by Robin Furth
COWPUNCHERS: Cowboys. W:45
COZEN (COZENING, COZENING BASTARDS): To cozen is to deceive. A cozening bastard is a deceitful bastard. V:647, VI:74, W:186
CRADLE: A station or homeport. It can also mean headquarters. III:303, III:316
CRADLE-AMAH: A nanny or childhood nurse. V:188
CRADLE-STORY: Nursery tale. V:341
CRIP SPACES: This term is actually used by Eddie, king of good taste. It refers to the handicapped spaces in a parking lot. IV:81
CROSSTREE: Gallows tree from which men are hanged. I:111
CRUNK: Dialect spoken by Mejis vaqueros. IV:575
CRY OFF: Renege. Stop. IV:40
CRY YOUR PARDON (CRY PARDON): I ask (or beg) your forgiveness. V:157, V:226, V:471, VI:22
CRY YOUR PARDON, BUT . . . NO MORE: I’m sorry, but that is no longer the case. W:28
CUCHILLLO: Spanish for knife. The term is used in Hambry. IV:365
CUJO: Although King fans may associate this word with mad dogs, in Mejis, cujo means “sweet one.” VII:468
CULLIES (CULLY): In Mid-World, the word cully can be used positively. So much so that it seems roughly equivalent to the British term lad. However, you can also use the term cully or cullies to refer to a callow youth, or to foolish young men. In our world, a cully is someone who is easily duped or deceived. We hear this term in Lud and then again in Hambry. When Roland pulls his revolver on Gasher, Gasher replies, “Put it away, my cully . . . Put it away, my dear heart. Ye’re a fierce trim, ay, that’s clear, but this time you’re outmatched.” Susan Delgado calls Cuthbert “cully” when she gives him a CORVETTE with a note in it for Roland. Later, Coral Thorin uses the term when she addresses her lover, Eldred Jonas. It can be used negatively as well. Rhea calls Roland a “murdering cull” after he shoots Ermot, her pet snake. IV:418, V:44, V:362, VII:84
CUNNING: As in “a cunning little baby.” Sweet, clever, amazing, perfectly made. IV:140
CUPPING YOUR HANDS TOGETHER: See MID-WORLD GESTURES
DAB HAND: If you have a dab hand at an activity, you are good at it. Susannah Dean proves to have a dab hand at throwing ORIZAS. IV:182, V:491
DANCE OF THE EASTERLING: See MID-WORLD HOLIDAYS, in APPENDIX IV
DANDY-O BALL: Although we are not given an exact definition, we know that a dandy-o ball is similar to the white silk of a milkweed. After Mordred sucks all of the moisture out of his second mother, Mia, we are told that her head looks like a dandy-o ball. It seems likely that a dandy-o ball is the fluffy seedhead of a dandelion. VII:141
DARK SIDE OF THE BLANKET: A child conceived on the dark side of the blanket is an illegitimate child, or one born outside of marriage. W:268
DEAD LETTER: A will. V:319
DEAD-LINE: A dead-line is a line that you cannot cross. The Crimson King set a dead-line around his castle walls so that none of his servants could leave. VII:605
DEAR: Often dropped into speech, as when Sheriff Peavy is describing how sharp Steven Deschain’s sight was: “. . . your father had eyes like you wouldn’t believe. Hawks ain’t even in it, dear, or eagles, either.” W:56
DEAR HEART: A term of affection. W:68
DELAH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
DEMON MOON: The Demon Moon is the demonic, red-faced moon that rises during the season of REAP. See also REAP MOON, below, and MID-WORLD MOONS at the beginning of this Concordance. VII:659
DEUCIES: This term is used by the Pubes of Lud. It is a negative term and seems to imply that the person being described is either cowardly or foolish. III:319
DEVIL DUST/DEVIL POWDER: This is Roland’s term for cocaine. It reminds him of devil grass. See DEMONS/SPIRITS/DEVILS, in CHARACTERS
