Horse You Rode in On Idiom

Hi, you have A Way with Words.

Yes, hi. John Hance here, calling from Seattle, actually the airport in Seattle.

Hi, John.

Hi, John. Welcome to the program.

Well, there is a phrase, and it’s one that I’ve heard usually as a slightly comedic twist,

Not quite the same as in the Scandinavian rites, but it tends to be a postscript or a suffix,

And it’s, and the horse you came in on.

Now, that usually follows a request for a certain anatomical impossibility that starts with a four-letter word.

And in the normal expression, it’s almost as if somebody wanted to stab the dagger and then kind of smile as they twisted it.

But I’ve never really been able to figure out how far back that goes.

Wow, that’s a really good one.

And the horse you rode in on, and you’re absolutely right.

It usually follows something very crude that we can’t say on the air.

There are a few variations on this.

It’s really interesting that it’s almost always the horse you whatever came or rode in on.

So it suggests that you arrived as if you were some kind of savior and they just needed you to butt out.

So part of it is often that you’re saying or doing something where or when you’re not wanted.

Yeah, you’re some kind of outsider.

They need you to go away.

And instead of just insulting you, they want to insert your whole circumstance, your offer of help, all of your expertise, everything that you think you know.

Right? That would sound right. That’s right. The earliest that we know about this term is the

1950s, as is the problem with a lot of coarse language, it doesn’t show up in the printed

Record until long after it was probably said. I would not be surprised if this predates World War

II easily. But you do find that it really pops up in some interesting places. It’s popped up in

Literature again and again. And my favorite place that And the Horse You Rode In On appears

Is in a painting, the official painting of Donald Regan,

Who was the Secretary of the Treasury under Ronald Reagan.

And it’s on the spine of a book in this photograph.

And you can find this story in one of William Sapphire’s books.

In short, the whole story is that Regan, not Reagan,

Regan loved this expression,

And the official portrait painter put it on the spine of the book

Just because he wanted to, and Regan left it, so they left it.

And so you can still see that there.

But Regan used the full unabridged version of the phrase.

Do you use it yourself, John?

You know, I have probably not ever used that in anger.

I’ve used it as a joke a couple of times

When I had a willing recipient, so to speak,

In terms of not getting insulted, but no, never.

Very good, John.

Well, thank you for sharing this question with us.

I wish we had a lot more to offer you.

I’m sure we’ll get some theories and speculation

From our other listeners,

And when we do, we’ll be sure to share it, all right?

I just appreciate your show.

I think it’s just a delight to listen to.

You guys take care.

Hey, thanks so much, John.

Take care of yourself.

Bye-bye.

Thank you.

Bye-bye.

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