Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated

by Robin Furth

  SMA’ ONE: A young one. A child. W:14

  SMALLHOLDS: See entry in CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT

  SNICK: Smart, clever, wily. W:276

  SNIVELMENT: To snivel is to show weak or tearful resentment. It can also imply hypocrisy. A young snivelment is a sniveler. Snivelment can also be used as a noun, as in “stop your snivelment.” VI:29, VI:295

  SNOOD: A head covering worn by women in Mid-World, especially when they are in formal attire. IV:194

  SO FELL LORD PERTH, AND THE COUNTRYSIDE DID SHAKE WITH THAT THUNDER: “So Fell Lord Perth” is a line from a longer poem. The story is very similar to that of David and Goliath. According to the tale, Lord Perth was a giant who went forth to war with a thousand men, but he was still in his own country when a little boy threw a stone at him and hit him in the knee. He stumbled, the weight of his armor bore him down, and he broke his neck in the fall. Tick-Tock, the giant-sized leader of the Grays, thinks this story is unlucky. (He identifies with Lord Perth.)

  SOFT: Go forward carefully, slowly. Keep your emotions under control. III:278, IV:67

  SOH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH

  SOLID AS A DROMEDARY: Very dependable. W:88

  SOMBRERA/SOMBRERO: The wide-brimmed hats worn in Hambry. IV:365

  SOME THINGS DON’T REST EASY EVEN WHEN THEY’RE DEAD: Some things come back to haunt you. IV:98

  SOMETIMES YOU CAN PULL A SMALL THREAD AND UNRAVEL A WHOLE GARMENT: Sometimes a small clue can solve a big mystery. W:68

  SONG OF THE TURTLE, CRY OF THE BEAR: Roland tells a hypnotized Stephen King that whenever he hears the Song of the Turtle or the Cry of the Bear he must turn his attention back to the Dark Tower series and continue writing it. VI:296

  SONGS: See APPENDIX III

  SOWING: One of Gilead’s Fair-Days. It is also known as NEW EARTH and FRESH COMMALA. See GILEAD FAIR-DAYS, at the beginning of this Concordance. See also MID-WORLD HOLIDAYS, in APPENDIX IV.

  SOWING NIGHT COTIL’: See COMMALA

  SPARE NOT THE BIRCH SO YOU SPOIL NOT THE CHILD: Saying from the Great Book. Recounted by Roland. III:13

  SPARK-A-DARK, WHO’S MY SIRE?: Roland repeats this old catechism whenever he sets a campfire alight. It goes, “Spark-a-dark, who’s my sire? Will I lay me? Will I stay me? Bless this camp with fire.” VII:761

  **SPARK-LIGHTS: Spark-lights (also known as filament lights) are electric flambeaux or electric lights. It is a Hambry term. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, we find out that the Coach Road leading from Pricetown to Tull was once lined with spark-lights. By the time Roland passes through, they are all dead. IV:150, V:90, V:561

  SPARK MY COURAGE: To gather your courage: W:213

  SPARKPOWER: Electricity. W:240

  SPATHIPHILIUM: A plant that grew in Gilead. It also grows in the Garden of the Beam. VII:492

  SPEAK QUIET, BUT SPEAK PLAIN: Speak quietly, but state what you mean. V:43

  SPEAKIE: Another name for the jing-jang, or telephone. W:70

  SPECIE: A form of money. W:44

  SPEED-SHOOTER: A machine gun. VI:130, VI:228, W:58

  SPIRIT-MAN: The spirit that lingers near the body after death. VII:474

  SQUAT ON YOUR HUNKERS: To hunker down. To squat on your heels. To sit on your heels. W:57

  SQUEAMY: Squeamish. W:60

  SQUINT: We hear this term in both Lud and Hambry. Like “cully,” it is usually used when talking to—or about—young men. However, it seems more pejorative. This term can also have sexual connotations. In boy-loving Lud, Gasher tells Roland that he must hand over the squint, meaning Jake. III:298

  SQUIREEN: Owner of a small landed property. Also a knight’s attendant. V:383

  STAKE: In the Endless Forest, many woodcutters had stakes, or bits of woodland which they laid claim to cut. W:172

  STAND TRUE: Remain true to your mission, your beliefs, etc. V:163

  STAR WHISKEY: This is the best whiskey found in Tull. I:41

  STARKBLAST: A starkblast is a type of powerful, fast-moving storm which is unique to Mid-World. Its features include steep and sudden drops in temperature accompanied by strong winds. Starkblasts have been known to cause great destruction and loss of life in civilized portions of the world. In primitive areas, entire tribes have been wiped out by them. When Roland was a boy, starkblasts used to descend upon the GREAT WOODS north of NEW CANAAN once or twice a year, though luckily for the people living in GILEAD, the storms usually rose into the air and dispersed before reaching the city. Unfortunately, those living farther north were not so lucky. Roland remembers seeing cartloads of frozen bodies being drawn down GILEAD ROAD soon after a starkblast. He assumed that the corpses were those of farming families that didn’t have BILLY-BUMBLERS to warn them about the coming storm. See entry in CHARACTERS section. W:14

