shanks' mare
nounEtymology Believed to be Scottish in origin and derives from shanks' nag (shanks-naig 1774), referring to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. One theory cites "shank's mare" derived from a horse-drawn lawn mower, manufactured by Shanks & Company Ltd. (founded 1853) which required that the human operator walk behind the device to guide the horse; however, references to the phrase in Scottish literature pre-date the existence of the Shanks lawn mower.
- A public exhibition of the velocipede [a predecessor of the bicycle] ... will never come into general use in competition with Shank's mare.1869. The Dubuque Daily Herald, Dubuque, Iowa, May 1869
- “Well! Well! Here's Aunt Cannie. Waiting for your car?” “No suh, Mr. Henry. Shank's mare is plenty good fer me. I been ridin' dis ol' mare for more'n a hund'ed years.”1923, Harris Dickson, “The Proof”, in The Red Book Magazine, volume 41, number 6:
2 more examples
- Once they take to Shanks' mare, they are all equal.1942. Transit Journal, McGraw Hill, page 173http://books.google.com/books?id=7GcTAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Shanks'+mare%22&dq=%22Shanks'+mare%22&lr=&ei=4plgR9OWE5KetAOy0sGDBw&pgis=1
- The last thing we'd want to be seen doing...is using shanks mare, even though the day is holding up well.2003. John O'Flaherty, Rafferty, p. 77http://books.google.com/books?id=ZD0F4lbP9EIC&pg=PA77&dq=%22shanks%27+mare%22&lr=&ei=aJpgR-zhHo2msgOt3cHzBg&sig=J03Vw4E0LOtgDggPIwMke5IlAyY
- Related terms
- shanks' nag, shanks-nag, shanks' pony