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The following is a list of words and terms used by the characters to describe their environment in poetic slang in The Land Before Time universe, and their parallel modern terms.

Words and meanings[]

B[]

  • Big Circle - A rare term for the sun in "Waiting to Hatch".[3] The term "Bright Circle" is used in the films and TV series.
  • Big Longneck Test - A test that young longnecks take to prove if they are capable of being a leader of a herd.[4]
  • Beak brain - An insult toward Flyers.[5]
  • Beak Face - A possible racial slur for Bigmouths/Swimmers and/or Flyers (used by Cera's father in The Great Valley Adventure when urging his daughter not to play with dinosaurs outside of her race).
  • Beakhead - A name for flyers used when the speaker is angry or annoyed with them.[6][7]
  • Bigbeak - A descriptive term for Pteranodon, possibly in a derogatory fashion.[8]
  • Bigmouth - Saurolophus, possibly other hadrosaurs (Swimmer is used in most sequels but is less descriptive).
  • Bigmouth Bellydragger - A descriptive term for Deinosuchus.[9]
  • Big Underground - An underground location created in the first film by the Great Earthshake.[10]
  • Big Water - A juvenile term originally developed by the kids in the fifth film to describe the ocean.[11] The adults still called it the ocean in said film. Afterwards, the junior term was made the main term and used by both the kids and adults.
  • Booming Mountain - Another name for a specific mountain in the Great Valley called "Smoking Mountain".[13]
  • Bright Circle - The most common used term for the sun.[14] Occasionally referred to as simply "the sun".
  • Bright Circle Celebration - A special celebration that some of the Great Valley dinosaurs observe. They gather to say what they have learned since the last Bright Circle Celebration and to share in tasty food that has been gathered for the celebration. It believed by some that if the celebration is done well, it will make the Bright Circle happy and the Warm Times will come again. However if the celebration is done poorly the Cold Time will be longer.[15]
  • Bubbling Goo - Mud bubbling due to volcanic activity.[16]
  • Bubbling Mud - Likely a synonym for "bubbling goo". Possibly the name of the mud hole in the Great Valley that contains it.[17]
  • Buzzing Stinger - Bees and/or wasps.[18] Also known as "Stinging Buzzer", seen below.

C[]

  • Claw-hand - Ornithomimus. Used in The Land Before Time: The Illustrated Story.
  • Cold Time - Winter. Also used as a measurement of time as there is one winter in each year.[21]
  • Crown-head - Pachycephalosaurus. Used in The Land Before Time: The Illustrated Story. See also: Lizard-head.

D[]

  • Days of Rising Water - The wet season.[22]
  • Domehead - Two-fingered, two-toed pachycephalosaurs, distinct from Pachycephalosaurus proper.[23]
  • Don't count your hatchlings before they hatch! - A phrase that means to not get your hopes up on something until it happens. Similar to the human phrase, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch."[24]
  • Duckbill - another term for Swimmer type of dinosaurs, possibly Saurolophus and Parasarolphus.

E[]

  • Earthshake - Earthquake.[26]

F[]

  • Fast Water - Fast-flowing stream or river.
  • Fire rock - Meteoroid surrounded by fire,[32] lava bomb.
  • Fire pit - Lava pit. Similar to Gurgling Pit, which is a volcanic crater.[Citation Needed]
  • Flathead - Possible racial slur directed against Longnecks, or more specifically Apatosaurus (Cera uses it as an insult but Petrie simply uses it as a nickname). Also possibly a descriptive name for the species.[35]
  • Flat Mountain - A mountain with a flat top, used as the first challenge for Littlefoot to succeed in the Big Longneck Test - climb it and reach the top to get the red treestar.[36]
  • Flattooth- Herbivore. Possibly invented by Chomper.[37]
  • Flower dust - Pollen.[38]
  • Flowing fire - Lava.
  • Flyer- Pterosaur,[39] Archaeopteryx.[40]
  • Flying rock - Meteoroid or comet.[41][42]
  • 'Fraidy claw - An insult toward Sand Creepers meaning the receiver is cowardly.[43]
  • Frozen Sky Stars - A term for falling snowflakes, used only once.[44]
  • Frozen sky water - Falling snow.[45] See also: "white ground sparkles".

