a uña de caballo

Spanish

Adverb

a uña de caballo

1. (idiomatic) riding (a horse) as fast as one can
   • 1891, Benito Pérez Galdós, Ángel Guerra:

     […] salir pitando para Portugal a uña de caballo.

     get out there and make for Portugal as fast as his horse's legs could carry him.

2. (idiomatic) like a bat out of hell

   Synonyms: a matacaballo, con viento fresco, cagando hostias, cagando cerillas, cagando leches

   • 1894, Ricardo Palma, ​Tradiciones peruanas, Monja y cartujo:

     Entretanto don Alonso escapó a uña de caballo, y doña Elvira se fue a Chuquisaca y se refugió en la casa materna.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

• “a uña de caballo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10