horse v.
1. to have sexual intercourse.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Henry IV Pt 2 I ii: An I could get me but a wife in the stews, I were manned, horsed and wived. | |
| Bartholomew Fair IV iv: Mrs. Overdo I do love men of war [...] when they come before my husband. Knockem Say’st thou so, filly? That shalt have a leap presently, I’ll horse thee myself, else. | |
| Maid in the Mill II ii: She’s hors’d, she’s hors’d, whether she will or no [...] She’s hors’d upon a double Gelding. | |
| Mercurius Fumigosus 29 13–20 Dec. 227: A young Man, who having admittance into them, fell so hard to the sport of horsing the Wild-Mare, that he got their Maiden-heads for his paines. | |
| School of Venus (2004) 22: The very Relation you have given me makes me mad for Horseing . | |
| Chances III iv: To horse again then, for this Night I’ll crown With all the Joys ye wish for. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | World to Win 156: He had been disturb’d many times at Alan’s ‘horsing the fat gals’ as he called it. | |
| Candy (1970) 64: horsing on the floor! humping under the bed! grousing in the goodie! |
2. to flog, to whip; thus horsed, held on another person’s back before receiving a flogging [the victim is placed across a wooden frame or ‘horse’].
| Hudibras Pt III canto 1 line 1571: The spirit hors’d him like a sack / Upon the vehicle his back. | |
| Peregrine Pickle (1964) 92: Our unfortunate hero was publicly horsed, in terrorem of all whom it might concern. | |
| Fool of Quality I 204: Here, Jacky, down with his Breeches, and horse him for me directly. | |
| Comic Almanack Feb. 167: ‘TAKE DOWN HIS BREECHES!’ [...] Sam Hopkins, the biggest boy, took them down – horsed me – and I was flogged, sir; yes, flogged! | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | ‘The Charity Boy’ Dublin Comic Songster 164: Next day my master scolded me, / And threatened that I horsed should be. | |
| Virginians I 62: Serjeants, school-masters, slave-overseers, used the cane freely. Our little boys had been horsed many a day by [...] their Scotch tutor . | |
| Phoebe Kissagen n.p.: Miss Cherry was in the act of horsing the lovely Frolic; while Merry, laughing all the time, rolled up her clothes to her shoulders, and prepared to hoist her feet. | |
| Sl. Dict. | |
| N&Q 1 Jan. 18: I got well horsed for such a breach of discipline. | |
| Sl. and Its Analogues III 357/2: To be horsed, verb. phr. (old).–To be flogged [from the wooden-horse used as a flogging-stool] ; to take on one’s back as for a flogging. |
3. (US) to yearn for, to want eagerly, to lust after [? a horse straining at the bit or dial. horse, for a mare to be in heat].
| (con. 1970) Danti-Dan in McGuinness Dazzling Dark (1996) I i: Here, have a full one, you’ll only be horsing it. |
4. in the context of using horse-like strength.
(a) to work very hard, to work harder than another person.
| All the Year Round 13 July 59: To horse a man, is for one of two men who are engaged on precisely similar pieces of work to make extraordinary exertions in order to work down the other man. This is sometimes done simply to see what kind of a workman a new man may be, but often with the much less creditable motive of injuring a fellow workman in the estimate of an employer [F&H]. |
(b) (US) to haul or drag with great effort.
| Bowery Life [ebook] Then he’d horse me over to the Sheeney t’ree-cent baths and leave me dere fer twelve hours. | |
| US Forest Service Bulletin LXI 40: Horse logs, to. In river driving, to drag stranded logs back to the stream by use of peaveys [DARE]. | |
| World to Win 48: You must be purty strong [...] To horse all these heavy pieces from the junk pile and then up these steep steps. | |
| Down in the Holler 254: horse: v.t. To lift, pull, push, move by force. | |
| (con. WWII) Deathmakers 125: We’ve got to horse these logs off the road. |
(c) to move energetically.
| Reporter 275: She horses onto the scene and plops down beside Griffith. | |
| Sopranos 85: Chell didn’t dunk out the window but horsed it back and kicked off the break. |
(d) to eat heartily.
![[Scot]](/static/img/flags/sco.png "Scotland") | Dead Man’s Trousers [31]: I’m watching Conrad, as he leaves his girl three times during my convo to refuel [...] Then, as the model lassie slavers on aboot addiction, he’s horsed the lot. |
5. to deceive, to cheat.