DEVIL GRASS: Devil grass is a narcotic weed that grows in the wastelands of Mid-World. It is both poisonous and addictive. Those who become addicted to the grass are usually too poor to afford alcohol. They begin by smoking this nasty weed and end up chewing it. Chewers have green teeth and a rank stench. Devil grass gives its users dreams, nightmares, then death. It kills faster than liquor. Border Dwellers use devil grass for fuel since they have little else to burn. It gives off a greasy light and many believe that beckoning devils dance in the flames. See DEMONS/SPIRITS/DEVILS: DEVIL GRASS, in CHARACTERS
DIANA’S DREAM: Diana’s Dream is a folktale similar to our story “The Lady or the Tiger?” For page references, see MID-WORLD FOLKLORE, in CHARACTERS
DIBBIN: A magical cloth that looks a little bit like a napkin, but its uses are many. When it is shaken out, it grows exponentially larger, and can act as a shelter from any storm, even a STARKBLAST. When folded and used with a magic feather from the tail of the Eagle Guardian, Garuda, it can act as a flying carpet. W:253
DIDDLESTICK: The whores in Gilead’s Lower Town use this term. It probably means a dildo. W:42
DIED WHILE POSESSED OF A DEMON WHICH TROUBLED HER SPIRIT: In Gilead, this is what was said when a person of high blood committed suicide. W:37
DIG OUT THY EARS AND LISTEN: Listen well. W:160
DIM: Dim has several meanings. Sorcerers and witches can make themselves dim, or difficult to see. When a person is dim he or she is not invisible, merely shadowy. The dim is like déjà-vu. When Susan Delgado meets with Roland she feels the dim, or the sense that she has met him before, and feels faint. When Henchick of the Manni was close to BLACK THIRTEEN, Maerlyn’s evil magic ball, he began to feel dim. In this latter case, dim implies going TODASH, or slipping between worlds. IV:256, IV:416, V:414, VI:31
DINH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
DIPOLAR: As we learned in The Waste Lands, Lud’s computers ran on either dipolar or unipolar circuits. In fact, it seems as though Mid-World’s technology was based on slo-trans engines as well as dipolar and unipolar circuitry. III:355, V:72, V:563
DIRECTIVE NINETEEN: This phrase is often used by North Central Positronics robots and mechanisms when they are not allowed to share additional information. (In order to bypass Directive Nineteen, you have to use a password. Occasionally, you may even be asked to spell the password.) Often Directive Nineteen is an excuse to withhold information which could help an individual on his quest or perhaps even keep him safe from danger. We can’t help but wonder whether Directive Nineteen was programmed into North Central Positronics mechanisms by the servants of the Crimson King. W:220, W:222
DISTRESSAL OF A LADY: In Eluria, this is a legalistic euphemism for rape. E:151
DIT-DAH WIRE: A telegraph. In Debaria, they have a dit-dah wire and several JING-JANGS. W:55
DJINNI: An evil genie. III:315
DO BUMBLERS LEARN TO SPEAK BACKWARD? NO MORE THAN CATS CHANGE THEIR SPOTS: In other words, people don’t change. IV:251
**DO THAT I BEG YA: Please do it.
DO YER KEN: This is a term Gasher uses for “do you know.” III:297
DO YOU CALL ME DINH? WILL YOU SHARE KHEF WITH ME AND DRINK THIS WATER?: Once they feel the impending weight of KA-SHUME upon them, Roland’s KA-TET performs this ritual to reaffirm the bonds between them. Roland asks each of his ka-tet mates, in turn, these two questions. They answer in the affirmative and then share KHEF with him, symbolized by a sip of water. VII:258
