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Delmobile Posted 17 years ago
Vocabulary
Check my feet for horseshoes
Okay, I'm a native speaker, darn it, and I can't figure this out. I'm reading the new Vanity Fair piece about Sarah Palin, and a former staffer is quoted as saying, "Now we all get to listen to Levi and Bristol. Check my feet for
horseshoes if I have to sit there and listen to another talk show." Obviously, he doesn't want to listen to another talk show, but what exactly does that expression mean? That he'll run away as quickly as a horse might? I've never heard this in my life - and I live in the American South, where we have countless folksy sayings about dogs, mules, pigs, and other animal friends.
horseshoes if I have to sit there and listen to another talk show." Obviously, he doesn't want to listen to another talk show, but what exactly does that expression mean? That he'll run away as quickly as a horse might? I've never heard this in my life - and I live in the American South, where we have countless folksy sayings about dogs, mules, pigs, and other animal friends.
Top answer
I've never heard the expresssion. It might, indeed, indicate a pending desire to gallop off and not listen.
- I've never heard the expresssion.
- It might, indeed, indicate a pending desire to gallop off and not listen.
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9 Answers
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I've never heard the expresssion. It might, indeed, indicate a pending desire to gallop off and not listen.
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I've never heard it either and can't find any help on the Internet. It seems strange that the reporter who was interviewing the staffer didn't ask what the expression means (given the sorry state of reporting these days, I seriously doubt he knew on his own what it means). Or at least find out later and include the meaning in his article.
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I can see it, as others do, as "I'm going to bolt if I have to ...".
But I can also see it as "I'll end up with the intelligence of a horse if I have to ...".
CJ
But I can also see it as "I'll end up with the intelligence of a horse if I have to ...".
CJ
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This is fun!
Maybe it means that if he's still sitting there, then his feet must be weighted down with horseshoes (somebody's been using his legs for targets).
None of the on-line sources express any interest in the origin of the expression, either-- but there is this sentence nearby in one of them: 'In fact, Purdum writes, the campaign searched for a calming figure who could
Maybe it means that if he's still sitting there, then his feet must be weighted down with horseshoes (somebody's been using his legs for targets).
None of the on-line sources express any interest in the origin of the expression, either-- but there is this sentence nearby in one of them: 'In fact, Purdum writes, the campaign searched for a calming figure who could
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Thanks, everybody. Ray H., perhaps the author intended the mysterious metaphor to go unexplained, one more reminder of how Alaska is a "foreign country." I would think a real home-grown expression up there would have something to do with sled dogs, though.
I haven't seen the Horse Whisperer either, Mr. M. - maybe the connection is that many Alaska citizens have qualities similar to tho
I haven't seen the Horse Whisperer either, Mr. M. - maybe the connection is that many Alaska citizens have qualities similar to tho
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Mister MicawberThis is fun!A horse whisperer simply has the ability to gain enough confidence of the horse th
'In fact, Purdum writes, the campaign searched for a calming figure who could function as Palin’s “horse whisperer,” and they settled on Mark McKinnon."
I haven't seen that movie. Could there be any connection?
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Mister MicawberMaybe it means that if he's still sitting there, then his feet must be weighted down with horseshoes (somebody's been using his legs for targets).A friend of mine gave this interpretation. The post is fixed in position in a game of horseshoes. (I didn't buy it.)
Mister Micawber'In fact, Purdum writes, the campaign sear
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It just now occurs to me that the reporter could have misunderstood or simply misquoted the staffer, it certainly wouldn't be the first time a reporter screwed up. And it wouldn't be any great surprise.
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