proverb · Words worth keeping
A true cowboy is gentle with children, the elderly and animals.
A true cowboy is gentle with children, the elderly and animals.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Gentleness toward children, older people and animals is presented as an authentic cowboy quality. The saying gives care a place in its ideal of strength.
What the words are saying
True is an identity judgment rather than a verified test of occupation. A useful reading can value considerate conduct without making all members of a group alike or limiting care to the listed recipients. Actual needs and behaviour matter, and the phrase supplies no animal-handling procedure.
Everyday example
A reader values a considerate action without treating it as proof of an entire occupational identity.
When to use it
Use it to discuss the stated care ideal with group generalisations qualified.
What it does not mean
No universal cowboy trait or complete care procedure is established.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- Contributor-provided wisdom reference (2014 AD)
Supplied reference B; unit 63; PDF page 14; collection label: Old American West
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- Old American West