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Thursday, October 09, 2008

Horse of a feather


Use as many of the following in a writing piece as you can, keeping their literal meanings rather than the meanings of the idioms. Feel free to change word forms and use the meaning of the phrase rather than the exact words, eg, you might have a character who is working hard not to be kept away by the wild horses.
  • To eat like a horse. To work like a horse
  • Straight from the horse's mouth
  • Hold your horses
  • To flog a dead horse
  • A dead horse matter
  • Get on one's high horse
  • Horse sense
  • A dark horse
  • A horse of another colour
  • Lock the stable door after the horse has bolted
  • A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse
  • Put the cart before the horse
  • A willing horse
  • You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink
  • Change horses midstream
  • Horses for courses
  • If wishes were horses, beggars would ride
  • Wild horses couldn't keep me away
  • Horse feathers!
  • Horse Opera
  • Horse player
  • Horse trading
  • A one horse town
  • Red horse
  • The iron horse
  • As scarce as rocking horse 'manure'
  • A war horse
  • Horse around
If, after you're done, and some of the idioms are unfamiliar, click on the comments to see the meanings.

1 comment:

  1. Joyce Fetteroll7:24 AM, October 09, 2008

    • To eat like a horse. To work like a horse (To eat a great deal. To work very hard.)

    • Straight from the horse's mouth (From a person closely concerned with the subject discussed)

    • Hold your horses (Stop, wait)

    • To flog a dead horse (To keep trying to get satisfaction from something that cannot or can no longer give it)

    • A dead horse matter (No longer of concern)

    • Get on one's high horse (To become offended in an angry and proud way)

    • Horse sense (Common sense)

    • A dark horse (A person or thing whose true character and worth is unknown but may be better than is thought)

    • A horse of another colour (Quite a different matter)

    • Lock the stable door after the horse has bolted (Take action too late)

    • A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse (Indirect suggestion is all that is necessary, no need to spell it out)

    • Put the cart before the horse (To do things in the wrong order)

    • A willing horse (A keen worker)

    • You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink (You can make it easy for a person to do what you want, but you cannot force them to do it if they do not want to)

    • Change horses midstream (Change one's opinions in the middle of something)

    • Horses for courses (Each person or thing being employed for the purpose for which it is best suited)

    • If wishes were horses, beggars would ride (If things could be obtained by wishing, poor people would not be poor)

    • Wild horses couldn't keep me away (Nothing could keep me away)

    • Horse feathers! (An exclamation of disbelief)

    • Horse Opera (A cowboy movie)

    • Horse player (A gambler)

    • Horse trading (Making business deals after hard and skilful bargaining)

    • A one horse town (A very small, insignificant place)

    • Red horse (Corned beef)

    • The iron horse (The railway)

    • As scarce as rocking horse 'manure' (Very rare indeed) 

    • A war horse (A seasoned and reliable veteran)

    • Horse around (To fool around)

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