DO YOU COME FOR AID AND SUCCOR?: See WILL YOU OPEN TO US IF WE OPEN TO YOU?, below
**DO YOU KENNIT?: Do you understand?
DO YOU SEE US FOR WHAT WE ARE, AND ACCEPT WHAT WE DO?: See WILL YOU OPEN TO US IF WE OPEN TO YOU?, below
**DO YOU SEE YOUR SISTER’S BUM?: This was one of Cort’s sayings. It means “What are you staring at?”
DO YOU SET YOUR WATCH AND WARRANT ON IT?: Do you guarantee it? VI:283
DO YOU SWEAR ON YOUR WATCH AND WARRANT?: Do you swear it is true? W:46
DO’EE KEN: Do you know. (More entries can be found in the CALLA BRYN STURGIS section.) W:15
DOCKER’S CLUTCH: Roland’s term for a gunholder. He uses this term for both hidden gunholders (such as the one under the counter at Clements Guns and Sporting Goods) and shoulder holsters. II:351, III:13, V:490, V:559
&n
bsp; DOCKEY: Chicory. In River Crossing, they make coffee from Dockey. III:237
DOES THEE ASK IF I PLAY THE TOADY?: This phrase has several possible meanings. It could translate as “Are you calling me a liar?” but it seems more likely that it means “Do you really think I’m sucking up to you?” V:416
DOLINA: A kind of blanket found in Hambry. IV:282–83
DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF PUTTING YOUR HEART NEAR HIS HAND: Don’t leave yourself emotionally vulnerable. II:104
DON’T SHILLY-SHALLY: Don’t mess about; don’t waste time. V:116
DOUBLE-STEEL: Rail lines. W:294
’DOWNERS: One of Gilead’s mealtimes. Marten (a secret glutton) put sugar in his coffee in mornings and at ’Downers. II:103
DRAWERS: The Drawers are places that are spoiled or useless or both. However, they are also places of extreme power, like psychic trash middens. VII:733
DROGUE AND FORWARD: Mid-World cowboys hired to protect caravans will ride drogue-and-forward to protect their convoy. In other words, they will ride before and behind. E:178
DROMEDARY: A camel. Young Bill Streeter’s da’ liked to say that their mule, Millie, was as solid as a dromedary. VI:160, W:88
DRY TWIST (OLD BONE-TWIST MAN): Arthritis. V:241, V:243, VI:10, VI:273
DUDS: Clothes. W:48
DUST-DEVILS: Dust that rises up in little tornado-like shapes. Dust-devils appear to be animated by evil spirits. Roland encounters dust-devils on the hardpan of the Mohaine Desert, and then again in the borderland town of Calla Bryn Sturgis. I:14, V:642
ELAPHAUNTS: Roland heard of these great creatures when he was a child. They are supposed to bury their own dead. II:29
EFDAY: Efday and Ethday were the two days of the week when Debaria’s jail was filled with drunken cowpunchers and farmhands. They are probably Saturday and Sunday. W:62
ELD (THE WAY OF ELD, THE WAY OF THE ELD, ELD’S WAY): “It’s no trick,” Roland said. “Never think it. It’s the Way of the Eld. We are of that an-tet, khef and kin, watch and warrant.” The Way of the Eld signifies the way in which true gunslingers must conduct themselves. Gunslingers must protect the weak if it is at all within their power to do so. For additional discussion and page references, see ELD, ARTHUR, in CHARACTERS
ELD OF THE ELD: One of Arthur Eld’s true descendants. W:60
ELD’S LAST FELLOWSHIP: The tapestry in the Dixie Pig depicts Arthur Eld’s last fellowship. However, in that tapestry, Eld’s rite is blasphemed, as it shows Arthur, his lady, and his knights taking part in a cannibal’s feast. VII:26
