Horse Trivia

[David McKenzie]

From "A.Word.A.Day"

Subject: A.Word.A.Day--desultory


desultory (DES-uhl-tor-ee) adjective

1. Marked by absence of a plan; disconnected; jumping from one thing to
to another.

2. Digressing from the main subject; random.

[From Latin desultorius (leaping, pertaining to a circus rider who jumps
from one horse to another), from desilire (to leap down), from salire
(to jump). Other words derived from the same Latin root (salire) are sally,
somersault, insult, result, saute, salient, and our recent friend, saltant.]

"The green lobby complained, and the media covered the story in a
desultory way, but everyone continued to behave as though there was
lots of time."
Gwynne Dyer; Climate Change: Not Clear on the Concept;
Monday Morning (Beirut, Lebanon); Jul 13, 2003.

"For most of the match, the play could be described as either dazzling
or desultory."
Roy Masters; Origin Hopes Have Hit Man Flannery Going in For the Kill;
Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); Jun 2, 2003.

It's a sign of our historical dependence on horses that our language is
filled with terms, idioms, and other references about them. When locomotive
came out, it was called, what else, an iron horse. Today, we use many
horse-related terms metaphorically, from horse-trading (hard bargaining)
to horse sense (common sense). A political candidate might be a stalking
horse (one used to conceal the candidacy of another or to divide votes)
while another might turn out to be a dark horse (one who is unexpectedly
nominated).

One might change horses in midstream (to change opinion in the middle of
action) or ride on two horses (have two allegiances or follow two courses)
and, in fact, that's how today's word, desultory, came about. Circus riders
literally leap from horse to horse or ride two horses together. Earlier they
were called desultors.

[David McKenzie]

Here is today's "horsey" word:

equitant (EK-wi-tuhnt) adjective

Straddling; overlapping, as the leaves of some plants, such as irises.

[From Latin equitant-, stem of equitans, present participle of equitare
(to ride), from equit-, stem of eques (horseman), from equus (horse).]

A picture of equitant leaves: (http://www.life.uiuc.edu/plantbio/digitalflowers/Iridaceae/5.htm)



"You can shower an equitant orchid daily or even twice daily, but never
leave its roots standing in water."
Elvin McDonald; Carnation Crisis: The Flowers Have Wilted, But Hope Lives;
Chicago Tribune; Jun 4, 1989.

[David McKenzie]

The next in a series: words of horse-related origins.

tattersall also Tattersall (TAT-uhr-sawl, -suhl) noun

1. A pattern of squares formed by dark lines on a light background.

2. A cloth with this pattern.

adjective

Having a tattersall pattern.

[After Tattersall's, a horse market in London, where such patterns were
common on horse blankets. The market was named after Richard Tattersall,
an auctioneer (1724-1795).]

A picture of tattersall patterns: (http://www.bsaltd.com/bsa_zCordm.html)

"Too much? Perhaps. There were moments when the tweed and tattersall
layers, puffed with motley fur and mixed with crepe, vintage-print
skirts, seemed stuffy and overdreamed."
Cathy Horyn; Four Women Swagger In Milan; The New York Times; Mar 5, 2003.

"I was futzing with the hinges on the front-yard gate on a Saturday
afternoon, my tattersall shirtsleeves rolled up and mind off in Oklahoma,
when I noticed Fido in the California shade, snoozing ..."
Ron Hansen; My Kid's Dog; Harper's Magazine (New York); Mar 2003.

[David McKenzie]

spavined (SPAV-ind) adjective

1. Suffering from spavin, a disease involving swelling of hock joints in a horse.

2. Old; decrepit; broken-down.

[From Middle English, from Old French espavain (swelling).]

"So, you see, we are at the bar off the lobby of the Peace Hotel in Shanghai. At the bandstand is the oldest, most spavined jazz band in existence, playing what is advertised as Dixieland. These guys are so bad they are good."
Allan Fotheringham; One Innocent in Shanghai; Maclean's (Toronto, Canada); Oct 23, 2000.

"If they ever praise each other's bad drawings, or broken-winded novels, or spavined verses, nobody ever supposed it was from admiration; it was simply a contract between themselves and a publisher or dealer."
Oliver Wendell Holmes; The Long Jolt on Public Opinion; The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table; 1858.

[Fastracehorse]

<It's a sign of our historical dependence on horses that our language is
filled with terms, idioms, and other references about them. When locomotive
came out, it was called, what else, an iron horse.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I was telling a 4 year old to stop drifting ( we were walking across a street ). He was walking away from me. Stop drifting!

I guess the above is exacerbated for people that make horses a big part of their lives.

