Billy the Kid

American  

noun

1. William H. Bonney, 1859–81, U.S. outlaw.

2. (italics) a ballet (1938) choreographed by Eugene Loring, with musical score by Aaron Copland.

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Billy the Kid British  

noun

1. nickname of William H. Bonney . 1859–81, US outlaw

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Billy the Kid Cultural  

1. An outlaw of the late nineteenth century in New Mexico, who claimed to have killed over twenty people; he was gunned down himself at age twenty-one. His real name is uncertain.

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Example Sentences

This year also begat “Billy the Kid” from “Vikings” creator Michael Hirst, which failed to hold its storytelling reins as securely as these other titles.

From Salon

A recent recording of Antonín Dvořák’s “New World” symphony and Aaron Copeland’s “Billy the Kid” is as fine a treatment of these works as any I’ve heard.

From The Wall Street Journal

The Texan also starred in the films Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid, Heaven's Gate and - drawing on his musical background - the 1977 remake of A Star Is Born, alongside Barbra Streisand.

From BBC

One artist, many stars: Cate Blanchett plays Jude Quinn, as the fame-averse rocker in sunglasses and polka-dot shirt; Christian Bale portrays civil rights activist-singer Jack Rollins and Pastor John, representing Dylan’s gospel music phase; Ben Whishaw channels Dylan’s surrealistic tendencies as poet Arthur Rimbaud; Richard Gere, bearded and reclusive, portrays Billy the Kid, a nod to Dylan’s cameo in 1973 western “Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid”; Heath Ledger is actor Robbie Clark; and Marcus Carl Franklin plays young Black hobo Woody Guthrie, named after Dylan’s folk music hero.

From Los Angeles Times

No doubt there's a long history of Americans romanticizing criminals, going back at least to Jesse James or Billy the Kid, who became icons of the Wild West.

From Salon