- English Idiom – High horse
- Meaning – An attitude of moral superiority. Behaving in a superior way. If you tell someone to ‘get off their high horse‘ you are telling them to stop acting in a superior manner.
- This phrase originated in medieval England. At this time a person’s rank was reflected by the size of the horse that they rode. A noble or important person would ride a large and expensive horse, usually a horse much taller and bigger than horses ridden by common people. Therefore someone on a high horse was ‘superior‘ to other people.
More idioms featuring horses:
- Dark horse – Someone who wins something unexpectedly
- Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth – Don’t question the value of a gift that you receive
- Eat like a horse – Eat a lot
- Flog a dead horse – Waste energy on a lost cause
- Hold your horses – Wait
- Horsing around – To fool around (in a rough manner)
- So hungry you could eat a horse – Extremely hungry
- You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink – You can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do
Usage:
When could you use this idiom?
- A colleague is acting as if they are the boss.
- Someone is lecturing you about a mistake you’ve made.
- A person is trying to prove that they are better than you.
- Somebody is letting a little power get to their head!
Example:
- “You’re telling me I spend too much money on plonk? You are just as bad! Get off your high horse!”
In The News:
Raheem Sterling Critics Need To Get Off Their High Horse
Discuss:
- Is there an idiom like this in your country?
What is an idiom?
An idiom is a word or phrase that is not taken literally. An idiom is an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its individual words, but has a separate meaning of its own.