Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (118 page)

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

TRAVOIS:
We have this word in our world too. The travois was originally used by Native Americans. It was a means of transport composed of two poles, joined by a frame, which would then be drawn by an animal or a human. W:46

TRIG/TRIGGERS/TRIGGIE:
Clever.
Trig
implies craftiness, and can also imply untrustworthiness. III:327, V:114, V:575

TRIG COVE:
A clever bastard. Believe it or not, this term can be used as a compliment. For example, Gasher calls Tick-Tock a trig cove. III:298, III:356, VII:121

TRIG DELAH:
Extremely clever. VII:176

TRIG HAND WITH A GUN:
A good shot. W:54

TRUCKOMOBILE:
A truck. VII:426

TRUE AS EVER WAS:
True as ever. This statement is also uttered when an ORIZA flies true to its mark. V:334

TRUE AS THE TURTLE THAT HOLDS UP THE WORLD:
As true as true can be. W:250

TRUE MEN OF THE GUN:
True gunslingers. W:10

TRUE THREAD, THE:
This is Cort’s phrase. It refers to a person’s most basic and fundamental skills. A gunslinger’s true thread is his ability to use weapons. VII:250

TRUM:
In the CALLAS, a person is trum when he or she can convince other people to do dangerous things. However, a “big and painful trum” is a terrible disease, like cancer. V:348, VII:413

TURN YOUR MIND BACK:
Think back. W:90

TURNED A BAD APPLE OUT OF THE BASKET:
If you’ve turned a bad apple out of the basket, you’ve shown the true nature of an evil person. W:173

TWINNER:
The term
twinner
actually comes from the novels
The Talisman
and
Black House,
which Stephen King co-wrote with Peter Straub. Although King doesn’t use this term in the Dark Tower series, I frequently use it in this
Concordance
to describe the “twin” phenomenon, which occurs so frequently in the Dark Tower books. A person’s twinner is the version of that person that exists in another world, or on another level of the Dark Tower. For example, Eddie Dean dies in Mid-World, but Susannah Dean meets one of his twinners—Eddie Toren—in an alternative version of New York. Places can have twinners too. For example, Mid-World’s Lud is the twinner of our world’s New York, albeit in a distant future where terrible disasters have taken place.

TWIRLING HAND:
A somewhat impatient gesture. Roland frequently uses it. It means “carry on” or “hurry up.” V:701

UFFIS:
This ancient term means shape-changer. VII:602

UNDERMIND:
The unconscious mind. VII:513

UNIPOLAR CIRCUITS:
See
DIPOLAR CIRCUITS
,
above

UNIVERSAL TRUTHS, THE:
Cort gave his apprentices lectures on what he called “the universal truths.” We are not told what they are. V:78

VAGS:
Vagrant dead.
See
VAGS
,
in
CHARACTERS

VAQUERO (VAQ):
Spanish for cowboy. This term is used in Hambry. IV:507

VURT:
A nasty flying creature, also known as a bullet-bird. With its stony beak, it could bore a hole right through a person with its stony beak. W:118, W:129

WAITING WON’T MAKE IT ANY PRETTIER:
Waiting won’t make it any easier. W:74

WALK-INS:
Certain parts of western Maine are plagued by walk-ins, or beings that enter our world from other worlds.
See
WALK-INS
,
in
CHARACTERS

**WARE THE MAN WHO FAKES A LIMP:
This was one of Cort’s sayings. In other words, don’t trust somebody who wants to be caught.

WASHOUTS:
Many of the tracks of the Western Line had been destroyed by washout and ground-shakers, or floods and earthquakes. W:40

WATCH AND WARRANT:
See
DO YOU SET YOUR WATCH AND WARRANT ON IT?
,
listed earlier in this section

WATCH ME:
A Mid-World card game. People usually place bets, so it can be rather dangerous. (One type of Watch Me game is a penny-it, three-to-stay.) Players are often killed at Watch Me tables. The phrase “Watch Me” can mean “You have a deal.” III:278, III:366, IV:17, V:559, VI:17, W:287

WATCH ME CHIP (A WATCH ME CHIP):
A Watch Me chip is like a poker chip. V:627

WATCH ME FACE:
A Watch Me face is like a poker face. It is a face devoid of expression—one that can’t be read because it doesn’t expose emotion. The person behind the Watch Me face guards his or her secrets well. VI:38

**WAY OF THE GUN:
This is another term for gunslinger training. W:36

WE ARE AT PEACE, YOU AND I:
We are at peace. There is no argument between us. V:111

WE ARE KA-TET, WE ARE ONE FROM MANY:
We are joined by fate, and our destinies are woven together.
See
KA-TET
,
in
HIGH SPEECH. V:581, W:29

WE DEAL IN LEAD:
A statement made by Steve McQueen in
The Magnificent Seven,
but Roland also uses it. Gunslingers are fighters first and foremost, but they are not mere hired guns. They are lawmakers and lawmen, and the bullet is the tool of their trade. V:115

