sodbuster
One breaking ground
A sodbuster is a farmer who breaks virgin prairie soil for cultivation—specifically the tough, root-matted turf of the American Great Plains.
The term dates to 19th-century westward expansion, when settlers first plowed land that had never been farmed.
It can be neutral or slightly dismissive, depending on who's using it: The ranchers looked down on the sodbusters moving into cattle country.
Cultivation of land, livestock
- harvestGathering mature crops
- cropCultivated agricultural plants
- tractorAgricultural pulling vehicle
- barnAgricultural storage structure
cultivation · tillage · homestead · grain · prairie · dryland · wheat · corn
One who settles wilderness land
- settlerOne who colonizes territory
- frontiersmanSettler of wild borders
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
- expansionIncrease in scope
prairie · plains · dugout · squatter · Homestead Act · landrush · Oklahoma · Kansas
Tool for turning soil
- harrowToothed soil-breaking implement
- furrowNarrow trench in earth
- moldboardCurved blade turning earth
- ploughshareTilling blade component
breaking · tilling · backbreaking · toil · sweat · oxen · mule · horse-drawn
Slang for rustic person
- yokelNaïve rural person
- rubeNaive country person
- bumpkinUnsophisticated country dweller
- hillbillyRural mountain dweller stereotype
hick · clodhopper · redneck · country · rustic · backwoods · provincial · unsophisticated
agriculture
Cultivation of land, livestock
barn · cultivation · tillage · homestead · grain · prairie · dryland · wheat · corn · plains
homesteader
One who settles wilderness land
- settlerOne who colonizes territory
- frontiersmanSettler of wild borders
- territoryLand under jurisdiction
expansion · prairie · plains · dugout · squatter · Homestead Act · landrush · Oklahoma · Kansas · Nebraska
plow
Tool for turning soil
- harrowToothed soil-breaking implement
- furrowNarrow trench in earth
- moldboardCurved blade turning earth
ploughshare · breaking · tilling · backbreaking · toil · sweat · oxen · mule · horse-drawn · manual
hayseed
Slang for rustic person
hillbilly · hick · clodhopper · redneck · country · rustic · backwoods · provincial · unsophisticated · peasant
- kniveschef's knife, pocket knife, utility knife, steak knife, boning knife
- Old Westcowboy, cowboys, cowgirl, sheriff, sheriffs
- American slangbamboozle, bogus, bunkum, conniption, discombobulate
sodbusterrancher
One who raises livestock
cattleman · stockman · cowboy · cattle rancher · herder
sodbusternomad
Homeless wanderer by choice
frontiersman · trapper · mountain man · drifter · hunter