ELEPHAUNT: An elephant. W:256
ELE-VAYDORS: Roland’s word for elevators. VII:494
ENJIE: The engineer, or driver, of a train. W:62
ETHDAY: Efday and Ethday were the two days of the week when Debaria’s jail was filled with drunken cowpunchers and farmhands. They are probably Saturday and Sunday. W:62
FAIR AND TRUE: If you say Roland and his KA-TET are gunslingers “fair and true,” you mean that they are—without a doubt—true gunslingers. V:230
FAIR-DAY GOOSE: In Roland’s world, a person won the Fair-Day goose if he or she won a Fair-Day riddling contest. In Song of Susannah, we find out that this phrase has a special significance for Stephen King. When he and his brother finished all their chores and did them well, his mother would tell them both that they’d won the Fair-Day goose. III:276–77, VI:277–78
FAIR-DAY RIDDLING: In Gilead-that-was, riddling was taken very seriously. Riddling contests were held during each of the seasonal festivals, especially during the festivals of Wide Earth and Full Earth. Riddles were considered to be full of power and were thought to make the crops grow stronger. III:276–77, III:416–17
FAIR-DAY SHOOTING CONTEST: A shooting gallery found at fairs both in our world and Mid-World. The usual targets are clay birds. The usual prize (in our world at least) is a stuffed toy. In Mid-World, you might win a FAIR-DAY GOOSE. VI:146
FAKEMENT: It can mean an event or a scene. It can also mean a falsehood. III:317, III:337
FALLING SICKNESS (KING’S EVIL): This is the disease that killed Roland’s childhood friend Wallace. Wallace was the son of Vannay, Roland’s tutor. V:78
FAN-GON: See entry in HIGH SPEECH
FAR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME’S HORIZON: Long, long ago. VI:162
FARO: One of the games (along with Watch Me) damned by Sylvia Pittston during her Tull sermons. I:50
FASHED: Riled up. V:571. See also BOOM-FLURRY, in CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT
FATHER, GUIDE MY HANDS AND HEART SO THAT NO PART OF THE ANIMAL WILL BE WASTED: A hunter’s prayer. IV:93
FAULT ALWAYS LIES IN THE SAME PLACE—WITH HIM WEAK ENOUGH TO LAY BLAME: This is one of Cort’s sayings. II:174
FEAR ME NOT, BUT HEAR ME WELL: Don’t be afraid, but listen well to what I have to say. V:250
**FEAST OF JOSEPH FAIRTIME: People could buy captive tubes of swamp gas at this fair. The swamp-gas tubes looked something like neon. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, it is renamed the Feast of Reaptide Fair. I:186
FILL (THIS IS NOT OUR FILL): Your fill is your territory. If a place is not your fill, it is not your territory and is not your responsibility. W:61
FIN DE AÑO: The end-of-the-year celebration. Reap Night. IV:136
FIREDIM: A sparkling jewel that reflects light. They come in a variety of colors. Some are red, like rubies; some are green, like emeralds. Tick-Tock’s eyes sometimes glow like firedims. II:39–40, III:359
FIREDIM TUBES: In Lud, they call neon tubes “firedim tubes.” III:366
**FIRST BLOOD! FIRST BLOOD TO MY BOSOM: In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Cuthbert says this when Roland begins to best Cort. It’s what is said when the first blood is drawn during a coming-of-age battle.
