Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (117 page)

SONGS:
See
APPENDIX III

SOWING:
One of Gilead’s Fair-Days. It is also known as NEW EARTH and FRESH COMMALA.
See
GILEAD FAIR-DAYS
,
at the beginning of this
Concordance.
See also
MID-WORLD HOLIDAYS
,
in
APPENDIX IV.

SOWING NIGHT COTIL’:
See
COMMALA

SPARE NOT THE BIRCH SO YOU SPOIL NOT THE CHILD:
Saying from the Great Book. Recounted by Roland. III:13

SPARK-A-DARK, WHO’S MY SIRE?:
Roland repeats this old catechism whenever he sets a campfire alight. It goes, “Spark-a-dark, who’s my sire? Will I lay me? Will I stay me? Bless this camp with fire.” VII:761

**SPARK-LIGHTS:
Spark-lights (also known as filament lights) are electric flambeaux or electric lights. It is a Hambry term. In the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger,
we find out that the Coach Road leading from Pricetown to Tull was once lined with spark-lights. By the time Roland passes through, they are all dead. IV:150, V:90, V:561

SPARK MY COURAGE:
To gather your courage: W:213

SPARKPOWER:
Electricity. W:240

SPATHIPHILIUM:
A plant that grew in Gilead. It also grows in the Garden of the Beam. VII:492

SPEAK QUIET, BUT SPEAK PLAIN:
Speak quietly, but state what you mean. V:43

SPEAKIE:
Another name for the jing-jang, or telephone. W:70

SPECIE:
A form of money. W:44

SPEED-SHOOTER:
A machine gun. VI:130, VI:228, W:58

SPIRIT-MAN:
The spirit that lingers near the body after death. VII:474

SQUAT ON YOUR HUNKERS:
To hunker down. To squat on your heels. To sit on your heels. W:57

SQUEAMY:
Squeamish. W:60

SQUINT:
We hear this term in both Lud and Hambry. Like “cully,” it is usually used when talking to—or about—young men. However, it seems more pejorative. This term can also have sexual connotations. In boy-loving Lud, Gasher tells Roland that he must hand over the squint, meaning Jake. III:298

SQUIREEN:
Owner of a small landed property. Also a knight’s attendant. V:383

STAKE:
In the Endless Forest, many woodcutters had stakes, or bits of woodland which they laid claim to cut. W:172

STAND TRUE:
Remain true to your mission, your beliefs, etc. V:163

STAR WHISKEY:
This is the best whiskey found in Tull. I:41

STARKBLAST:
A starkblast is a type of powerful, fast-moving storm which is unique to Mid-World. Its features include steep and sudden drops in temperature accompanied by strong winds. Starkblasts have been known to cause great destruction and loss of life in civilized portions of the world. In primitive areas, entire tribes have been wiped out by them. When Roland was a boy, starkblasts used to descend upon the GREAT WOODS north of NEW CANAAN once or twice a year, though luckily for the people living in GILEAD, the storms usually rose into the air and dispersed before reaching the city. Unfortunately, those living farther north were not so lucky. Roland remembers seeing cartloads of frozen bodies being drawn down GILEAD ROAD soon after a starkblast. He assumed that the corpses were those of farming families that didn’t have BILLY-BUMBLERS
to warn them about the coming storm.
See entry in
CHARACTERS
section.
W:14

STAY PUT:
See
MID-WORLD GESTURES

STEADY AS SAND THROUGH A GLASS:
Steady, dependable, reliable. W:118

STEM:
A stem is a man of affairs. VI:268

STEPPA:
Stepfather. W:122

STICKS AND STONES WILL BREAK MY BONES YET TAUNTS SHALL NEVER WOUND ME:
This is a variation on a saying from our world. III:17

STRAWBERRY COSY:
A tasty dessert. V:134

STUB:
To the woodsmen of the Endless Forest, a stub was a short side-trail which branched off of the main path through the wood, know as the Ironwood Trail. Every woodsman’s stake would contain several stubs. W:149

STUFFY-GUYS:
Red-handed stuffy-guys can be found all over Mid-World and are a staple of REAPTIDE festivities. In the days of Arthur Eld, human beings were sacrificed during the festival of REAP. However, by Roland’s day, stuffy-guys, or human effigies, were burned instead. In Mid-World-that-was, stuffy-guys had heads made of straw, and their eyes were made from white cross-stitched thread. In the BORDERLANDS, their heads are often made of SHARPROOT.
See also entry in
CHARACTERS

