'Cock of the plains' definitions:

Definition of 'Cock of the plains'

From: GCIDE
  • Cock \Cock\ (k[o^]k), n. [AS. coc; of unknown origin, perh. in imitation of the cry of the cock. Cf. Chicken.]
  • 1. The male of birds, particularly of gallinaceous or domestic fowls. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A vane in the shape of a cock; a weathercock. [1913 Webster]
  • Drenched our steeples, drowned the cocks! --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. A chief man; a leader or master. [Humorous] [1913 Webster]
  • Sir Andrew is the cock of the club, since he left us. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
  • 4. The crow of a cock, esp. the first crow in the morning; cockcrow. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
  • He begins at curfew, and walks till the first cock. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
  • 5. A faucet or valve. [1913 Webster]
  • Note: Jonsons says, "The handle probably had a cock on the top; things that were contrived to turn seem anciently to have had that form, whatever was the reason." Skinner says, because it used to be constructed in forma crit[ae] galli, i.e., in the form of a cock's comb. [1913 Webster]
  • 6. The style of gnomon of a dial. --Chambers. [1913 Webster]
  • 7. The indicator of a balance. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
  • 8. The bridge piece which affords a bearing for the pivot of a balance in a clock or watch. --Knight. [1913 Webster]
  • 9. a penis. [vulgar] [PJC]
  • Ball cock. See under Ball.
  • Chaparral cock. See under Chaparral.
  • Cock and bull story, an extravagant, boastful story; a canard.
  • Cock of the plains (Zool.) See Sage cock.
  • Cock of the rock (Zool.), a South American bird ({Rupicola aurantia}) having a beautiful crest.
  • Cock of the walk, a chief or master; the hero of the hour; one who has overcrowed, or got the better of, rivals or competitors.
  • Cock of the woods. See Capercailzie. [1913 Webster]

Definition of 'cock of the plains'

From: GCIDE
  • Sage \Sage\, n. [OE. sauge, F. sauge, L. salvia, from salvus saved, in allusion to its reputed healing virtues. See Safe.] (Bot.) (a) A suffruticose labiate plant (Salvia officinalis) with grayish green foliage, much used in flavoring meats, etc. The name is often extended to the whole genus, of which many species are cultivated for ornament, as the scarlet sage, and Mexican red and blue sage. (b) The sagebrush. [1913 Webster]
  • Meadow sage (Bot.), a blue-flowered species of Salvia (Salvia pratensis) growing in meadows in Europe.
  • Sage cheese, cheese flavored with sage, and colored green by the juice of leaves of spinach and other plants which are added to the milk.
  • Sage cock (Zool.), the male of the sage grouse; in a more general sense, the specific name of the sage grouse.
  • Sage green, of a dull grayish green color, like the leaves of garden sage.
  • Sage grouse (Zool.), a very large American grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), native of the dry sagebrush plains of Western North America. Called also {cock of the plains}. The male is called sage cock, and the female sage hen.
  • Sage hare, or Sage rabbit (Zool.), a species of hare (Lepus Nuttalli syn. Lepus artemisia) which inhabits the arid regions of Western North America and lives among sagebrush. By recent writers it is considered to be merely a variety of the common cottontail, or wood rabbit.
  • Sage hen (Zool.), the female of the sage grouse.
  • Sage sparrow (Zool.), a small sparrow (Amphispiza Belli, var. Nevadensis) which inhabits the dry plains of the Rocky Mountain region, living among sagebrush.
  • Sage thrasher (Zool.), a singing bird ({Oroscoptes montanus}) which inhabits the sagebrush plains of Western North America.
  • Sage willow (Bot.), a species of willow (Salix tristis) forming a low bush with nearly sessile grayish green leaves. [1913 Webster]