FIRST THE SMILES, THEN THE LIES. LAST COMES GUNFIRE: Both Roland’s father and Cuthbert Allgood’s father followed this rule when maneuvering in potentially hostile territory. It shows that the gunslingers had to use guile as well as diplomacy. V:590
FIST TO FOREHEAD: See MID-WORLD GESTURES
FIVE MINUTES’ WORTH OF BLOOD AND STUPIDITY: Roland’s description of battle. V:679
FLOWER (TO FLOWER): When disease grows, it flowers. Irene Tassenbaum had a lump removed from her breast before cancer could flower. VII:482
FOLKEN: Folks, or ordinary people. VII:242, VII:350
FOOD AND PALAVER DON’T MIX: Food and heavy discussion don’t mix. V:134
FOO-LIGHTS: See HOBS, below
FOOL NOT YOUR MOTHER ’LESS SHE’S OUT OF FACE: In other words, don’t lie. E:183
FOOLS ARE THE ONLY FOLK ON EARTH WHO CAN ABSOLUTELY COUNT ON GETTING WHAT THEY DESERVE: Fools always get what they deserve. IV:160
FOR A PRETTY: This doesn’t have a direct translation. You often ask someone to do something “for a pretty.” It seems to sometimes mean “please.” It can also be a rhetorical statement added on to the end of a sentence. I:29, I:198
FOR THESE ARE MINE, SURE AS I AM THEIRS. WE ARE ROUND AND ROLL AS WE DO: Essentially, this means “We are family.” V:110
FOR YOUR FATHER’S SAKE: Roland often uses this phrase. It means “Do it for your honor’s sake.” In Mid-World, or at least in the In-World baronies, culture was patriarchal. A gunslinger did not just bring honor (or disgrace) upon himself, but upon his father and all of his father’s fathers. IV:22, IV:129, V:91, V:245
FORSPECIAL (FORSPECIAL PLATE): The plate which Odetta Holmes/Susannah Dean’s mother gave to Susannah’s aunt (Sister Blue) as a wedding present. Soon after the wedding, little Odetta was hit on the head by a brick dropped by the psychopath Jack Mort, giving birth to Odetta’s second personality, Detta Walker. For some reason, Detta Walker blamed Sister Blue for her accident and so broke the forspecial plate. The forspecial bore a marked resemblance to the flying ORIZAs hurled by the Sisters of the Plate in the borderland CALLAS. V:74, V:329, V:370
**FOT-SULS: Roland’s version of Jake’s word for the phosphorescent man-made “fossils” embedded in the rock below the Cy
clopean Mountains. It probably refers to neon tubing.
FOTTERGRAFS (FOTERGRAFFS, FOTTERGRAFFS): Technically speaking, this is not a Mid-World term at all but Roland’s rather garbled version of our word “photograph.” II:344, II:345, IV:74, V:104, VII:41, VII:496
FOUR-SHOT: A four-shot revolver. The one that the Widow Smack gave to Tim Ross was about a foot long. The gripping handle was made of wood, the trigger and barrels were of dull metal. It had four barrels bound together by a band of what looked like brass. The holes at the end, where the bullets came out, were square. W:186–87
**FRESH COMMALA: Another term for the season of Sowing, also known as New Earth. See COMMALA, in HIGH SPEECH, GILEAD FAIR-DAYS, at the beginning of this Concordance, and MID-WORLD HOLIDAYS, in APPENDIX IV.
FRESH EYES SEE CLEAR: This is actually Susannah Dean’s saying. It means that a person seeing a situation for the first time has a clearer understanding because he or she isn’t bogged down by small details. VII:121
FULL EARTH: Full Earth is the season which comes after MID-SUMMER but before REAP. It is the time of ripening. According to Andy, the Calla Bryn Sturgis’s duplicitous Messenger Robot, it is a propitious time for finishing up old business and meeting new people. The red HUNTRESS MOON is a Full Earth moon. See also GILEAD FAIR-DAYS, at the beginning of this Concordance. V:2, V:6, W:121
FULL OF HOT SPIT AND FIRE: Full of life and energy, but in this case, the energy is like lightning. VII:509
GAMRY BOTTLED GAS: The Old People used this fuel to fire up their talking grills. Our KA-TET is forced to use some while hunkering down in a campsite on Can-Steek-Tete, near the DEVAR-TOI. Eddie Dean finds the talking grill exceptionally annoying. VII:318
GAN BORE THE WORLD AND THE WORLD MOVED ON: A saying often used in Mid-World. Gan gave birth to the world from his navel, then tipped it with his finger and set it rolling. This forward movement is what we perceive to be time. For more information about Gan, see GAN, in CHARACTERS. VI:295
GAN’S BLACKBIRDS (CASTLE ROOKS): Gan’s blackbirds are scavenger birds which feed upon the bodies of the dead. Often called Castle Rooks (though never Royal Rooks), they haunt execution yards. Le Casse Roi Russe is home to many, many of these sinister birds. Their cry sounds like “Croo, croo!” VII:585