  STAY PUT: See MID-WORLD GESTURES

  STEADY AS SAND THROUGH A GLASS:Steady, dependable, reliable. W:118

  STEM: A stem is a man of affairs. VI:268

  STEPPA: Stepfather. W:122

  STICKS AND STONES WILL BREAK MY BONES YET TAUNTS SHALL NEVER WOUND ME: This is a variation on a saying from our world. III:17

  STRAWBERRY COSY: A tasty dessert. V:134

  STUB: To the woodsmen of the Endless Forest, a stub was a short side-trail which branched off of the main path through the wood, know as the Ironwood Trail. Every woodsman’s stake would contain several stubs. W:149

  STUFFY-GUYS: Red-handed stuffy-guys can be found all over Mid-World and are a staple of REAPTIDE festivities. In the days of Arthur Eld, human beings were sacrificed during the festival of REAP. However, by Roland’s day, stuffy-guys, or human effigies, were burned instead. In Mid-World-that-was, stuffy-guys had heads made of straw, and their eyes were made from white cross-stitched thread. In the BORDERLANDS, their heads are often made of SHARPROOT. See also entry in CHARACTERS

  SUCH WOULD PLEASE ME EVER: Yes, that would make me happy. VII:137

  SUCKERBUGS: The biting, blood-drinking insects that swarm in the ENDLESS FOREST. W:193

  SULPHUR MATCHES: In Mid-World, they use the old-fashioned kind of matches that you can light with a thumbnail. W:146

  SUMMA LOGICALES: Roland studied this subject with Vannay. We don’t know what it is, but its theories encompassed both the anatomy of the Beams and the Bends o’ the Rainbow. VII:33

  SUMMAT: Something. W:60

  SUPERFLU: The genetically engineered disease that killed off more than 99 percent of the human population in Stephen King’s novel The Stand. This disease also wiped out the citizens of the alternative Topeka, which Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy traveled through in Wizard and Glass. The superflu is also called Captain Trips. IV:74–76, VI:110

  SURELY YOU’VE GOT A MOIT MORE GUTS THAN THAT: Surely you’ve got more guts than that. VII:808

  SWABBIES AND SLINKUM: In hot weather, Young Roland slept in his swabbies and SLINKUM, which probably means he slept in his underpants and undershirt. W:68

  SWAG-BAG: Another name for Roland’s scuffed old purse. V:512

  SWAMP-GAS TUBES: These tubes looked a bit like neon. They were sold at Feast of Joseph fairtime. I:186

  SWEETCHEEKS BERRY: This is Gasher’s term for a boy-virgin. III:325

  SWEETMEATS: This is a Lud term for testicles. III:354

  SWOLE: When a POOKY is fair swole, it has recently eaten, so it isn’t quite so dangerous. W:151

  TACK-SEES: Roland’s word for taxis. II:341, V:104, V:172, VII:426

  TAHEEN: End-World creatures that have the bodies of men but the heads of birds or beasts. See entry in HIGH SPEECH; see also entry in CHARACTERS

  TAKE HEED: Be careful. W:13

  **TAKE THE DEAD FROM THE DEAD: ONLY A CORPSE MAY SPEAK TRUE PROPHECY: We hear this saying in the Way Station’s cellar, where Roland hears the Speaking Demon and then finds human remains in the wall. Speaking Demons may only manifest where there has been a death, or where there are the remains of the dead. The phrase listed above comes from the 2003 version of The Gunslinger. In the original Gunslinge
r, this proverb has a slightly different form. It is “The dead from the dead; only a corpse may speak.” I:91

  TAKE THE KING’S SALT (TO TAKE THE KING’S SALT): To make a deal with someone and to be in their pay. When you take the Crimson King’s salt, you make a bargain with the devil. V:550

  TAKURO (TAKURO SPIRIT): A Takuro Spirit is a type of car found in some of the alternative versions of America. Takuro (along with North Central Positronics and Honda) manufactured the Cruisin Trike that Susannah Dean uses during the attack on the DEVAR-TOI. VII:250, VII:724

  TALE-SPINNER: A storyteller. VI:210, VI:275

  TATI JACKETS: Jackets worn by musicians in Hambry. They can be found in our world too. IV:194

  TEARS OF MY MOTHER: Roland utters this phrase when he and Susannah discover tongueless Patrick Danville in a prison cell below Dandelo’s house. The only other time Roland uttered this phrase (within Susannah’s presence at least) was when the two of them stumbled upon a deer that had fallen in the woods and broken its legs. The flies had eaten its still-living eyes. VII:697–98