G[]

  • Glider - Microraptor (used by Guido in "The Hermit of Black Rock" but as he still probably didn't know what he was, or at least not met another one like him, it may have been simply to describe that he glided).[46]
  • Great Beyond - An uncommon term for the Mysterious Beyond. Used in one of the books, and during a song in the eighth and tenth films.[47][48][49]
  • Giving Ceremony - Where one gives someone gifts, usually as part of a Star Day or similar celebration.
  • Great Circle - The sun. Used frequently in the tenth film, it was rarely used afterwards.[50] "Bright Circle" is used more often.
  • Green Food - Plants, or more specifically, edible plants for herbivores to eat.[51]
  • Ground Prickly - A type of spiky burr.[52]
  • Gray-nose - A term for Saurolophus, only used in The Land Before Time: The Illustrated Story.
  • Ground Crawlers - Crawling minibeasts (ex. beetles, earthworms and caterpillars).
  • Ground Scraper - An insult toward Belly Draggers.[53]
  • Ground water - Water on the ground when comparing it to sky water.[54]
  • Gurgling Pit - Volcanic crater. Similar to fire pit, which means a lava pit.[55]

H[]

J[]

  • Jumping Water- Geyser.[63]

L[]

M[]

N[]

  • Night Circle - The Moon. Sometimes called the "Great Night Circle."
    Night Circle

    The Night circle

  • Night Flower - A type of flower that only blooms at night, and is able to cure diseases. Seen in the fourth movie.[70]
  • Night Walker - May be a term referring to nocturnal creatures in general, or a specific nocturnal creature that has yet to physically appear in the series. Mentioned by Plower when he and his friends are describing traits of the Great Hideous Beast to Spike. When he is describing the Beast's eyes, Plower says it has "the big scary eyes of a Night Walker!".[71]

O[]

  • Overgrown egg - An insult toward children.[72]

P[]

  • Pointy-face - An insult toward Threehorns.[73]
  • Pointy Seed - Pine cone.
  • Puffies - Clouds.[74][75] Usually called Sky Puffies.[76]

R[]

  • Rainbowface - Relatively small, green theropods with colorful faces.[77]
  • Rescue - A game invented by Rhett in "The Brave Longneck Scheme", in which one person must save the other from danger.[78]
  • Rock Head - An insult toward Fast Biters, and possibly other Sharpteeth.[79]
  • Running Mud - Mudslide.

S[]

  • Sand Cloud - Dust clouds produced by sandstorms.[80]
  • Sand Crawler - Another name for Sand Creepers, possibly an insult.[81]
  • Sand Creeper - Crab-like creatures.[82]
  • Sap Sucker - An insult toward herbivores.[83]
  • Scaredy Egg - A common insult on someone who's scared of something.[84] Equivalent to the human phrase "Scaredy Cat."
  • Season of New Growth - Spring.[85]
  • Sharp Beak - Ichthyornis.[86]
  • Sharptooth - Any carnivorous species, such as Tyrannosaurus. Used in every film and most TV series episodes.[87]
  • Sharptooth Swimmer - A term for Liopleurodon, possibly invented by Ducky.[88]
  • Shiny Stone - Crystals.[89]
  • Sinking Sand - Quicksand.[90]
  • Sky Colors - A term used for Rainbows.[91]
  • Sky Color Stone - A term for Geodes.[92]
Skycolor stones

Sky Color Stones.

