Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (110 page)

BLACK THIRTEEN:
Black Thirteen is the last and worst of Maerlyn’s evil seeing spheres which are collectively known as Maerlyn’s Rainbow. According to Roland, it is the most terrible object left over from the days of Arthur Eld,
although it probably even predates Roland’s illustrious and semimythical ancestor.
See also
MAERLYN’S RAINBOW
,
in
CHARACTERS

BLACKMOUTH:
Cancer. Or as Roland pronounces it,
can’t sir.
VII:141

BLOODSORES:
A terrible degenerative disease that can eat away a person’s face. The Widow Smack contracted bloodsores many years before Tim Ross knew her. Hence her face was terribly disfigured. W:112

BLOSSIES (BLOSSWOOD TREES):
When Roland was young, Blossie trees were grown on a farm east of Gilead. Blossie was a lovely fine-grained wood, golden in color and almost light enough to float on air. Blossie wood could be used to build lakecraft, but it wasn’t strong enough to build seafaring vessels. When Roland was a boy, the Blossie farms were wiped out by plague. However, Blossies still grew in North’rd Barony’s Endless Forest, north of Gilead. V:612, W:111

BLOW-WEED:
Tobacco. VII:310

BLUE CAR SYNDROME:
According to Susannah Dean, a person develops Blue Car Syndrome when he or she buys a blue car and then suddenly begins to see blue cars everywhere. Our
ka-tet
doesn’t have Blue Car Syndrome but “Nineteen Syndrome.” V:98

BLUEBACKS:
Roland’s term for police officers. VII:463, VII:472

**BOCKS:
Dollars. It is the currency used in Tull.

BONFIRE OF DRAGONS:
Just as a gathering of crows is called a murder, a gathering or group of dragons is called a bonfire. W:150

BOLA:
A Mid-World weapon. According to Mid-World mythology, the harrier Gray Dick thought that his enemy, Lady ORIZA, would try to murder him with a bola. She killed him with a sharpened dinner plate instead. V:326

**BOLT AND BAH:
Crossbow and bolt. Although Roland’s KA-TEL trained with the bolt and bah, this weapon tends to be used by those without access to guns.

BONDSERVANT:
A servant. VII:437

BONDSMAN:
One who is bound to serve the DINH of his or her KA-TET. VII:258

BOOBYRIGGED:
This is a term from Lud and is used by Tick-Tock. It means booby-trapped. III:354

BOOGERY HOT:
Extremely hot. W:47

BORDER DWELLERS:
Border Dwellers are the men and women who live on the edges of the Mohaine Desert. They burn devil grass and live in huts with sod
roofs. Their diet consists of corn, beans, and peas.
See also
BORDER DWELLERS
,
in
CHARACTERS

BOUGIE:
A reanimated corpse. VII:764

BRAIN-STORM:
A stroke. IV:625

BRAKES:
The Brakes are those tangled areas of mixed vegetation and woody bushes that exist in the low hills near the Western Sea. II:286, II:296

BRIGHT:
A person’s bright is his talent. (A BUMBLER’s bright is predicting the arrival of a STARKBLAST.) W:14

**BUCKA (BUCKA WAGGON, BUCKBOARD):
A buckboard wagon is a horse-drawn vehicle whose body is formed by a plank of wood fixed to the axles. The ones driven by the Manni have rounded canvas tops. In the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger,
we learn that Buckas once followed the Great Road through the Mohaine Desert. V:14, V:21, V:477, V:654, VI:62

BUGGER-MAN:
This is the Mid-World term for the Bogeyman. II:286

BUGS WON’T EAT THE FLESH OF A VIRTUOUS MAN:
This is an old wives’ saying repeated in the Endless Forest. It seems to hold true, since no flesh-eating insects marred the body of Big Jack Ross, though for many months he floated six inches below the bug-infested water of a sluggish forest stream. W:160–61

BULLDINK:
This term is used in River Crossing and is the equivalent of “bullshit.” III:248

BUMBLER:
See
BILLY-BUMBLER
,
above

BUMBLER GOT YOUR TONGUE?:
Mia uses this term during her PALAVER with Susannah. It translates as “Cat got your tongue?” In other words, why are you so quiet? III:327, VI:246

BUMHUG:
Bumhug
is an amusing word that Jake and Eddie made up. Although we don’t hear it as often in the final books of the Dark Tower series, we still occasionally come across it. A bumhug is a jerk, a poop-head, etc. VII:144, VII:173

BUMP-CRIBS:
The small rooms or stalls where prostitutes do their business. W:277

BUX:
Roland-speak for dollars (bucks). II:345

BY SHARDIK:
This is the equivalent of saying “By God!” VII:34

CAMISAS:
Spanish for shirts. Used in Hambry. IV:237

CANDA:
See entry in
HIGH SPEECH

CAN’EE SEE HOWGIT ROSEN-GAFF A TWEAK IT BETTER:
Roland utters this phrase while talking to Patrick Danville about one of the roses of Can’-Ka No Rey. Basically, it means “Can you see that-there goddamn rose a little better?” VII:759