Thanx for the new word.

fffastt

[gino]

is there an online big bucks Scrabble website? if so, i'm riding the coattails of the 2 Daves for fun and profit...in the hortatory sense, of course.

gino
double word score, wilbur

[David McKenzie]

fffastt,

I guess you could say, "A desultory child requires guidance."
:::ducking and running::: :)

---

Gino,

Have you ever seen the NYRA pre card show, "Talking Horses?" Did you ever wonder about that...I mean...after Mr. Ed makes the first appearance, then what?

---

Here's today's "horse" word:

hors de combat (awr duh kawn-BA) noun

Out of action; disabled.

[From French, literally, out of fight.]

[David McKenzie]

Below are some excerpts from the weekly post by AWAD (A Word a Day). Since I kept you posted (no pun intended) on the horse words, thought you might enjoy some of the feedback.


From: Kyle Ambrose in Bamako, Mali (kambrose@mali.maf.net)
Subject: Horse Words
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/desultory.html

In the Bambara language of West Africa a bicycle is called "negeso"
(pronunciation neh-geh-soh). It is a compound of "nege" (iron/metal)
and "so" (horse). It makes good sense, doesn't it?

--------------------------------

From: Vicky Tarulis (be_well_vicky@yahoo.com)
Subject: Horseplay

In honor of Seabiscuit, I see you're horsing around this week. I hope
people don't nag you or become neigh-sayers, and just go along for the
ride. I am sure the week will gallop by and will reach the finish
line before we know it!

--------------------------------

From: Benjamin Avant (lvboa@aol.com)
Subject: Equitant - a cheval
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/equitant.html

I am a roulette dealer in Las Vegas. While we use English almost exclusively
to conduct the game in this country, occasionally some of our international
players will request bets in French, which is more common outside the US.
A "split" is a bet that lies on the line between two numbers and wins if
either number comes in. In French, this bet is called "a cheval". Of course,
cheval is French for horse and I assume "a cheval" means on horseback, or
straddling, sort of like the chip straddling the line between two numbers.
Must be the French equivalent of today's word!

--------------------------------

From: Fiona Ellem (athroes1@bigpond.com)
Subject: Horses for courses

When I read the word for today (desultory), and the horse theme, I
immediately thought of my father. When the conversation turned to
language, as it frequently did in our house, my dad would say, "Aussie
English is the only language in the world where you can call a dark
horse a fair cow, and be perfectly understood!" (For those who are
totally confused, a fair cow means that something is uncooperative,
difficult to manage or just plain aggravating)

--------------------------------

From: George Gopen (ggopen@duke.edu)
Subject: A whole lot of "horse"

Glad to see you horsing around this week. In the poetry + music courses I
teach at Duke, I make an extended argument that words and notes actually go
about "meaning" in very similar ways. The first protestation I hear is that
notes have no specific meanings by themselves, but words you can look up in
a dictionary. My response is that when you look up those words, you find
TOO MANY meanings; and the process we use for selecting amongst those
meanings at any given moment is quite similar to the way we make "sense" of
notes -- by relying on context and expectation. (My two books on language
and expectation will be coming out in January from Longman Publishers.)

In order to offer an overwhelming example of the "too many meanings" point,
I have long used the word "horse." Go to the OED, I tell my students, and
look up "horse" and all the immediately following words that include or vary
"horse." You will find they fill 30.5 columns (more than ten pages) of the
OED. (That is true of my copy, which I bought in the 1970's. They may have
added yet more in the subsequent revisions.) I estimate that each column
averages about 110 lines of print, and each line averages about 10 words per
line. That means it takes 30.5 x 110 x 10 words for the OED to define
"horse." That totals 33,550 words -- which in normal, double-spaced pages
is equivalent to 134 pages of typescript -- the equivalent of a
healthy-sized monograph.

So much for "horse" statistics.

--------------------------------

From: Richard Oswald (roswald00@comcast.net)
Subject: tattersall
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/tattersall.html

I wonder if there's a family reunion of the Tattersalls and the Chiaroscuros.
Maybe the social gap is too large.

--------------------------------

From: Eric Shackle (eshackle@ozemail.com.au)
Subject: tattersall

Tattersall can be hyphenated as tatters-all, which makes it a hyp-hen. By
misplacing hyphens, computers have divided many other words, including
pronoun-cement, the-rapist and bed-raggled, with ludicrous results. For more
examples, please read "Sad death of the hyp-hen that caused mans-laughter"
in the August edition of my free e-book:
http://www.bdb.co.za/shackle

--------------------------------

From: Margot Jacqz (jacqz@rga-joblink.com)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day--hors de combat
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/hors_de_combat.html

And of course hors de concours: a term used frequently in dressage and
combined training competition when horses and/or riders are schooling
or regaining form. They ride the test or course and are judged, but
are not in the ranks for ribbons, season points, or prizes, for
example. It may be used in other sports, but that's where I learned
it. SO, you made the horse connection in spite of yourself.