  • Sky Flakes - A rare term for clouds.[93]
  • Sky Fire - Lightning.[Citation Needed]
  • Sky Puffies - Clouds.[94]
  • Sky Star - A real star, as opposed to something star-shaped such as a tree star.[95]
  • Sky Water - A common term for rain.[96][97]
  • Sleep Rumbles - Snoring.[98]
  • Sleeping Sound - Another term for snoring.[99]
  • Sleep Story - A term developed in the tenth film for dreams.[100] The word "dream" itself though is used in films prior to this.
  • Smoking Mountain - A specific volcano in the Great Valley. Also called "Booming Mountain".[101]
  • Smoking Mountains - Volcanoes. More specifically, a chain of volcanoes near the Great Valley.[102]
  • Snapping Shell - Clam.[103] The word 'clam' appears to be used by clams themselves though.[104]
  • Spiketail - Stegosaurus.[105]
  • Star Day - Birthday. Differs from Hatch Day (see above) in the fact that it can be told from the presence of specific stars in the night sky. Multiple species are known to record dates like this, such as Fast Runners and Clubtails. It is unknown how common this method of determining age is in the Great Valley, as the main characters (besides Ruby, the one who told them about Star Days) don't know what they are at first.[106]
  • Star Swimmer - Starfish.[107]
  • Stinkweed - Foul-smelling aquatic vegetation found in wet areas.[108]
  • Stone of cold fire - An asteroid that supposedly has magical powers
  • Stone teeth - Stalactites.[109]
  • Stop the Seed - A game where two teams of players try to hit or throw a seed (a conifer cone) into a goal behind the opposing team. Similar to the human game association football, although players are allowed to carry the seed in their mouth.[110] Not to be confused with Toss the Seed.
  • Stinky Pool - Sulphur mud pot or sulphur pool.[111]
  • Stinging Buzzer - Bees and/or wasps. See also: Buzzing Stinger.
  • Story Speakers - Longnecks who travel and tell the kind's stories, myths, and history to herds of longnecks "to teach them about [the kind's] important past". It is unknown if other types of dinosaurs have their own Story Speakers or not. There is apparently a shortage of Longneck Story Speakers.[112]
  • Swarming Leaf Gobblers (The Mysterious Island) - Locust.[113]
  • Sweet Bubbles - Grapes.[114]
  • Swamp Stick - Supposedly a marsh plant; type unknown, possibly reed or horsetail.[115]
  • Swimmer - Saurolophus[116] (also Bigmouth), anything that swims.
  • Swimming Sharptooth - Any carnivorous dinosaur that swims. Not to be confused with Sharptooth Swimmer.
  • Swirling Wind - Tornado or hurricane.[117]

T[]

W[]

  • Water Greens - Water weed or any other type of freshwater aquatic plant.[131]
  • Weed Whacker - An insult toward herbivores, possibly invented by Ozzy
  • Whirling Wind - Tornado or hurricane.[132]
  • Wingbrain - An insult toward Flyers.[133]
  • Wisdom - A strategy utilized by creatures to help them survive. Alternate terms are "say-so" and "gotta-do".[134]
  • White Ground Sparkles - Snow on the ground (sometimes called simply "Ground Sparkles"). Falling snow is referred to as "Frozen Sky Stars" or "Frozen Sky Water."
  • White Mountain - A mountain with snow and ice on it.[135]

Y[]

References[]