CARTOMOBILE:
This is Roland’s word for a car. VI:166, VII:426

CARVERS (BEER BARRELS):
Five-shot revolvers. IV:393

CASTLE ROOKS:
See
GAN’S BLACKBIRDS
,
below

CASTLES:
A game similar to chess. V:530

CAT’S PAW:
When you PULL A COZY, or do a sting operation, you need someone to be your cat’s paw, or your front-man or pawn. W:86

CATACLYSM:
See
GREAT POISONING
,
below

CHAFE:
To chafe someone about something they’ve done is to upbraid them about it. W:186

CHANGED LIFE:
According to Daria, the North Central Positronics Portable Guidance Module, a Changed Life is a creature that has been changed from its original form into that of a different type of creature. When Tim Ross first meets Maerlyn in
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
Maerlyn is a Changed Life. (He is in the form of a tyger.) W:222

CHASSIT:
See entry in
HIGH SPEECH

CHEFLET:
Roland’s pronunciation of the antibiotic Keflex. II:157, VII:635

CHERT:
A stone much like quartz, which can be used to scrape hides. Hunters say it breaks lucky. VII:636, VII:638

CHILDREN OF RODERICK (RODS):
The Children of Roderick (also known as Rods) are a band of mutants who swore allegiance to Arthur Eld in the long-ago. They are from lands beyond those known to Roland.
See
MUTANTS
: CHILDREN OF RODERICK,
in
CHARACTERS

**CLAN-FAMS:
Extended family units, or clans. In the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger,
we learn that many of these inbred groups live on the borders of the Mohaine Desert.
See also
END-WORLD TERMS

CLEARING AT THE END OF THE PATH (THE CLEARING AT THE END OF THE PATH):
This is the place we all go to in the end, though each of us arrives there by a different route. The clearing at the end of the path is death—the snip at the end of the life-cord. III:380, V:374, VI:34, VI:243, VI:259

CLOAK FOLK:
This is Eddie Dean’s term for the Manni. VI:24

CLOBBERS/CLUMPETS:
Straw hats worn by working men. W:270

CLOUTS:
A clout is a cloth that can be used for cleaning, as in a dish-clout, or for diapering a BAH-BO. IV:127, IV:448, VII:22, VII:91

COME FORWARD, GOOD STRANGER, AND TELL US OF YOUR NEED:
Come forward and speak. V:107

COME TO ME:
See
MID-WORLD GESTURES

COME-COME-COMMALA:
See
COMMALA
,
in
CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT

**COMMALA:
A Mid-World dance also known as the Sowing Night Cotillion.
See entries in
HIGH SPEECH
and
CALLA BRYN STURGIS DIALECT

CONVERSATIONAL:
A Conversational is a political event. In every barony of Mid-World, the week leading up to Fair-Day is full of Conversationals, which are like political luncheons. Important people come from all corners of a barony to meet and PALAVER. The main Conversational takes place on Fair-Day itself. IV:456–57

COOL AS A BLESSING:
Water on a burn is cool as a blessing. W:260

COOZEY:
Jonas calls Roland a “coozey little brat.” IV:484

CORPSE-LAMPS:
This is the name Roland gives for the lights he sees floating in the underground river located below the Cyclopean Mountains. I:153

CORSE:
Corpse. W:172

CORVETTE:
In the Barony of Mejis, a corvette is a small leather purse, big enough for a few coins. It tends to be carried by women rather than men, but men occasionally use them as well. Literally speaking, corvette means “little packet.” As can be seen, however, a more practical definition is “little purse.” IV:283

COSY:
This term is from Lud. Gasher tells Jake “you’ve got a cosy look about you.” Cosy seems to mean clever or full of guile. III:299

COTTON-GILLIES:
Cotton-gilly
is a fancy term for a common whore. A gilly (or sheevin) is a side-wife taken by a man who already has a legal wife. She is a mistress, but one who will be faithful to the man she serves. A cotton-gilly goes with whoever has enough ready cash. Gert Moggins of the Travellers’ Rest uses this term for herself and the other girls. IV:447

COTTONWOOD:
This is a tree that grows near the desert beaches of the Western Sea. Eddie makes a travois out of it in order to drag Roland north. II:167

COVENANT:
A Covenant was sworn between Arthur Eld and the people of In-World. The people of In-World would pay taxes and the Eld and his men would protect them. The evil Covenant Man/tax collector (who was none other than Walter O’Dim in disguise) took advantage of this situation and charged exceedingly high taxes. The people came to resent Gilead, which was exactly what the Covenant Man wanted. W:113, W:133

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