--------------------------------

From: Tim Sloat (tims701@cox.net)
Subject: Hors de combat

Actually, the most common misconception has less to do with
horses than with camp followers of the female persuasion.

--------------------------------

From: Gordon C. Menzies (menziesG@aol.com)
To: anu@wordsmith.org
Subject: Re: Hors de Combat

Combat horse never entered my mind, however another phrase did...

Many years ago Woody Woodbury, a comedian, did a sketch called "La Vie en
Rose" with "new" translations for French phrases. "Hors de combat" was
rendered as "the girls are fighting again". Jean d'Arc (jean dark) became
"the light in the bathroom is out and carte blanche became "they are
bringing Blanche home in a wagon".

--------------------------------

From: William S. Haubrich, MD (willhaub@aol.com)
Subject: Horse-related word

Another horse-related word is hippocampus, an anatomical term for a curved
gyrus in the olfactory cortex of the brain. The term combines the Greek
hippos, "horse", and kampos, "sea monster". Its shape suggests that of
a seahorse. Anatomy also yields a horse-related phrase: cauda equina, Latin
for "the tail of a horse", and apt description of the array of sacral and
coccygeal nerve tracts emanating from the tapered end of the spinal cord.
Is this neigh-saying?

--------------------------------

From: George Grimsrud (ggrim@interaccess.com)
Subject: The hot-and-cold lambent metaphor
Refer: http://wordsmith.org/words/lambent.html

"What started sometime in 1999 like a lambent flame snowballed into a big
political conflagration and consequently entered a new chapter last
Thursday with the decision of a faction of the party to decamp to the
Alliance for Democracy (AD)."
Tokunbo Adedoja; Plateau PDP: The Battle Enters a New Chapter;
This Day (Lagos, Nigeria); May 27, 2002.

This example for "lambent" contains one of the classic mixed metaphors.
It reminded me of an old New Yorker item in the '60s that cited an item in the
student newspaper at Moorhead State College in Minnesota about an incident
that had "snowballed into a red-hot issue."

[BillW]

David,

Great thread, I really enjoyed it.

It was about a month ago that I was discussing with a (non-handicapping) friend how horseracing has crept into the common lexicon. It is amazing how pervasive it is. If you don't mind, I'd like to extend your thread by soliciting common words/phrases derived from (or rumored to be derived from :)) horse racing.

One I find interesting is the word "upset" used to describe an underdog prevailing over a superior. This was (rumored to be) first used in this context as a result of the Upset upset of Man o' War in the Sanford at SAR in Aug. 1919. This was Man o' War's only loss out of 21 starts in his 15 month career. Prior to that, I assume that the other common use of the term was employed, i.e. to turn upside down.
I noticed a few common terms were used in the comments that you posted.
Anyone have any others?

Bill

[David McKenzie]

Bill,

I’m glad you’re enjoying the thread; the idea of extending the party by solicitation sounds marvelous. I’d never thought about the etymology of “upset.” How many other words and clichés have snuck into every day usage? I wonder.

Apparently I broke through the gate closing the thread. Here’s another.

cheval-de-frise (shuh-VAL duh FREEZ) noun
plural chevaux-de-frise (shuh-VOH duh FREEZ)

1. An obstacle, typically made of wood, covered with barbed wire
or spikes, used to block the advancing enemy.

2. A line of nails, spikes, or broken glass set on top of a wall
or railing to deter intruders.

[From French, literally horse of Friesland, so named because it was first
used by Frisians who lacked cavalry.]

Pictures of chevaux-de-frise: http://www.cvco.org/sigs/reg64/pioneer.html

"Fold back the leaves of an artichoke and you discover ... more artichoke
leaves, at least until you come to the succulent, secret heart hidden
beneath a chevaux-de-frise of thistle-like bristle."
David Nelson; Gastronomic Adventure Unfolds Like an Artichoke;
The Los Angeles Times; Jun 21, 1991.

"On the land side, outside the battlements, are acres of chevaux-de-frise:
sharp rock slabs set vertically into the ground, making it virtually
impossible for a person to pass, let alone a horse."
Denise Fainberg; On Foot In Inishmore; The New York Times; Aug 1, 1999.

Artists sit on art horses -- wooden benches with supports for their
canvases. Carpenters use saw horses, so called because they clearly
look like stylized representations of the animal. Not so obvious are
horses -- or their cousins -- hiding in many everyday objects. Literally
speaking, an easel is an ass (from Dutch ezel), while a bidet is a pony
(from French bidet).

[David McKenzie]

Hobson's choice (HOB-suhnz chois) noun

The choice of taking what is offered or none; an apparently free
choice with no acceptable alternative.