SUCH WOULD PLEASE ME EVER:
Yes, that would make me happy. VII:137

SUCKERBUGS:
The biting, blood-drinking insects that swarm in the ENDLESS FOREST. W:193

SULPHUR MATCHES:
In Mid-World, they use the old-fashioned kind of matches that you can light with a thumbnail. W:146

SUMMA LOGICALES:
Roland studied this subject with Vannay. We don’t know what it is, but its theories encompassed both the anatomy of the Beams and the Bends o’ the Rainbow. VII:33

SUMMAT:
Something. W:60

SUPERFLU:
The genetically engineered disease that killed off more than 99 percent of the human population in Stephen King’s novel
The Stand.
This disease also wiped out the citizens of the alternative Topeka, which Roland, Eddie, Susannah, Jake, and Oy traveled through in
Wizard and Glass.
The superflu is also called Captain Trips. IV:74–76, VI:110

SURELY YOU’VE GOT A MOIT MORE GUTS THAN THAT:
Surely you’ve got more guts than that. VII:808

SWABBIES AND SLINKUM:
In hot weather, Young Roland slept in his swabbies and SLINKUM, which probably means he slept in his underpants and undershirt. W:68

SWAG-BAG:
Another name for Roland’s scuffed old purse. V:512

SWAMP-GAS TUBES:
These tubes looked a bit like neon. They were sold at Feast of Joseph fairtime. I:186

SWEETCHEEKS BERRY:
This is Gasher’s term for a boy-virgin. III:325

SWEETMEATS:
This is a Lud term for testicles. III:354

SWOLE:
When a POOKY is fair swole, it has recently eaten, so it isn’t quite so dangerous. W:151

TACK-SEES:
Roland’s word for taxis. II:341, V:104, V:172, VII:426

TAHEEN:
End-World creatures that have the bodies of men but the heads of birds or beasts.
See entry in
HIGH SPEECH
;
see also entry in
CHARACTERS

TAKE HEED:
Be careful. W:13

**TAKE THE DEAD FROM THE DEAD: ONLY A CORPSE MAY SPEAK TRUE PROPHECY:
We hear this saying in the Way Station’s cellar, where Roland hears the Speaking Demon and then finds human remains in the wall. Speaking Demons may only manifest where there has been a death, or where there are the remains of the dead. The phrase listed above comes from the 2003 version of
The Gunslinger.
In the original
Gunslinger,
this proverb has a slightly different form. It is “The dead from the dead; only a corpse may speak.” I:91

TAKE THE KING’S SALT (TO TAKE THE KING’S SALT):
To make a deal with someone and to be in their pay. When you take the Crimson King’s salt, you make a bargain with the devil. V:550

TAKURO (TAKURO SPIRIT):
A Takuro Spirit is a type of car found in some of the alternative versions of America. Takuro (along with North Central Positronics and Honda) manufactured the Cruisin Trike that Susannah Dean uses during the attack on the DEVAR-TOI. VII:250, VII:724

TALE-SPINNER:
A storyteller. VI:210, VI:275

TATI JACKETS:
Jackets worn by musicians in Hambry. They can be found in our world too. IV:194

TEARS OF MY MOTHER:
Roland utters this phrase when he and Susannah discover tongueless Patrick Danville in a prison cell below Dandelo’s house. The only other time Roland uttered this phrase (within Susannah’s presence at least) was when the two of them stumbled upon a deer that had fallen in the woods and broken its legs. The flies had eaten its still-living eyes. VII:697–98

TELEFUNG:
This is Mia’s mispronunciation of the word
telephone.
VI:73

THANKEE-
SAI
WE ALL SAY THANKEE:
Thankee-
sai
is the polite term for thank you. Its equivalent is “thank you, sir,” or “thank you, madam.” In Mid-World, these words are often accompanied by three brisk taps upon the throat with the fingers of the right hand. At the beginning of
Wizard and Glass
we learn that when addressing men, one should use the left hand and tap the breastbone. However, this seems to be extremely formal. When Roland and his young friends are in Hambry, they use their right hands and tap their throats when thanking elders of either sex.
See also
MID-WORLD GESTURES
. II:52, IV:21, V:28, W:15

THAT WAS:
This phrase is often added on to the end of a word, to indicate past tense. For example, Cort can be called Roland’s teacher-that-was; Roland lived in Gilead-that-was, etc. W:35

