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HUNTING, SHOOTING & WESTERN :
The west
has captured the imagination of Americans as well as the rest of the world.
From the Spanish vaquero emerged the American cowboy, men and boys who
herded and maintained large herds of cattle on the free range with the
help of ropes and horses and the inevitable cook wagon. Guns and pistols
were used for protection, to hunt for food and for recreation. Cowboys
came from all strata of life, including former slaves and aristocrats.
They were men who went west in the second half of the nineteenth century
for adventure and work. 
As the old
west changed with the diaappearance of free range, the advent of fences
and advanced modes of transportation, the cowboy adapted but the image
of the old west remained imbedded in the consciousness of the world as
a glamourous occupation, rather than the dirty hard job it was. The cowboy
may do his job now with trucks and airplanes, but we still see him riding
herd on the free range with a gun in hand and "shooting from the hip"
in a battle at the "OK Corral". He may not have to "grab a bull by its
horns" ,except as recreation and a chance to earn a little extra money
in a rodeo, but the images remains with Americans as idioms used in everyday
life.
The
colonist to the new world and the pioneers on the western frontier of
the Americas needed guns to hunt game for food and for protection. Almost
every man and boy and some women learned to shoot and to hunt for game.
Recreation for the physically active young men on the frontier were extensions
of work, just as the rodeo was for the cowboy and vaquero. There were
shooting matches, as well as the inevitable foot races and gambling.
Guns may
not be a necessity for protection and for food now, but shooting and hunting
continue to be popular sports. It is not necessarily a gentleman's sport
in the United States and Canad, as it is in Europe. The sport grew out
of ordinary persons work. Because the activity of hunting and shooting
was so necessay and is so popular today, there are many idioms derived
from these activities. Today to "set one's sights on something" usually
means to set a goal or objective rather than to sight an object with one's
gun.
IDIOM:
take a shot at someone or something
SENTENCE 1: Take a shot at that deer.
MEANING 2: to try to do something
SENTENCE
2: I'll take a shot at taking the murder case, even though it's difficult.
IDIOM:
give something, someone one's best shot hunting and shooting, basketball,
archery
MEANING 1:
to shoot the best one can
SENTENCE 1: He gave his best shot out at the target and made a bull's
eye. (see Archery)
MEANING 2:
to do one's best
SENTENCE 2: See what you can do. Give the assignment your best shot.
IDIOM:
shoot down, shot down
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
to shoot a duck or bird down
SENTENCE 1: He shot down the Canada goose. It won't fly anymore.
MEANING 2:
to stop something because it won't work
SENTENCE 2: John shot down Fred's proposal. It just won't fly
IDIOM:
hound someone or something
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
to run hounds or dogs after something
SENTENCE 1: Slave owners hounded runaway slaves to try to bring them back.
They considered slaves property.
MEANING 2:
to urge continually
SENTENCE 2: Please don't hound me about getting the house painted. I'll
do it when I can.
IDIOM:
shoot one's mouth off shooting,
hunting, western
MEANING 1:
to shoot another person's mouth off
SENTENCE 1: The term is not used in the literal sense.
MEANING 2:
to talk too much
SENTENCE 2: He wouldn't keep quiet. He shot his mouth off about his quarrel
with Emily.
IDIOM:
bark up the wrong tree
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
the dog is not barking at the animal the hunter wants
SENTENCE 1: Jim's dog didn't tree the racoon. The racoom jumped to another
tree and the dog barked up the wrong tree.
MEANING 2:
to make a wrong choice
SENTENCE 2: The FBI agent didn't find the criminal. He was barking up
the wrong tree.
IDIOM:
quick on the trigger (draw) hunting,
shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to shoot a gun quickly
SENTENCE 1: Wyatt Earp was quick on the trigger.
MEANING 2:
to be fast
SENTENCE 2: The chairman of the corportation was quick on the trigger
in answering the stockholders questions.
IDIOM:
fall into a trap hunting,
shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to fall into a pit dug for hunting game
SENTENCE 1: The tiger fell into a trap which had fresh meat in it.
MEANING 2:
to be caught in a situation, to be trapped or ensnared
SENTENCE 2: I fell into a trap. I didn't read the contract
carefully. How to Play the Game
IDIOM:
slow on the draw
hunting, shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to pull the gun slowly from the gun's holster
SENTENCE 1: He was slow on the draw in the gunfight and was shot by the
sheriff.
MEANING
2: to be slow to understand
SENTENCE 2: Bill didn't understand the joke. He's slow on the draw.
IDIOM:
like a sitting duck
hunting and shooting
MEANING
1: as a duck sits on water
SENTENCE 1: That target practice was easy, like hitting a sitting duck.
