Meaning of slap leather | Babel Free

Definitions

To make a quick motion to draw one's handgun from its holster, especially in a duel in the Old West.

US, idiomatic

Examples

“[T]he western . . . provides a ready armature for other dramas that have⟳ nothing to do with slapping leather, riding horseflesh or kissing purty gals.”

“Murphy plays Tom Destry, the peace-loving son of a notorious gunslinger. . . . Though he prefers to talk⟳ rather than slap leather, Destry manages to keep⟳ the bad guys at bay.”

“With .45s strapped to their sides, gunslingers—30 men, six women, even an 11-year-old kid—slogged through the mud in their cowboy boots to reach⟳ a dirt-caked boardwalk where, one after another, they slapped leather to see⟳ who would reign as Oklahoma’s fastest gun.”

CEFR level