THAT’S AS CLEAR AS EARTH NEEDS:
This phrase was used by Cort and by Roland’s father, Steven Deschain. It means “that’s as clear as we need” or “that’s obvious.” VII:473

THAT’S AS KA WILLS:
Whether it happens depends on fate’s decree. V:167

THAT’S NONNIES TO YOU:
That’s none of your business. W:283

THE FOREST GIVES TO THEM THAT LOVE IT:
This was one of Jack Ross’s sayings. Basically, the Endless Forest provides for those who love it and respect it. W:114

THE LUCK OF THE GALLOWS:
This is why Roland takes a piece of the hangman’s tree when he sees Hax killed. I:109

THE ONLY STUPID QUESTION, MY CULLIES, IS THE ONE YOU DON’T ASK:
This was one of the Widow Smack’s sayings. In other words, it’s foolish
not
to ask a question. W:207

THE QUICKEST WAY TO LEARN ABOUT A NEW PLACE IS TO KNOW WHAT IT DREAMS OF:
This is one of Roland’s truisms. III:59

THE SALT YOU TAKE IS THE SALT YOU MUST PAY FOR:
We all must pay for our deeds, good and bad. W:59

THE SMELL OF THE FOREST WHEN THE WIND’S OUT OF THE NORTH BRINGS VISIONS:
The old
folken
of the Endless Forest believed that this was
true. When the north wind blew the scent of the ironwoods to the village, people had visions. W:115

THE SUN IS GOING DOWN ON THE WORLD:
This is Aunt Talitha’s saying. It means the end of the world is coming. The world is dying. III:237

THE WAY OF KA IS ALWAYS THE WAY OF DUTY:
Basically, duty comes first. V:181

THE WHEEL OF KA TURNS AND THE WORLD MOVES ON:
III:403

THE WISE MAN DOESN’T POKE A SLEEPING BEAR WITH A STICK:
The wise man doesn’t make a bad situation worse. Also, you shouldn’t awaken dangerous forces—they may turn against you. V:316

THE WISE THIEF ALWAYS PROSPERS:
The wise thief does well. III:45

THE WORLD HAS MOVED ON:
This phrase is used throughout the Dark Tower series. It means that things have changed, and that the world is now profoundly different from what it once was. The change has not been for the better. III:73, III:310, III:411, IV:426, V:126

THE WORLD’S TILTED, AND THERE’S AN END TO IT:
Good things often hurt. This is an oldtimers saying. W:106

THE WORLD WON’T MOVE ON TOMORROW:
This was a term used in Gilead before the world really did move on. It means that there’s time yet. I:173

THEE’LL BE PASSING FINE:
You’ll be fine. W:190

THERE ARE OTHER WORLDS THAN THESE:
Jake Chambers’s famous saying. In the final three books of the Dark Tower series, we learn just how true this statement is. V:105

THERE WILL BE WATER IF GOD WILLS IT (THERE WOULD BE WATER IF GOD WILLED IT):
What is meant to happen will happen. III:26, V:81, V:87, V:113, V:569, W:21, W:293

THIN:
When something feels thin, it feels dangerous, or full of tricks. A thin place is one where the fabric of reality has almost worn through and other worlds are close. The word
thin
is related to the word
thinny,
that nasty demonic entity which Roland encountered in Eyebolt Canyon in Mejis, and then again in the alternative Topeka. VII:114, VII:524

THINKING CAPS:
In Roland’s world, as in our world, children are sometimes told to put on their thinking caps. On Roland’s level of the Tower this is based on a story about the Guardians. Supposedly, each Guardian carried an extra brain on the outside of its head, in a hat. This apocryphal tale had a true basis. The
Guardians have radar dishes sticking out of their skulls.
See also
END-WORLD TERMS
. III:40

THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN FROM THE PAST ARE CONDEMNED TO REPEAT IT:
Vannay often repeated this maxim. VII:829

THREADED (THREADED STOCK):
Threaded stock is normal stock, or animals born without mutations. MUTIES abound in Mid-World, so threaded stock is extremely valuable. Threaded stock can be bred with other threaded stock to keep the bloodlines pure, but threaded stock can also be born from late-generation muties. In Mid-World-that-was, they called this latter process “clarifying.” IV:14, IV:203, V:2, V:613

THREE IS A NUMBER OF POWER:
This particular belief is held in our world as well. V:110

THREE LOOKS TO THE HORIZON:
This is a saying used to describe distance, as in “You should travel at least three looks to the horizon.” Three looks is roughly equivalent to one hundred WHEELS. VI:151