charley horse
See also: charleyhorse
English
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editThe term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, and is possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn, who is said to have suffered from cramps.[1]
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Noun
editcharley horse (plural charley horses)
- (idiomatic, US) A muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg.
- 1914, Ralph Henry Barbour, Left End Edwards[1]:
- Of course there had been plenty of bruises—one mild case of charley-horse, several dislocated or sprained fingers, a wrenched ankle or two and any number of cuts and scrapes, […]
- (informal) A punch in the thigh.
- 2006, Joe L. Kincheloe, The Praeger Handbook of Urban Education, volume 1, page 324:
- I knew to just keep my mouth shut about it — unless I wanted the word "dummy" to be followed by a charley horse.
Translations
edita muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
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References
edit- ^ Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “Charley horse”, in World Wide Words.
Further reading
edit- charley horse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia