They were 'cowed' into silence by threats. [=they did not complain, publicly say anything, etc., because they had been threatened]
They'll be arguing about this 'till the cows come home'.
The football team was a 'cash cow' for the university.
(..) You'd better go. Take it. Take your shot. Take it! Come on. - Come on. - Come on, let's get out of here. Let's go. Psycho. Yeah, nothing but cows. Got some big cow house way out that way, like two miles... ...but I don't see nobody. - "Cow house"? - Yeah. Where they live. The cows. Whatever, man. Shit, yeah. Let's cook here. Cow house. God help me. - What are you doing? - These are my good clothes. You can't go home smelling like a meth lab. Yeah, you can. I do. Those? Wow. Those... You're keeping those on right? Come on. Daylight's burning. (..)2008 TvShow: Breaking Bad Title: Pilot Season: 1 Episode 1