  TELEFUNG: This is Mia’s mispronunciation of the word telephone. VI:73

  THANKEE-SAIWE ALL SAY THANKEE: Thankee-sai is the polite term for thank you. Its equivalent is “thank you, sir,” or “thank you, madam.” In Mid-World, these words are often accompanied by three brisk taps upon the throat with the fingers of the right hand. At the beginning of Wizard and Glass we learn that when addressing men, one should use the left hand and tap the breastbone. However, this seems to be extremely formal. When Roland and his young friends are in Hambry, they use their right hands and tap their throats when thanking elders of either sex. See also MID-WORLD GESTURES. II:52, IV:21, V:28, W:15

  THAT WAS: This phrase is often added on to the end of a word, to indicate past tense. For example, Cort can be called Roland’s teacher-that-was; Roland lived in Gilead-that-was, etc. W:35

  THAT’S AS CLEAR AS EARTH NEEDS: This phrase was used by Cort and by Roland’s father, Steven Deschain. It means “that’s as clear as we need” or “that’s obvious.” VII:473

  THAT’S AS KA WILLS: Whether it happens depends on fate’s decree. V:167

  THAT’S NONNIES TO YOU: That’s none of your business. W:283

  THE FOREST GIVES TO THEM THAT LOVE IT: This was one of Jack Ross’s sayings. Basically, the Endless Forest provides for those who love it and respect it. W:114

  THE LUCK OF THE GALLOWS: This is why Roland takes a piece of the hangman’s tree when he sees Hax killed. I:109

  THE ONLY STUPID QUESTION, MY CULLIES, IS THE ONE YOU DON’T ASK: This was one of the Widow Smack’s sayings. In other words, it’s foolish not to ask a question. W:207

  THE QUICKEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT A NEW PLACE IS TO KNOW WHAT IT DREAMS OF: This is one of Roland’s truisms. III:59

  THE SALT YOU TAKE IS THE SALT YOU MUST PAY FOR: We all must pay for our deeds, good and bad. W:59

  THE SMELL OF THE FOREST WHEN THE WIND’S OUT OF THE NORTH BRINGS VISIONS: The old folken of the Endless Forest believed that this was true. When the north wind blew the scent of the ironwoods to the village, people had visions. W:115

  THE SUN IS GOING DOWN ON THE WORLD: This is Aunt Talitha’s saying. It means the end of the world is coming. The world is dying. III:237

  THE WAY OF KA IS ALWAYS THE WAY OF DUTY: Basically, duty comes first. V:181

  THE WHEEL OF KA TURNS AND THE WORLD MOVES ON: III:403

  THE WISE MAN DOESN’T POKE A SLEEPING BEAR WITH A STICK: The wise man doesn’t make a bad situation worse. Also, you shouldn’t awaken dangerous forces—they may turn against you. V:316

  THE WISE THIEF ALWAYS PROSPERS: The wise thief does well. III:45

  THE WORLD HAS MOVED ON: This phrase is used throughout the Dark Tower series. It means that things have changed, and that the world is now profoundly different from what it once was. The change has not been for the better. III:73, III:310, III:411, IV:426, V:126

  THE WORLD’S TILTED, AND THERE’S AN END TO IT: Good things often hurt. This is an oldtimers saying. W:106

  THE WORLD WON’T MOVE ON TOMORROW: This was a term used in Gilead before the world really did move on. It means that there’s time yet. I:173

  THEE’LL BE PASSING FINE: You’ll be fine. W:190

  THERE ARE OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE: Jake Chambers’s famous saying. In the final three books of the Dark Tower series, we learn just how true this statement is. V:105

  THERE WILL BE WATER IF GOD WILLS IT (THERE WOULD BE WATER IF GOD WILLED IT): What is meant to happen will happen. III:26, V:81, V:87, V:113, V:569, W:21, W:293

  THIN: When something feels thin, it feels dangerous, or full of tricks. A thin place is one where the fabric of reality has almost worn through and other worlds are close. The word thin is related to the word thinny, that nasty demonic entity which Roland encountered in Eyebolt Canyon in Mejis, and then again in the alternative Topeka. VII:114, VII:524

  THINKING CAPS: In Roland’s world, as in our world, children are sometimes told to put on their thinking caps. On Roland’s level of the Tower this is based on a story about the Guardians. Supposedly, each Guardian carried an extra brain on the outside of its head, in a hat. This apocryphal tale had a true basis. The Guardians have radar dishes sticking out of their skulls. See also END-WORLD TERMS. III:40

  THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN FROM THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT: Vannay often repeated this maxim. VII:829

