Cowboyitis
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A desire to lead the life of a cowboy, e.g. to own or work on a ranch or wear stereotypical trappings such as a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, etc. uncountable
"“Cowboyitis” strikes down men and women of all ages, educational backgrounds, and professions. The stockbroker, insurance agent, and college professor are as likely to be victims as the truckdriver, construction worker, or cab driver. This social disease is epidemic both east and west of the Rocky Mountains and the telltale symptoms are are well known. The stricken soul comes home from a hard day at work and slips into his faded Levis (preferably a size or two too small) and shiny Tony Lama boots. With an oversized Stetson daringly tilted back on his head he settles into an overstuffed easy chair, lights up a Marlboro, flips open a tall can of Coors, and watches the Denver Broncos brutalize some hapless opponent on the television."
Example
More examples"“Cowboyitis” strikes down men and women of all ages, educational backgrounds, and professions. The stockbroker, insurance agent, and college professor are as likely to be victims as the truckdriver, construction worker, or cab driver. This social disease is epidemic both east and west of the Rocky Mountains and the telltale symptoms are are well known. The stricken soul comes home from a hard day at work and slips into his faded Levis (preferably a size or two too small) and shiny Tony Lama boots. With an oversized Stetson daringly tilted back on his head he settles into an overstuffed easy chair, lights up a Marlboro, flips open a tall can of Coors, and watches the Denver Broncos brutalize some hapless opponent on the television."
Etymology
From cowboy + -itis.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.