What is a horse a piece?
: one of the large pieces into which blubber is cut before mincing.
What does the expression talk to a man about a horse mean?
To see a man about a dog or horse is a British English idiom, usually used as a way to apologise for one’s imminent departure or absence, generally to euphemistically conceal one’s true purpose, such as going to use the bathroom or going to buy a drink. The phrase may have been accompanied by a wink.
Where did the saying come from healthy as a horse?
The term starts appearing in the 1860s and since then seems to have been used in the US but not the UK. The imagery behind it is linked to other expressions whereby a horse is seen as symbol of strength and physical capacity, such as ‘eat like a horse’ and ‘strong as a horse’.
Is a horse a piece?
In the upper midwest of the United States they say “a horse a piece” to mean two choices of approximately equal value (as in six on one, half a dozen of another).
What does six of one half a dozen of the other mean?
Definition of it’s six of one, half (a) dozen of the other US, informal. —used to say that one does not see any real difference between two possible choices.
Where does the expression see a man about a horse come from?
Origin of see-a-man-about-a-horse The saying comes from the 1866 Dion Boucicault play, Flying Scud, in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, “Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can’t stop; I’ve got to see a man about a dog.”
Why do you never look a gift horse in the mouth?
This phrase alludes to the fact that the age, hence the usefulness, of a horse can be determined by looking at its teeth. The expression says that if a horse is given as a gift, you should not look at its teeth to determine its quality. It is an ancient expression and the exact origin is unknown.
Is healthy as a horse a saying?
Idiom: ‘Healthy as a horse’ Meaning: If you’re as healthy as a horse, you’re very healthy.
Where does half a dozen come from?
The expression comes from the fact that half a dozen is an expression that means six. The idiom six of one, half a dozen of the other came into use in the 1700s. The earliest known use of the expression occurred in a journal kept by a British naval officer, Ralph Clark, in 1790.
Do look a gift horse in the mouth?
Don’t question the value of a gift. The proverb refers to the practice of evaluating the age of a horse by looking at its teeth. This practice is also the source of the expression “long in the tooth,” meaning old.
Why do they say healthy as an ox?
The derivation is that a butcher’s dog would be fed meat scraps at a time when many dogs just got whatever they could catch or scrounge and so were often undernourished. A well-fed dog would be healthier and stronger.
What is a idiom for healthy?
1. As fit as a fiddle. To be as fit as a fiddle is to be in excellent physical shape or to be very healthy.
