a colt revolver

1. colt (noun)  =

(a)  a young, lively but inexperienced person

(b)  a player of a junior team

(c)  the name of a hand gun (pistol/revolver)

2. coltish  =  lively and youthful, but awkward in movements or behaviour

3. a woods colt  =

(a)  a child whose parents are not legally married

(b)  some book or written work by an unknown writer

4. to have a colt’s tooth  =  (said of a person) though old, still showing some signs of youth – looks young and active

5. to shoe the wild colt  =  to demand or get some money from a new employer, which is very difficult

6. as kipper as a colt (‘kipper’ = lively, active, frisky)

7. (a)as ragged as a colt (‘ragged’ = in a bad or spoiled condition)

(b)  a ragged colt may make a good horse [said of a dirty, spoilt young man that one day he will become a good man]

8. to feel like a colt in spring  =  to feel full of life; happy

9. as wild as an unbacked colt (‘unbacked’ = untrained; not yet broken in)

10. to have as many tricks as a colt on the first day’s breaking in  =  to come up with or make a lot of excuses or tricks to avoid work

11. the best colts are always the hardest to catch [said to mean that it is always difficult to get good eligible bachelors (unmarried young men) to get married]

12. the wildest colts make the best horses

13. the best colt needs the most breaking in [said to mean that a good promising child needs more care and special education]