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A À la Comanche A description of a rider hanging over the side of his horse; from the style of the Comanches in warfare. aarigaa! In Alaska, an exclamation that means “good,” “fine.” From the Inupiaq language. Aaronic The lower priesthood of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints. For boys twelve to eighteen and new converts, these priests assist the bishop and act as teachers and deacons. (See also melchizedek.) abalone An edible mollusc of coastal California, much sought for its delicate taste. It takes verb form, as in signs warning “no abaloning” (or “abaloneing”) or “I’ve abaloned.” aboard On horseback. above my bend Beyond my capabilities; same as, above my huckleberry. above snakes Above ground, meaning still alive. abra In the Southwest, especially Texas, a narrow valley, a defile between close hills; a break in a mesa. abrazo To say hello or goodbye by embracing someone with both arms and giving a pat on the back, a custom still existing in the Southwest today, especially among Hispanics. Borrowed from Spanish. access road Among loggers, a road built into remote areas of commercial timber for access for cutting and hauling. Such roads also give access to firefighters , hikers, hunters, packers, and other recreational users. They are viewed as a benefit by some, as destruction by others. ace high A poker hand that has an ace but no pair or better combination to bet on. The expression also may simply refer to anything top-notch or first-rate. When William Foster-Harris says in The Look of the Old West, “The Spencer . . . was also ace high in the early West, a real frontier gun,” he means it was a humdinger, the cat’s meow. combinations: Aces back to back is an ideal situation; from when a player’s first two cards are aces, one face up and one face down. Ace in the hole and ace up your sleeve mean “any hidden advantage.” These expressions come from stud poker. A gun in a shoulder holster or other hideout might be a figurative ace in the hole. acequia (uh-SAY-kee-uh) (1) In the Southwest, an irrigation ditch. The main ditch is known as an acequia madre. Borrowed from Spanish, it is frequently Americanized to sakey, also spelled saykee. (2) In New Mexico, an acequia is an association of landowners that manages a ditch. The shareholders are called parciantes and can number from a few to over a hundred; their allotment of water 1 (which varies according to water flow and the location of their land) is called a sucro (a share) or a pión (a New Mexican variant of peón). (See also mayordomo.) acion (ah-see-OHN) In the Mexican-American border country, a stirrup-leather. (See also stirrup.) Acoma The People of the White Rock and their Pueblo. Acoma, sitting on a mesa about an hour’s drive west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, was visited by Coronado in 1540 and is said to date to the eleventh century. The people of Acoma are now known for their pottery. (See also Pueblo.) acorn calf An undersized calf, often sickly; a runt; a cull. across lots In the quickest, shortest way; via shortcuts. actionable fire Any forest fire that requires suppression, according to current policy of a national park or national forest. In many places policy does not allow the suppression of fires caused naturally. added money In rodeo, the money provided by the rodeo committee. Together with the entry fees, it makes up the prize money. adios (ah-dee-OHS) Good-bye, a farewell, as is vaya con Dios (“go with God”). Borrowed from Spanish. adit A passage, roughly horizontal, used to enter and drain a mine. adobe A brick made of earth or clay and straw and dried in the sun; a clay suitable for making adobe bricks; the buildings that are made of the bricks. Usually the bricks are formed in wooden molds, built into thick walls, and plastered over. Adobes are common in the Southwest, especially in churches, public buildings , and homes that date from the Mexican or Spanish colonial periods, many of them handsome and of historic value. Use of adobe brick dates at least to ancient Egypt. Sometimes, as in the phrase adobe dollar, the word connotes an object of little value. Borrowed from Spanish. The French in Missouri in the early eighteenth century used a building material of clay and straw, similar to adobe, called bousillage. adobe-walled...