Horse–Figures of Speech–1-23

horse — Figures of Speech – 1-23
1. horse (noun)  =

(a)

a frame or device with four legs, used for supporting something

(b)  heroin (= an illegal & harmful drug (medicine) taken by some people for pleasure)

2. a vaulting horse (noun)  =  a wooden frame (stand), used for doing gymnastics

3.

a blood horse  =  a well-bred person

4. a dark horse  =  a person whose abilities are hidden or not known to others

5. stalking horse  =  a false outward appearance used to hide some secret mission, project, etc.

6. war-horse  =

(a)  an old, retired soldier, full of war stories

(b)  a tough, frightening woman

7. (a)  horse and man =  (of something) completely

(b)  horse and foot

8. horse and cart  =  (Cockney rhyming slang) fart; to break wind (= to send out gas or air though anus, usually foul smelling and with sound)

9. white horse  =  (said of something as)  a sign of cowardice

10. horse godmother  =  a tall, clumsy woman with male features

11. horse feathers [an exclamation used when dismissing something contemptuously (with a very cheap, mean idea or opinion)]

12. horse-kiss  =

(a)  a rough kiss

(b)  a pretended kiss, but actually a bite

13. horse-laugh  =  loud and impolite laugh

14. horse sense  =  plain, practical common sense

15. white horses [said of the white froth and spray on the rough sea waves (supposed to be the manes of the horses of Poseidon, the sea god – from a Greek mythical story)]

16. horses for courses [said to mean that what is suitable or best for a person might not be suitable or best for another person; choosing a person best suited for a particular job on hand; each person or thing will perform best under conditions which suit his/her/its particular nature(?)]

17. horse-play  =  noisily cheerful and rough play

18. pretty horsebreaker  =  a prostitute, usually supported by wealthy lovers (suitors) (‘prostitute’ = a woman who has sex with any man for money)

19. (A)  horse-nails  =

(a)  money

(b)  tadpoles (baby frogs)

(B) to a make a horse-nail of …  =  to do something clumsily, i.e. not properly

(C)  to knock into horse-nails  =  to defeat (someone) without doubt

20. (a)  willing horse  =  a person who helps others without any complaint

(b)  all lay their load on the willing horse [said to point out that a worker who works without any complaint is made to work more and more;  the worker is exploited]

21. Trojan horse  =  (a) a person or a thing introduced into a system or an organisation, as a part in order to undermine or spoil the entire system or organisation

(b) a malware in a computer; a computer worm or virus

22. hobby-horse  =

(a)

a wooden toy horse for children to play

(b)  a pet theory or some activity taken up only just for fun, and may be given up or discarded soon  (not a serious activity)

23. horse opera  =  a fictional story or film about the life, cattle farms, horses and gun fights in the west in olden times (wild west stories or films)