The Brokeback Mountain Phrasebook: A

[Front-Ranger]

Well, Aguirre was upset with Jack the previous year for "letting" 42 sheep get struck by lightning "as if I could control the weather" as Jack said. And the next year he hinted that Jack might be able to cure pneumonia if he were allowed to descend from the mountain and visit his Uncle Harold. So, Aguirre did think Jack could work miracles. If he thought Ennis and Jack could spend the whole summer together without their thoughts turning to ardor, I'd say he was right! (And that brings up another Brokeism when Ennis said he thought his "daddy was right" about all rodeo riders being fuck-ups.)

[Front-Ranger]

brakes -- noun. Lureen asked Jack if she should "put the brakes on" when she was seducing him in the back of her daddy's Thunderbird. Jack replied, "Fast or slow, I just like the direction you're goin'." Its corollary in Jack and Ennis' relationship was reins, which are the brakes (mostly) for horseriding (see Katie's comment below). Interestingly, brake can also be spelled break, which calls up the notion of Brokeback Mountain. By applying the brakes, or lack of, to their relationship, Lureen and Alma were breaking the bond between Jack and Ennis, or perhaps it was just society that dealt the blow.

aint-colloquialism for "is not". Used in the phrase "aint no reins on this one" which Ennis said to Jack, after they had been talking about their new relationship, and Jack asked "what are we gonna do now". Ennis bit his lip and motioned his head and said "aint no reins on this one. Meaning, who knows how long or how far this is gonna go....

[Front-Ranger]

For those of us who love beans:

Beans -- noun. Ennis liked BetterMost beans, while Jack preferred elk. Ironically, Jack wasn't very good at shooting elk, but boasted of being "good with a can opener." Neither man knew himself very well it seems. Beans are an old Asian symbol of virility. The bean may also have a similar significance in Western culture as illustrated by the fable "Jack in the Beanstalk" where a young man brought uncontrollable growth and ultimate destruction to himself by planting a few magic beans.



Here is a discussion of the symbology of "Jack and the Beanstalk", an English fairy tale. I don't really agree with some of it, for instance, I think the beanstalk is not a symbol of Jack's social climbing but rather of his ambition, his adolescent sexual desires kicking in, or just any situation that gets out of control. But there's one part that seems very Brokeish to me:

 

Now, go to The Straight Dope for a hilarious discussion on Melville's quoting of the "Pythagorian Maxim" against eating beans. Maybe I should also post about this in "Jack and the Wind"!

beans, coffee -- noun. A subset of beans, coffee played a role in both the story and the subsequent movie. The site dreamforth suggests that drinking coffee indicates the need for thought or taking a more realistic look at a situation (aka "wake up and smell the coffee"). A coffeepot indicates romantic interest. Note the placement of the coffeepot over Ennis' torso as he sleeps on the ground just before Jack calls him to come into the tent. Coffee is bitter, and Alma sat in between a coffee cup and a sugar holder, unable to choose between the bitter and the sweet, as she cried while Ennis went off to be with Jack in the mountains.