Hold your horses..... ( TODAYS PHRASE ) Meaning Hold on; be patient. Origin US origin - 19th century. In keeping with its American origin, it originally was written as hold your hosses and it appears in print that way many times from 1844 onwards. In Picayune (New Orleans) September 1844, we have: Oh, hold your hosses, Squire. Theres no use gettin riled, no how. Its clear that hoss is the US slang term for horse, which was certainly known by 1844, as in David Humphreys The Yankey in England, 1815: The boys..see a ghost in the form of a white hoss; and an Indian in every black stump. It isnt until much later, in Chatelaine, 1939, we get the more familiar phrase: Hold your horses, dear. In 1943 theres a more descriptive use, in Hunt and Pringles Service Slang: Hold your horses, hold the job until further orders. (comes from the Artillery)
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:26:24 +0000
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