her Buck!
Ranches and rodeos have been known to attract people with a good bit of character and that's where this saying originated from. It means to "let it go" or to "do you your best to win." During WW1 Montana solidiers were known to yell "let her buck" as they went into battle.

Slow Cow
This isn't just any regular cow; it's a nickname for an elk. Native Americans have hundreds of names for elk; another commonly used term is "wapiti." Whether you refer to them as elk, wapiti, or "slow cow," anyone from Montana will understand what you mean.

Credit: RMEF, WhenInYourSate