MEANING 2:
to be unaware of something about to happen
SENTENCE 2: The ememy's troops were like sitting duck.s. They did not
suspect an attack.
DERIVATION:
A sitting duck is easier to shoot than one that is flying. A stationary
target is easier to hit than a moving one.
IDIOM:
out of sight
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
not visible
SENTENCE 1: The birds are out of sight now and I missed a shot.
MEANING
2: too high
SENTENCE 2: This bill is out of sight. I won't pay it.
IDIOM:
lower one's sights
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
to put the gun barrel down
SENTENCE 1: I lowered my sights as the clay pidgeon dropped.
MEANING 2:
to take or accept less
SENTENCE 2: I haveto lower my sights about my career. I am not going to
get a Master's in Business Administration.
IDIOM:
set one's sights on something
hunting and shooting
MEANING
1: to line up the sight of a rifle or bow
SENTENCE 1: I have set my sights on that deer over there.
MEANING 2:
to want or desire something
SENTENCE 2: I have set my sights on that job at the bank.
DERIVATION:
A sight is a device for aiming a gun or bow.
IDIOM:
open season on someone or something
hunting and shooting
MEANING
1: The part of the year when there is unrestricted hunting of a particular
animal.
SENTENCE 1: It's open season on deer now. You can kill doe.
MEANING 2:
a time when one is criticized
SENTENCE 2: There was open season at the City Council meeting, when the
mayor talked about raising taxes.
IDIOM:
quick on the trigger hunting,
shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to shoot quickly
SENTENCE 1: He was quick on the trigger and lived through the fight.
MEANING 2:
to respond quickly
SENTENCE 2: He was quick on the trigger on that game show. He answered
all the questions.
IDIOM:
straight from the shoulder
hunting, shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to hold a gun up at the shoulder and shoot it
SENTENCE 1: Hold the gun and shoot it straight from the shoulderr.
MEANING 2:
to be frank
SENTENCE 2: I want to hear the news, good or bad. Let's hear it, straight
from the shoulder.
DERIVATION:
The usual way of shooting a gun is to hold it level and pressed to the
shoulder.
IDIOM:
hold at bay
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
Hunting dogs barking at game or prey until the hunter can arrive.
SENTENCE 1: The dogs held the stag at bay until the hunters came.
MEANING
2: to keep something or someone stopped awhile until something else can
be done.
SENTENCE 2: They held the drug dealer at bay until the police could come.
DERIVATION:
From a French medieval sports term, "abai", meaning to bark at game and
hold it for the hunter.
IDIOM:
Call off the dogs.
hunting and shooting
MEANING 1:
to order dogs away from the chase
SENTENCE 1: Call off the dogs. They have found the fox.
MEANING 2:
to stop pursuing something
SENTENCE
2: Call off the dogs. I don't want dectectives on that case any more.
IDIOM:
throw someone off the track; throw someone off hunting,
shooting and western
MEANING 1:
to try and divert or confuse pursuers
SENTENCE 1: The fox crossed the stream to throw the dogs off his track.
MEANING 2:
to confuse someone
SENTENCE 2: The questions threw the speaker off the
track.
IDIOM:
ride roughshod over someone or something
horses and western
MEANING 1:
to ride a horse with rough shoes on its hooves over something
SENTENCE 1: The cowboys rode roughshod over the trail in order to get
the cattle to market on time. MEANING 2: to treat someone poorly
SENTENCE
2: Please don't ride roughshod on the new employee. Be nice.
DERIVATION:
When cowboys took cattle a long distance to market the shoes on their
horses became rough and would tear up the trail.. (Editorial
note: I am not sure of this derivation.)
IDIOM:
riding for a fall
horses and western
MEANING 1:
to be riding fast and/or dangerously
SENTENCE 1: He's riding for a fall in the steeplechase
MEANING 2:
to risk an accident or failure
SENTENCE 2: He's riding for a fall putting all his money in high risk
stocks.
IDIOM:
ride herd on someone or something
horses and western
MEANING
1: to keep the herd together by riding alongside them
SENTENCE 1: The cowboys rode herd early in the summer as they took the
cattle out of the desert into the Ruby Mountains.
MEANING 2:
to control Department would like to ride herd on the CIA. TheJuxtice Department
is riding herd on organized crime.
IDIOM:
give free rein
horses and western
MEANING 1:
to not rein in a horse
SENTENCE 1: She gave free rein to her cow pony in the barrel race and
she won.
MEANING 2:
to allow someone to be completely in charge of something
SENTENCE 2: The manager gave his employee free rein with the project.
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