room for a pony

English

Etymology

From the British television comedy series, Keeping Up Appearances (1990–1995), wherein social climber Hyacinth Bucket constantly and variously describes her sister Violet, who married well, as “the one with the […] and room for a pony”.

Noun

room for a pony (uncountable)

1. (chiefly British, humorous) minimum trappings of the minor landed gentry
   • 1996, Gary W. Dowsett, Practicing Desire: Homosexual Sex in the Era of AIDS, Stanford University Press, →ISBN, page 264:

     Eventually he fell in love, and by age twenty was living in a gay couple, complete with house, garden, swimming pool, and room for a pony.

   • 2002, E. T. Rishe, Timeless Acres, iUniverse, 978-0-595-25068-4, page 47:

     “ […] In the back yard, we have a screened terrace, a swimming pool, a swing set and room for a pony.” His grin was boyish as she, too, smiled at the oblique reference to the popular British comedy ‘Keeping up Appearances’.

   • 2006, Patricia Kennedy, The Irreverent Guide to Real Estate: Buying, Selling and Making Money, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 5:

     One craves the excitement of being right downtown, while the other wants an up-county farmette with a swimming pool and room for a pony.