The iron horse once referred to railway engines, and originally, the output of such engines was measured in horsepower as a way of comparing the efficiency of this iron horse against its flesh-and-blood namesake. Unsurprisingly, the steel beast came out on top, further affirming that a motorised community was a more efficient community.
To keep a tight rein on something or to give free rein both come from horse-riding styles, but the ‘reign’ spelling is often incorrectly used here, the riding control being confused with the control of a ruler. Reign supreme and reign of terror relate to the monarch’s rule.
Horsing around comes from a horse’s love of freedom. A horse loves to frolic around the paddock releasing energy, or it may refer to the unpredictable nature of the horse, suddenly bolting on a whim, or a bit of horseplay.
Horses for courses means different people have different skills or interests. When it comes to horses, especially racehorses, some courses require speed and agility whilst others need big horses with stamina and endurance.
On the other hand, to change horses midstream is to alter your plans in the middle of a project. You can imagine how difficult it would be to dismount and mount another horse while riding through water.
Horse sense is another term for common sense. W C Fields once said “Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people.” I wonder if this implies that horses are the most sensible of animals? They can be quite skittish and oversensitive, but quite intelligent too.
Why is a person of unknown ability known as a dark horse? The expression is racing slang, but we don’t know why exactly. If you look for the price tag when given a present, you are looking a gift horse in the mouth. Examining a horse’s teeth was a standard way of telling its age and therefore its value.
Putting the cart before the horse means doing things in the wrong order. Wild horses wouldn’t make me do that, of course. And if you are a bit tardy in taking action, and only do it when it’s too late, you are locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.
You can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink, means that you can’t force a person to do something. And if you try too hard, you’ll be flogging a dead horse because a person will no longer be interested in what you are saying.
And you got all this straight from the horse’s mouth.
Happy Puzzling!
