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ride a horse foaled by an acorn

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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An allusion to the oak used to construct the gallows.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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ride a horse foaled by an acorn (third-person singular simple present rides a horse foaled by an acorn, present participle riding a horse foaled by an acorn, simple past rode a horse foaled by an acorn or (obsolete) rid a horse foaled by an acorn, past participle ridden a horse foaled by an acorn)

  1. (obsolete, slang) To be hanged on the gallows.
    Synonyms: hang, swing; see also Thesaurus:die by hanging
    • 1670, John Ray, “Proverbial Phraſes”, in A Compleat Collection of Engliſh Proverbs[1], 4th edition, published 1768, page 197:
      You'll ride on a horſe that was foal'd of an acron.
      That is; the gallows.
    • 1828, Edward Bulwer-Lytton, chapter 82, in Pelham: or The Adventures of a Gentleman, page 385:
      "What ho, my kiddy!" cried Job, "don't be glimflashy; why you'd cry beef on a blater; the cove is a bob cull, and a pal of my own; and moreover, is as pretty a Tyburn blossom as ever was brought up to ride a horse foaled by an acorn."
    • 2003, Michael Crummey, River Thieves, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 272:
      Fourteen, sir. No age to be riding a horse foaled by an acorn, I can tell you.
    • 2008, Barbara Ker Wilson, The Lost Years of Jane Austen, Ulysses Press, →ISBN, page 21:
      A sheep stealer, the mother told the child... and now the man twisted there, riding a horse foaled by an acorn, as the saying went, while the fat Welsh sheep in safety grazed the green pasture all around.

See also

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References

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  • [Francis] Grose [et al.] (1811) “Ride a horse foaled by an acorn”, in Lexicon Balatronicum. A Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence. [], London: [] C. Chappell, [], →OCLC.