[After T. Hobson (1544-1631), a liveryman who offered his customers
the choice of renting the horse near the stable door or none at all.]

While it seems like Mr. Hobson could use a bit of training in "customer
service", he was fair in his way and made sure all his animals received
equal opportunity. His stable had a variety of horses and Hobson's choice
ensured that all have had equal rest instead of a few favorites getting
all the wear and tear.

On the other hand, maybe he didn't have to go to any of the extremes.
He could have offered his customers the choice of taking one of the four
horses near the stable door, for example.


"But Russia faced a Hobson's choice between a bad treaty or no treaty at
all - between accepting a lightweight treaty that allows maximum
flexibility for both the United States and Russia or risking the complete
demise of the nuclear arms reduction treaty regime."
Andrew C Kuchins; Explaining Mr. Putin: Russia's New Nuclear Diplomacy;
Arms Control Today (Washington, DC); Oct 2002.

"We are frequently told that the Hobson's choice presented by the Lebanese
morass is: either soldiers die in the security zone, or civilians will
die in Israel's North."
Uri Dromi; Syrian Accountability; Jerusalem Post (Israel); Nov 30, 1998.

[David McKenzie]

harridan (HAR-i-dn) noun

An ill-tempered, scolding woman.

[Perhaps from French haridelle (worn-out horse, gaunt woman).]

"For us, the most revealing of the remarks attributed to the Heritage
harridan were these: `I will beat you and nothing will happen. You can
go to court, all the judges know Jocelyn Chiwenga, wife of the (army)
commander. The judges will do nothing.'"
'All judges know Jocelyn Chiwenga'; Zimbabwe Independent (Harare);
Mar 28, 2003.

"A harridan committee chairwoman, Libby Hauser, acted sneeringly by Dana
Ivey, all but tosses bubbly, babbling Elle out of a hearing room."
Malcolm Johnson; `Blonde 2' Is Blithely Bubbly; Hartford Courant
(Connecticut); Jul 2, 2003.

[David McKenzie]

cheval de bataille (shuh-VAL duh ba-TAH-yuh) noun
plural chevaux de bataille (shuh-VOH duh ba-TAH-yuh)

A favorite topic; hobbyhorse.

[From French, literally battle-horse.]

"By then (Kenneth) Neate was already singing much heavier roles, such as
Florestan in Fidelio, Lohengrin and, the part that became his cheval de
bataille, Tannhauser."
Elizabeth Forbes; Obituary: Kenneth Neate; Independent (London, UK); Jul
1, 1997.

"Rossini's Stabat Mater was long castigated by churchmen and sober-minded
critics for its supposed worldliness and operatic flamboyance. Even today
it can cause raised eyebrows with its eclectic mix of styles, ranging
from the austere, archaic Eja Mater and Quando Corpus Morietur to the
full-blooded theatricality of the soprano aria Inflammatus, cruelly
dubbed by George Bernard Shaw "the spavined cheval de bataille of
obsolete prima donnas".
Richard Wigmore; The Arts: Classical CD of the Week; The Daily Telegraph
(London, UK); Dec 4, 1999.

[VetScratch]

"While playful literary allusions have always been Nabokov's cheval de bataille, he outdid himself in Pale Fire. Among twentieth-century works, never have so many pretentious academics been skewered by so few lines."

--Joe Morgan, from a rain-delay conversation with Jon Miller during an Expos game in St. Louis.

[David McKenzie]

cavalier (kav-uh-LEER) noun

1. A mounted soldier; a horseman.

2. A gallant man, one escorting a woman.

3. A supporter of Charles I of England in his tussle with Parliament.

adjective

1. Arrogant; disdainful.

2. Nonchalant, carefree, or offhand about some important matter.

3. Or or pertaining to a group of English poets associated with the
court of Charles I.

verb intr.

1. To play the cavalier.

2. To act in a haughty manner.

[From Middle French cavalier (horseman), from Old Italian cavaliere,
ultimately from Latin caballus (horse).]

"All that can be said is that it is unfortunate in the extreme that
an issue as complex as the citizen's right to be informed about
political candidates has been handled in so cavalier and self-serving
a manner."
Passing the Ordinance; The Indian Express (New Delhi); Aug 26, 2002.

"Northcote resident Tony Sharrock said his rates had doubled to $400.
`It's a travesty of justice. `The Government has billions of dollars
surplus that could be spent on fixing transport infrastructure in
Auckland but instead it allows the ARC to behave in a cavalier manner
to milk ratepayers.'"
Wayne Thompson; Phones Run Hot as ARC Rate Rises Shock Residents;
The New Zealand Herald (Auckland); Jul 14, 2003.