drugstore cowboy

noun

Slang.

1. a young man who loafs around drugstores or on street corners.

2. a person who dresses like a cowboy but has never worked as one.

Word History and Origins

Origin of drugstore cowboy¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

“Drugstore Cowboy” recently came out in a new Criterion 4K edition.

Read more on Salon

Arguably, his best performances are in the indie films “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Factotum,” where he played Charles Bukowski’s alter ego — which is what makes him playing Brando both fun and exciting.

Read more on Salon

Mathews continues, “I look at friends who made the wrong choice, who turned down the low-budget independent gig to take the high-priced job and the low-budget gig turned out to be a ‘Drugstore Cowboy’ or ‘Reservoir Dogs’ and the high-paying gig turned out to be something that came and went.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He described Haupt as a "drugstore cowboy," which was slang for a young man who hangs out on street corners or drugstores.

Read more on Literature

“Drugstore Cowboy” is so excellent, and so true to the experience of drug users, he wrote, that “you are happy to be a member of the human race that produced it.”

Read more on New York Times