  1. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists.
  2. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Amazing Threehorn Girl".
  3. "Waiting to Hatch", page 14.
  4. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Big Longneck Test".
  5. Used by Cera in "Let's Play Impossible".
  6. Used by Cera in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  7. Used by Mr. Clubtail in The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers.
  8. The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  9. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists.
  10. The Land Before Time
  11. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island.
  12. The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses credits.
  13. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
  14. The Land Before Time.
  15. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Bright Circle Celebration".
  16. The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
  17. Used by Grandpa Longneck in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  18. The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
  19. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island.
  20. The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers
  21. The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  22. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Days of Rising Waters".
  23. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  24. The Land Before Time TV series episodes, "The Great Log Running Game" and "The Hidden Canyon".
  25. The Land Before Time: The 3-D Adventure.
  26. The Land Before Time.
  27. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  28. The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire, used by Cera.
  29. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  30. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Mysterious Tooth Crisis".
  31. The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  32. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Bright Circle Celebration".
  33. "The Land Before Time: The Illustrated Story".
  34. "Friends in Need".
  35. The Land Before Time.
  36. "The Big Longneck Test"
  37. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  38. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Mysterious Tooth Crisis".
  39. The Land Before Time.
  40. "The Land Before Time: The 3-D Adventure".
  41. The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving.
  42. The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  43. The Land Before Time episode "March of the Sand Creepers".
  44. Mentioned by Mr. Thicknose in The Big Freeze disbelieving what Littlefoot saw the night before.
  45. The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze
  46. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Hermit of Black Rock".
  47. "Getting into Trouble" page 5.
  48. The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze song, "The Lesson".
  49. The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration song, Adventuring.
  50. The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration, used rarely afterwards.
  51. The Land Before Time
  52. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Meadow of Jumping Waters".
  53. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Amazing Threehorn Girl".
  54. Used by Ducky in the Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  55. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  56. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Forbidden Friendship".
  57. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail".
  58. "Through the Eyes of a Spiketail"
  59. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Forbidden Friendship".
  60. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island.
  61. The Land Before Time.
  62. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Forbidden Friendship".
  63. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Meadow of Jumping Waters".
  64. The Land Before Time
  65. The Land Before Time.
  66. The Land Before Time.
  67. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  68. The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving
  69. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island
  70. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists.
  71. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "Stranger From the Mysterious Above".
  72. Used by Sierra in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  73. Used by Ducky's Aunt in The Land Before Time: The 3-D Adventure.
  74. The Land Before Time DVD game.
  75. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Legend of the Story Speakers".
  76. "The Meadow of Jumping Waters"
  77. 'The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire'.
  78. "The Brave Longneck Scheme"
  79. Used by Skip in the Land Before Time TV series episode, "Return to Hanging Rock".
  80. The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  81. The Land Before Time episode, "March of the Sand Creepers".
  82. The Land Before Time episode, "March of the Sand Creepers".
  83. Used by Ozzy in The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  84. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  85. The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  86. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists.
  87. The Land Before Time though The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  88. Ducky in The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
  89. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
  90. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  91. The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
  92. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
  93. In the ninth film, Mo calls rain clouds Sky Flakes in this phrase; 'Sky Flakes make lots and lots of Sky Water'.
  94. The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers.
  95. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Legend of the Story Speakers".
  96. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island
  97. The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
  98. The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze.
  99. Ducky mentions this to Cera in the third film, when they all hear Spike sleeping.
  100. The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration.
  101. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
  102. The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  103. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Canyon of Shiny Stones".
  104. In the book, "Let's Play Impossible", a character known as "Mr. Clam" refers to himself as a clam.
  105. The Land Before Time through recent films.
  106. The Land Before Time episode, "The Star Day Celebration".
  107. The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water.
  108. The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave.
  109. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  110. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Hidden Canyon".
  111. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Meadow of Jumping Waters".
  112. "The Legend of the Story Speakers"
  113. The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island.
  114. The Land Before Time TV Series episode, "The Star Day Celebration".
  115. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Lonely Journey".
  116. The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure.
  117. Used by Petrie in The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
  118. Ducky in The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze
  119. The Land Before Time TV Series episode, "The Cave of Many Voices".
  120. The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze.
  121. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists.
  122. The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists
  123. Daddy Topps in The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
  124. The Land Before Time TV Series episode, "The Big Longneck Test".
  125. The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses.
  126. "Stranger From the Mysterious Above".
  127. The Land Before Time TV series episode, "The Bright Circle Celebration".
  128. The Land Before Time.
  129. The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses.
  130. Used by Cera and Littlefoot in "Let's Play Impossible".
  131. The Land Before Time TV Series episode, "March of the Sand Creepers".
  132. The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock.
  133. Used by Cera in The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire.
  134. The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends
  135. The Land Before Time TV Series episode, "The Lonely Journey".
  136. The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends.
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