Thowed down on me

[Marius Hancu]

Hello:

This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?

-----
What did you do then?

Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.

All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.
-----

Thanks.
Marius Hancu

[John Kane]

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.
-----
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

It looks like a misprint to me. I would have expected "throwed", a
non-standard past tense of "throw". I have seen or heard the term
used in terms of drawing an pointing a pistol at someone. The
expression used with a shotgun is new to me.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

[Oleg Lego]

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get ready
to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the gauntlet",
which means "to challenge".

I would read that as " That boy I shot off his horse threatened me
with a shotgun."

One would think "threw down" would be the proper term in this case,
but McCarthy is reporting dialog, and "throwed" is common in the time
and place he is writing of.

Have a look at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throw_down

[HVS]

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on
me. That boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a
shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get
ready to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the
gauntlet", which means "to challenge".

That makes reasonable sense of it, but to throw down "on" someone
sounds very odd to my ear.

I wonder if there are any other possible candidates for the intended
term -- a dictation error for "rode down on me", or something?

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by HVS

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on
me. That boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a
shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get
ready to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the
gauntlet", which means "to challenge".

That makes reasonable sense of it, but to throw down "on" someone
sounds very odd to my ear.
I wonder if there are any other possible candidates for the intended
term -- a dictation error for "rode down on me", or something?

"Throw down on" is what I've heard, and as Marius points out, some
characters in this book, as well as some real Southerners and African
Americans, say "thow" for "throw". (But I don't remember hearing a
"non-rhotic" pronunciation of any other thr- word.)

--
Jerry Friedman

[Barbara Bailey]

Post by HVS

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on
me. That boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a
shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get
ready to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the
gauntlet", which means "to challenge".

That makes reasonable sense of it, but to throw down "on" someone
sounds very odd to my ear.
I wonder if there are any other possible candidates for the intended
term -- a dictation error for "rode down on me", or something?

No, to "throw down on" with a gun is to bring the gun into position to
shoot it.

[tony cooper]

On Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:28:52 +0100 (CET), Barbara Bailey

Post by Barbara Bailey

Post by HVS

Post by Oleg Lego
Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get
ready to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the
gauntlet", which means "to challenge".

That makes reasonable sense of it, but to throw down "on" someone
sounds very odd to my ear.
I wonder if there are any other possible candidates for the intended
term -- a dictation error for "rode down on me", or something?

No, to "throw down on" with a gun is to bring the gun into position to
shoot it.

It's really more than that. You don't throw down on a clay pigeon or
on a range target. You throw down when confronting another person.
Only the first person to draw a gun or bring a gun to bear throws
down. The other guy may also draw his gun, but when he does he isn't
throwing down.

.
--

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Marius Hancu]

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get ready
to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the gauntlet",
which means "to challenge".

Not sure's a typo. The same character, Blevins, says in another spot:
--------
There was a show was supposed to come through Uvalde, town of Uvalde,
and I'd saved up to go see it but they never showed up because the man
that run the show was THOWED in jailed in Taylor Texas for having a
dirty show.

p. 64
-------
It may be an intended "diformity of speech"?:-)

It may well mean "thrown" in both places. In the topmost quotation
here, I wasn't sure, but in the one at the bottom is pretty clear
cut.

Thank you both.
Marius Hancu

[Evan Kirshenbaum]

Post by Marius Hancu

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down". To "throw down" means to get ready
to fight or shoot. It probably comes from "throw down the gauntlet",
which means "to challenge".

--------
There was a show was supposed to come through Uvalde, town of Uvalde,
and I'd saved up to go see it but they never showed up because the man
that run the show was THOWED in jailed in Taylor Texas for having a
dirty show.
p. 64
-------
It may be an intended "diformity of speech"?:-)
It may well mean "thrown" in both places. In the topmost quotation
here, I wasn't sure, but in the one at the bottom is pretty clear
cut.

"Thowed" shows up a number of times in Google Books, all (except for
OCR errors) apparently dialect for "threw" or "thrown". It shows up a
number of times in _Forrest Gump_, for example, e.g.:

"Well, if you say so," I says, an then Dan thowed down his rag an
wheel himself back under the awnin to git outta the rain.

Winston Groom, _Forest Gump_, 1986

I see it back to the late 19th century:

Never touched yore hoss, but thowed me clean off, and eased his
mind, like.

Lilian Bell, _A Little Sister to the
Wilderness_, 1895

Ole Miss she turnt up her nose en thowed de wool on ter de
niggers' pile.

Ellen Glasgow, _The VOice of the People, 1900

He cert'nly did act a perfec' gentleman when she fairly thowed
'erself at him.

Ruth McEnery Stuart, _Sonny's Father_, 1910
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |And the wildest dreams of Kew
1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 | are the facts of Khatmandhu,
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |And the crimes of Clapham
| chaste in Martaban.
***@hpl.hp.com |
[phone] | Rudyard Kipling

http://www.kirshenbaum.net/

[Marius Hancu]

Post by Evan Kirshenbaum
"Thowed" shows up a number of times in Google Books, all (except for
OCR errors) apparently dialect for "threw" or "thrown". It shows up a
"Well, if you say so," I says, an then Dan thowed down his rag an
wheel himself back under the awnin to git outta the rain.
Winston Groom, _Forest Gump_, 1986

Very interesting.

Thanks.
Marius Hancu

[John Dean]

Post by Oleg Lego

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me.
That boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.

Typo, I think, for "throwed down".

Eye dialect rather than typo, I'd say.

[Barbara Bailey]

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.
-----

Thowed = throwed = threw. "Threw down" = drew his gun and aimed it at me
without warning.

The speaker is using a colloquial form of English that drops minor words
like articles and shortens prepositional phrases: [By the] time I got back
to the spring where my horse was [tethered, tied, located] at they was on
me [they had caught uup to me]. That boy I [had] shot off [of] his horse
thowed [threw] down on me with a shotgun.

[j***@yahoo.com]

Post by Barbara Bailey

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.
-----

Thowed = throwed = threw. "Threw down" = drew his gun and aimed it at me
without warning.
The speaker is using a colloquial form of English that drops minor words
like articles and shortens prepositional phrases: [By the] time I got back
to the spring where my horse was [tethered, tied, located] at they was on
me [they had caught uup to me]. That boy I [had] shot off [of] his horse
thowed [threw] down on me with a shotgun.

I agree with most of your clarifications, but I'd say adding "of"
after "off" makes it less standard, not more. Also I'd delete "at"
instead of adding "tethered" or another word.

--
Jerry Friedman

[Ray O'Hara]

Post by Marius Hancu
This "thowed" must be some dialect.
Any idea what could it mean?
-----
What did you do then?
Time I got back to the spring where my horse was at they was on me. That
boy I shot off his horse thowed down on me with a shotgun.
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy, p.
-----
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

It means to threaten or challenge. and even attack.