Shanks's pony
(North American also Shanks's mare)
noun
Used to refer to one’s own legs and the action of walking as a means of conveyance: you can use the chairlifts, cable cars, or the ever trusty Shanks’s pony! ‘How do I get back?’ ‘Shanks’s pony,’ he replied...
- Visitors to the Yorkshire Dales can plan their journey - by public transport and Shanks's pony - on the National Park Authority's website.
- Then, at the end of a meeting, after I had already had some verification of it, I would ask how many of all the people there had come to that night's meeting using public transport, Shanks's pony, or a pushbike.
- Surely one might expect the health minister himself to practice what he preaches to those of us who are not blessed with a personal chauffeur: extensive use of Shanks's pony.
Origin
Late 18th century: first recorded as shanks-nag in R. Fergusson's Poems (1785).