WE MAY BE CAST ON . . . BUT NO MAN MAY CAST US BACK:
Once we begin, we cannot be stopped. V:111

WE SPREAD THE TIME AS WE CAN, BUT IN THE END THE WORLD TAKES IT ALL BACK:
We do what we can during a life, but in the end the world takes our lives along with everything we’ve accomplished. V:244

WE WILL ACCEPT NO QUARTER (NO QUARTER):
We will neither accept nor give mercy. V:171, V:679

WEE SHIM:
A small child. IV:458

WEDDIKEN:
A burlap apron. W:116

WEEBEE:
A small child. W:166

WEED-EATER:
Somebody addicted to chewing devil grass. I:26, I:35

WE’LL HAVE TO MOVE VERY FAST, OR WE’LL FIND OURSELVES BASTED IN A HOT OAST:
In other words, our goose will be cooked. II:136

WE’LL KEEP HIM VERY WELL:
We’ll take care of him. VI:37

WELL-MET (WE WERE WELL-MET, MAY WE BE WELL-MET ON THE PATH):
We met, and that is important. Good has come from our meeting (implying an element of fate). “May we be well-met” means “Let good come of this meeting.” IV:158, V:107, V:215, V:229, VI:9, VI:181

WELL-MET OR ILL, IT MAY BE YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU SEEK:
Whether good or evil comes of our meeting, you may find what you originally set out to find. V:107

WENBERRY:
Wenberries are like strawberries. III:279

WERVELS:
Poisonous rodents the size of dogs. They lived in the Endless Forest. W:111

WERY:
This is Gasher’s way of pronouncing “very.” III:299

WESTERN LINE:
The Western Line was one of Mid-World’s train lines. Once, the Western Line ran from New Canaan to the Mohaine Desert. By Roland’s youth, it only ran from Gilead to Debaria. W:40

WHAT I KEN:
What I understand. V:205

WHATEVER THE GODS MAY BE, THEY HAVE FAVORED THIS PLACE:
Similar to saying “God has favored this place,” but it makes allowances for Mid-World’s many deities. V:208

WHEELS:
An archaic form of measurement still used throughout Mid-World and the BORDERLANDS. In
The Waste Lands,
Blaine tells us that a distance of eight thousand wheels is roughly equivalent to seven thousand miles. In that case, there are about 1.143 wheels to a mile. However, in
Wizard and Glass,
tricky Blaine tells us that 900 mph is the same as 530 wheels per hour. In this instance, one wheel is equal to 1.7 miles. In
The Dark Tower
(the final volume of the Dark Tower series), we are told that 120 wheels is roughly equivalent to 100 miles, hence a wheel equals about .83 of a mile, but slightly later we are told that twelve wheels is equal to nine or ten miles, hence a wheel is approximately .75 of a mile. Obviously, wheels, like the points of the compass, are in drift. IV:148, V:4, VII:718–19

WHEN FACTS SPEAK, THE WISE MAN LISTENS:
This was one of Vannay’s sayings. W:45

WHEN YOU ARE UNSURE, YOU MUST LET KA ALONE TO WORK ITSELF OUT:
If you are unsure about what to do, leave the decision in the hand of God, the gods, or Lady Fate. V:392

WHERE AND WHEN (THIS WHERE AND WHEN):
Your
where
and
when
refers to the specific level of the Dark Tower you are on (or which world you are in), and what time period you are inhabiting. Each
where
has many
whens,
and each
when
has many
wheres.
VII:36

WHERE ELSE WOULD I BE? THE WEST END OF THE WORLD?:
This is a Lud saying. III:339

WHICH SIDE OF THE BISCUIT YOUR HONEY GOES ON:
If you know which side of the biscuit your honey goes on, you know who pays your bills and so you do what they need you to do. W:72

WHITE:
In our world, the White is an elemental force akin to faith and can mean faith in God or in a just universe. Before he lost his calling, Father Callahan knew the White well, and that energy was returned to him at the end of his life. To the beleaguered inhabitants of Mid-World and the BORDERLANDS, the White is the force of good and is the opposite of the OUTER DARK—that force of chaos and destruction championed by the Crimson King. When Aunt Talitha of River Crossing learns that Roland is a gunslinger, she says to her companions, “Behold ye, the return of the White! After evil ways and evil days, the White comes again! Be of good heart and hold up your heads, for ye have lived to see the wheel of
ka
begin to turn once more!” (III:232) To the beleaguered inhabitants of Mid-World, the aristocratic gunslingers are the knights of the White. In an unstable and violent present, they represent a stable and peaceful past, a kind of golden age. Roland’s father, Steven Deschain, is often referred to as the last Lord of Light. Both the Affiliation and the ancient hero Arthur Eld represent the White, and yet the term means more than a particular political faction, allegiance, or social class.