I'm so with you in finding the expanded use of "curate" distasteful (at least I think that's what you're indicating). Also have a soft spot for the Dorothy Parker. I enjoy adage mashups; for horses, I've long been fond of "You can beat a dead [or 'gift,' I suppose] horse in the mouth, but you can't make it drink." I live with someone prone to malapropism and spoonerism, so I get to hear rearranged sayings on a regular basis.
I have never looked at the etymology of "horse," but it's unrelated to the two old words from Romance languages: "equis" and "caballus." The version I read years ago is that many words for animals in Romance languages were derived from non-Latin words. Caballus: caballo (ES), cheval (FR), cavallo (IT), and cavalo (PO). These non-equine derivations have their non-felicitous counter parts: gato (ES, PO), chat (FR), gatto (IT).
The Hemingway-Pound "horseshit" citation is such a perfect etymological specimen — capturing both the word's vulgar directness and the irony of a man apologizing for it while using it anyway. There's something telling about how horse compounds in English tend to be either elevated (horsepower, horse sense) or decidedly earthy. The animal straddles both registers in our vocabulary the same way it straddled classes historically: work animal and status symbol, farm creature and battlefield companion.
The Cry-Cry Horse origin story is peak "happy accident" branding — a manufacturing flaw that became a feature. The Dorothy Parker line is eternally perfect. And I'd never heard "afoot or on horseback" before — that's getting filed away. The Romance language animal-word divergence is fascinating too: English kept the Germanic "horse" while adopting the Latin "equine" for the adjective. We do this a lot (cow/bovine, sheep/ovine).
I learned “a horse apiece” as a term in a bar dice game called "Horse", when I lived in Milwaukee. Since moving to Minneapolis 50 years ago, I haven't heard it since. (Although I don't hang around in bars.) In the Upper Midwest, it's defined by the Wisconsin state line on the west. People on the Wisconsin side of the St Croix River use the expression every day, while people a mile away on the Minnesota side have never even heard the expression."— english.stackexchange.com
"Horse apiece" means, "more or less equal." It was frequently used metaphorically. Although it's itself a metaphor, I guess.
The BR Catalog Lore! Amazing. Also, that HORSE Sport brand must be an SEO nightmare. But I don't think it matters because its most-popular things are often sold out.
Thanks for the mention! Also, I didn't realize you worked at BR back in the time of those fantastic catalogs. As a clothes- and words-obsessed teen, I was completely fascinated with BR during the '80s. (I was also deeply smitten with the Edwardian/Early Georgian era, especially the clothing — Merchant/Ivory films, Another Country, Out of Africa, etc.)
I'm so with you in finding the expanded use of "curate" distasteful (at least I think that's what you're indicating). Also have a soft spot for the Dorothy Parker. I enjoy adage mashups; for horses, I've long been fond of "You can beat a dead [or 'gift,' I suppose] horse in the mouth, but you can't make it drink." I live with someone prone to malapropism and spoonerism, so I get to hear rearranged sayings on a regular basis.
I have never looked at the etymology of "horse," but it's unrelated to the two old words from Romance languages: "equis" and "caballus." The version I read years ago is that many words for animals in Romance languages were derived from non-Latin words. Caballus: caballo (ES), cheval (FR), cavallo (IT), and cavalo (PO). These non-equine derivations have their non-felicitous counter parts: gato (ES, PO), chat (FR), gatto (IT).
“Horse” has Germanic roots. https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=horse
No horsing around!
Another stellar column.
The Hemingway-Pound "horseshit" citation is such a perfect etymological specimen — capturing both the word's vulgar directness and the irony of a man apologizing for it while using it anyway. There's something telling about how horse compounds in English tend to be either elevated (horsepower, horse sense) or decidedly earthy. The animal straddles both registers in our vocabulary the same way it straddled classes historically: work animal and status symbol, farm creature and battlefield companion.
The Cry-Cry Horse origin story is peak "happy accident" branding — a manufacturing flaw that became a feature. The Dorothy Parker line is eternally perfect. And I'd never heard "afoot or on horseback" before — that's getting filed away. The Romance language animal-word divergence is fascinating too: English kept the Germanic "horse" while adopting the Latin "equine" for the adjective. We do this a lot (cow/bovine, sheep/ovine).
I learned “a horse apiece” as a term in a bar dice game called "Horse", when I lived in Milwaukee. Since moving to Minneapolis 50 years ago, I haven't heard it since. (Although I don't hang around in bars.) In the Upper Midwest, it's defined by the Wisconsin state line on the west. People on the Wisconsin side of the St Croix River use the expression every day, while people a mile away on the Minnesota side have never even heard the expression."— english.stackexchange.com
"Horse apiece" means, "more or less equal." It was frequently used metaphorically. Although it's itself a metaphor, I guess.
Here in Singapore, the level of "fire horse" right before Lunar New Year is absolutely atomic.
Take lots of pictures!
The BR Catalog Lore! Amazing. Also, that HORSE Sport brand must be an SEO nightmare. But I don't think it matters because its most-popular things are often sold out.
Thanks for the mention! Also, I didn't realize you worked at BR back in the time of those fantastic catalogs. As a clothes- and words-obsessed teen, I was completely fascinated with BR during the '80s. (I was also deeply smitten with the Edwardian/Early Georgian era, especially the clothing — Merchant/Ivory films, Another Country, Out of Africa, etc.)
"Out of Africa" was a big influence on BR merch and copy back then.