Basically, another way of saying "Shut up and take it like a man" or "Quit your whining." The term is derived from the popular image of cowboys being tough, unflinching, uncomplaining, and hard-working.
by You Can't Kill the Metal October 07, 2006
Another incredibly vacuous term that no longer has the same meaning it initially did, thanks to cultural theft and abuse by people who aren't really cowboys at all, but bored, middle-class white people. It used to mean to toughen up or approach a problem with a hard attitude, but now is used to refer to anything requiring effort, or anything in which people are competeing against each other.
People sport the logo on their clothing or their car because they think it gives them credibility as a cowboy or a redneck, since it is now cool to be associated with these groups once again. But when you get down to brass tacks, most fans of the cowboy up marketing scheme are those who have no connection with the cowboy way of life at all. See poser, git er done and white trash.
People sport the logo on their clothing or their car because they think it gives them credibility as a cowboy or a redneck, since it is now cool to be associated with these groups once again. But when you get down to brass tacks, most fans of the cowboy up marketing scheme are those who have no connection with the cowboy way of life at all. See poser, git er done and white trash.
Jenny thought that putting her "cowboy up" sticker on her SUV would make others think she was a country girl. In reality, most people just laughed at her.
by Eric in NE March 02, 2006
by Sage November 16, 2004
by brattygrrl911 August 03, 2003
by daywalker October 07, 2003
When faced with a hard chore, it's a shift in attitude from "can't" to a positive "can-do" with confidence and a non-complaining spirit that becomes contageous.
Halfway through a hot day of hauling hay you might tell yourself or your buddy to "c'mon, cow-boy up." and thereby keep your work and your attitude from going south.
by still_do December 02, 2003
"Cowboy Up" is when you are injured or down and the prospect of doing whatever it is you're about to try is so bleak that the best you can hope for is to live through it.
by Jeff Newell October 11, 2003