(a) to swindle, to cheat.
| N&Q Ser. 2 IV 192: A workman horses it when he charges for more in his week’s work than he has really done. Of course he has much unprofitable work to get through in the ensuing week, which is called dead horse [F&H]. |
(b) (US) to trick, to deceive, to tease.
| Star-Gaz. (Elmira, NY) 15 May 4/3: Yale College Slang [...] We horsed Jones to death — he is easy fruit, that man. | |
| ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 41: horse, v. 2. To joke someone. [...] 4. To swindle or beat. | |
| Disinherited 278: Old Pus Gut’s been horsin’ us to a standstill with that boloney. | |
| ‘Color of Murder’ Dan Turner – Hollywood Detective Dec. 🌐 She horsed the hambo into getting stinko plastered tonight. | |
| Little Men, Big World 177: ‘I was only trying to do what I thought was best for everybody, Ark. You know that.’ ‘You were horsing.’. | |
| Murder Me for Nickels (2004) 59: You can’t horse with the manufacturer because he’s too big and he isn’t in town. |
6. (US campus) to amaze.
| Student Sl. in Cohen (1997) 11: horse v.i. […]. 2. To cause to wonder (used only in questions that expect the affirmative: ‘Wouldn’t that horse you?’). | |
| ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 41: horse, v. To cause to wonder; used only in questions expecting an affirmative answer. |
7. (US campus) to study with the help of a translation [horse n. (5a)].
| Student Sl. in Cohen (1997) 11: horse v.i. 1. To learn with the help of a translation [rare]. | |
| ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 41: horse, v. To study with the help of a translation. [...] To get help from another in preparation of lessons. |
8. see horse around
In phrases
1. (also horse) to joke, to mess about.
| ‘College Words and Phrases’ in DN II:i 41: horse, v. To joke someone. | |
| ‘Kansas University Sl.’ in AS III:3 219: Quit horsing around, will you? Can’t you see I’m busy? | |
| What’s In It For Me? 120: They finally decided to close up that horse opera you been horsing around in. | |
| Amboy Dukes 67: If Frank and I hadn’t horsed around that morning maybe Bannon would be alive today. | |
| Alcoholics (1993) 11: If Rufus didn’t stop his silly goddam horsing around [...] he, personally, would kick his, Rufus’, goddam ass. | |
| Meanwhile, Back at the Front (1962) 204: Why, with all the horsing around you did in that damned jeep of yours, you never hit one lousy little land mine. | |
| Digger’s Game (1981) 10: You think I’m just horsing around. | |
| Paco’s Story (1987) 168: Listening to the skinny-dippers horsing around in the sand-bottomed shallows. | |
| Rivethead (1992) 40: Bud spent most of his time horsing around with Dan-O. | |
| Indep. Rev. 10 Feb. 12: At the end of four minutes of sliding, slapping, goofing and horsing around, the place goes nuts. | |
| ‘Jack Rabbit Slim’s Cellar’ in Pulp Ink [ebook] Stop horsin’ around little girl and give me a God damn cigarette. |
2. (US) to make sexual advances to, to indulge in sexual horseplay.
| ‘Stanford Expressions’ in AS II:6 276: horsing around—engaging in horse play. | |
| (ref. to mid-19C) Amer. Madam (1981) 25: They horse around a lot, with pecker pulling and talk of cornholing and country buggery. | |
| (con. 1944) Naked and Dead 229: I never horse around much with the women. | |
| Catcher in the Rye (1958) 66: I think if you don’t really like a girl, you shouldn’t horse around with her at all. | |
| After Hours 128: They were horsin’ around. | |
| Dict. of Invective (1991) 200: Horse also has sexual overtones in to horse around and horseplay when the frisking takes place between males and females. | |
| Hooky Gear 305: We shag on Hampstead Heath. We kiss under Nelsons Column. We horse about on Oxford Street. |
3. (US) to be keen on becoming married.
| in DARE. |
(US) to walk fast.
| Yale Yarns 273: Paige said it was time to ‘horse to likker’ (referring to the Benedictine). | |
| Current Sl. III:4 7: Hoss it, v. To walk hurriedly. |