  THREADED (THREADED STOCK): Threaded stock is normal stock, or animals born without mutations. MUTIES abound in Mid-World, so threaded stock is extremely valuable. Threaded stock can be bred with other threaded stock to keep the bloodlines pure, but threaded stock can also be born from late-generation muties. In Mid-World-that-was, they called this latter process “clarifying.” IV:14, IV:203, V:2, V:613

  THREE IS A NUMBER OF POWER: This particular belief is held in our world as well. V:110

  THREE LOOKS TO THE HORIZON: This is a saying used to describe distance, as in “You should travel at least three looks to the horizon.” Three looks is roughly equivalent to one hundred WHEELS. VI:151

  THROAT TAPS: See MID-WORLD GESTURES

  THROCKEN: See BILLY-BUMBLER, above

  THROCKET OF BUMBLERS: Many bumblers is a throcket. W:151

  TIGHT AS A VIRGIN’S COOCHIE: This is Big Bern Kells way of saying that someone is tight with their money. W:125–26

  TIME HAS SOFTENED (TIME HAD BEGUN TO SOFTEN, TIME HAD GROWN SOFT): In Mid-World, time does not flow evenly but moves forward erratically. Like the points of the compass, time itself is in drift. IV:266, V:23, V:35, V:318

  TIME IS A FACE ON THE WATER: Mejis proverb. Time is an illusion. IV:445, V:35, W:8

  TIME IS SHORT ON THIS SIDE OF THE DOOR: The Whye ferryman, Bix, says this. In other words, life is short. W:10

  **TIME IS THE THIEF OF MEMORY: This is one of Vannay’s sayings.

  TIME O’ THE GOAT: Time of the Goat Moon, which is equivalent to the month of February in our world. Eddie Dean was born during Goat Moon. V:140

  TINY SHINING SPLINTER OF KA: This is the soul. W:212

  TO COME TO THE CLEARING AT THE END OF YOUR PATH: To die. IV:124

  TODASH: See entry in HIGH SPEECH

  TODASH TAHKEN: See entry in HIGH SPEECH

  **TO DRAW THE BLACK STONE: This is how gunslingers of old chose who would have to act as hangman.

  TOOTER FISH: This is Roland’s term for tuna fish. He thinks it’s tasty. II:45–46

  **TO PULL LEATHER: To draw your gun.

  TOUCH (THE TOUCH): The ability to read minds, also to see into the past and the future. It is similar to ESP and is half-empathy, half-telepathy. Jake is strong in the touch. IV:224, IV:388, V:296, V:381, V:389, VI:71, VII:190

  TRAIL-FRAYED: This was Cuthbert Allgood’s description of someone who has been on the road so long that he or she looks thin and worn. You treat this disorder with sassafras and salts. VII:758

  TRAINING, THE: All apprentice gunslingers must undergo “the Training.” In Roland’s time, Cort
was in charge of this arduous process. Before Cort, his father, Fardo, taught the apprentices (IV:407). For the most part, apprentice gunslingers were the sons of gunslingers. In other words, they belonged to the aristocracy of Mid-World. However, it is entirely possible that very young boys who showed promise were allowed to enter this small elect group.

  The Training culminated in a rite of passage, enacted in the Square Yard, just beyond the Great Hall of Gilead. Eighteen was the usual age for this passage of an apprentice into manhood, although it could happen as late as twenty-five. Those who had not faced the all-or-nothing test by that age usually slipped into obscurity as freeholders. The litany and ritual of this rite were strictly observed, and had not changed for centuries. The apprentice entered the yard by the west entrance, which faced the barbarian forests. The teacher entered from the east, which faced the Great Hall and all of its symbolic civilization. The apprentice and his teacher faced each other from opposite ends of the yard and engaged in a ritual colloquy:

  “Have you come here for a serious purpose, boy?”

  “I have come for a serious purpose, teacher.”

  “Have you come as an outcast from your father’s house?”

  “I have so come, teacher.”

  “Have you come with your chosen weapon?”

  “I have so come, teacher.”

  “What is your weapon?”

  The final twist in this traditional interplay was intended to give the teacher a slight advantage. He could adjust his battle plan by knowing his student’s method of attack. It also meant that in order to move from childhood into manhood, the student had to be both wily and quick.

  Only those who bested their teacher were permitted to exit through the east gate. Those who failed (and many did) were sent west, as exiles. In the end, the all-or-nothing aspect of the Training proved to be one of the Affiliation’s weaknesses, since embittered failures, such as Eldred Jonas, took up the cause of John Farson, Gilead’s great enemy.

  The apprentice who won his guns was not yet entitled to the sandalwood-handled firearms of a true, mature gunslinger. Instead, he was given an apprentice’s guns, which were less ornate than those he would wear later in life. I:100