A horse-drawn tram operated by Swansea and Mumbles Railway, 1870. Originating during Victorian times in Britain, Iron Horse was a phrase of admiration comparing the impressive performance of early traction engines to horse powered tramways and their effectiveness in the transportation business. The world’s first passenger train or tram was the Swansea and [...]
The original 18th century standard English use of one-horse meant 'drawn or worked, by a single horse'. By the mid-19th century it had gained wider, metaphorical use. “ ’One horse' is an agricultural phrase, applied to anything small or insignificant, or to any inconsiderable or contemptible person: as a 'one-horse town,' a 'one- horse bank,' a [...]
HAYDAY has nothing to do with the dried grass our horses love to eat. In fact, HAYDAY is a misspelling of the word HEYDAY. Please don’t fret if you have mistakenly used HAYDAY, it’s a common error with an impressive history - we’ve been misspelling it for over 200 years HEYDAY first appeared in 16th century [...]
The noun “vet” originated became an abbreviation for “veterinarian”. By 1850 in Great Britain and Ireland, horse doctors were commonly called “vets”. By 1875, “vet” became a verb at the racetrack as in “the racehorse had only to be ‘vetted’”. The “vetting” of horse progressed to was applied to people, a humorous way to describe a [...]
Over the centuries, the sport of kings has spawned its share of horse slang including DEAD RINGER. The phrase originated in the U.S. during the late 19th century meaning a dishonest substitution of a better horse in a race in an effort to dupe the bookies. The substitute needed to look like the less talented horse [...]
The phrase is American first appearing in print in 1844. “Oh, hold your hosses, Squire. There’s no use getting’ riled, no how.” - The Picayune (New Orleans) newspaper September 1844. A century late, the phrase got a second wind in the rural south after WWII. Steam engine tractors were becoming an affordable option to plowing by [...]
Written by Candace Wade, Contributor HorseNation.com Or, things they don’t tell you about horseback riding. I began learning to ride a horse in my mid-40s — years ago. Navigating the mysteries of the horse, the stressful “no-two-tack-combinations-are-the-same” equipment and then the actual riding of a horse was/is complex enough for my road-weary mind. Layer on the [...]
Sunday evening is thee highlight of America’s football season – the Super Bowl. The top two teams play one final game to determine who is the best team of the season. We Americans go a little nuts wearing team’s colors, draping team flags off our front porches and if you like beer and hot wings, there’s [...]
