dark horse noun

1. (in racing) a horse whose capabilities are not known
2. A person whose abilities or motives are not known
3. A candidate not brought forward until the last moment (esp US)

darkˈ-house noun (Shakespeare)

A mad-house

dark lantern noun

A lantern whose light can be covered

darkling beetle noun

Any dark-coloured beetle of the Tenebrionidae

darkˈmans noun (criminal sl)

Night

dark matter noun

Undetectable but influential matter, possibly in the form of neutrinos, making up a large proportion of the mass of the universe

dark meat noun

The darker meat from the legs, etc of poultry (cf white meat)

darkˈnet noun (computing)

A private network of computer users within which file sharing (qv under file¹) takes place

dark reaction noun

The second phase of photosynthesis, which needs no light

darkˈroom noun

A room for developing and printing photographs free from such light as would affect photographic plates

dark star noun

A star that emits no visible light, and can be detected only by its radiowaves, gravitational effect, etc

dark web noun

Deep web (qv under deep )

darken someone's door

(often with neg, often implying unwelcomeness) to appear as a visitor

in the dark

Ignorant, unaware

keep dark

To be silent or secret

keep it dark

To conceal something

prince of darkness

Satan

horse /hörs/

noun (pl horses, or sometimes horse)

1. A solid-hoofed ungulate (Equus caballus) with flowing tail and mane, widely domesticated for riding and as a draught animal
2. Any member of the genus Equus (horse, ass, zebra, etc) or the family Equidae
3. A male adult of the species
4. Cavalry (collectively)
5. A wooden frame on which soldiers used to be mounted as a punishment (also timber-mare)
6. A gymnastic apparatus for vaulting over, etc
7. A horselike apparatus or support of various kinds (such as saw-horse, clothes-horse)
8. A crib or translation, a pony (US sl)
9. A mass of barren country interrupting a lode (mining)
10. Heroin (slang)

transitive verb

1. To mount or set on, or as if on, a horse
2. To provide with a horse
3. To sit astride
4. To carry on the back
5. (of a stallion) to copulate with (a mare)
6. To urge to work tyrannically

intransitive verb

1. To get on horseback
2. To travel on horseback
3. To charge for work before it is done (with it)

horseˈless adjective

1. Without a horse
2. Mechanically driven, motorized

horsˈey or horsˈy adjective

1. Of or relating to horses
2. Horselike, esp in appearance (derogatory of people)
3. Devoted to horses, horse-racing or -breeding
4. (esp of a woman) affectedly refined in speech or manner, in a way stereotypically associated with the upper classes, traditionally fond of equestrian pursuits

horsˈiness noun

horsˈing noun (archaic)

Birching of a person mounted on another's back

horseˈ-and-buggˈy adjective (N American)

Hopelessly out of date

horse artillery noun

Field artillery with comparatively light guns and the gunners mounted

horseˈback noun

The back of a horse

horse bean noun

1. A variety of broad bean
2. Applied also to other beans

horse block noun

A mounting block

horse boat noun

A boat for carrying horses, or towed by a horse

horse bot noun

A botfly

horse box noun

1. A road trailer or railway car designed to carry horses
2. A stall or compartment on a ship
3. A high-sided church pew (facetious)

horseˈ-boy noun

A stable boy

horse brass noun

A usu brass ornament of a kind hung on the harness of a horse

horseˈ-bread noun

A coarse bread for feeding horses

horseˈ-breaker or horse-tamer noun

1. A person who breaks or tames horses, or teaches them to pull or carry
2. A courtesan who appears on horseback (obsolete)

horseˈcar noun (US)

A streetcar drawn by horses

horse chestnut noun

1. A smooth, brown, bitter seed or nut, perhaps so called from its coarseness, contrasted with the edible chestnut
2. The tree that produces it (Aesculus hippocastanum)

horseˈ-cloth noun

A cloth for covering a horse

horseˈ-collar noun

A stuffed collar for a draught horse, carrying the hames

horseˈ-coper or (Scot) horseˈ-couper /-kow- or -koo-/ or horseˈ-dealer noun

A person who deals in horses

horseˈ-courser noun (obsolete)

A jobbing dealer in horses

horseˈ-dealing noun

Horse-trading

horseˈ-doctor noun

A veterinary surgeon

horseˈ-drench noun

A dose of medicine for a horse

horseˈ-faced adjective

Having a long horselike face

horse fair noun

A fair or market for sale of horses

horseˈfeathers plural noun and interjection (US)

Nonsense

horseˈflesh noun

1. The flesh of a horse, esp when eaten as meat, or traded on the hoof
2. Horses collectively

adjective

Of a reddish-bronze colour

horseflesh ore noun

Bornite or erubescite (from its colour)

horseˈfly noun

The forest-fly or other large fly that stings or bites horses

horseˈ-foot noun

1. Coltsfoot (obsolete)
2. A kingcrab

horse-godˈmother noun (dialect)

A fat clumsy woman

horseˈ-gowan noun (Scot)

The ox-eye daisy

horse guards plural noun

1. Cavalry soldiers employed as guards
2. (with cap) the cavalry brigade of the British household troops, esp the Royal Horse Guards, or Blues, a regiment raised in 1661
3. (with cap) their headquarters in Whitehall, London, once the seat of the departments of the army commander-in-chief
4. The military authorities

horseˈhair noun

1. A hair from a horse's mane or tail
2. A mass of such hairs
3. A fabric woven from horsehair

adjective

Made of or stuffed with horsehair

horsehair worm same as hairworm (see under hair).

horseˈhide noun

horse hoe noun

A hoe drawn by horses

horseˈ-knacker noun

Someone who buys and slaughters worn-out horses

horse latitudes plural noun

Two zones of the Atlantic Ocean (about 30ºN and 30ºS, esp the former) noted for long calm periods

horseˈlaugh noun

A harsh, boisterous laugh

horseˈleech noun

1. A horse-doctor (obsolete)
2. A large species of leech, supposed to fasten on horses
3. A bloodsucker (Bible, Proverbs 30.15)

horseless carriage noun (archaic)

A motor car

horseˈ-litter noun

1. A litter or bed borne between two horses
2. Bedding for horses

horse mackerel noun

1. The scad or any related fish
2. The tunny
3. Applied to various other fishes

horseˈman noun

1. A rider
2. A person skilled in managing a horse
3. A mounted soldier
4. A person who has charge of horses
5. A kind of carrier pigeon
6. A kind of land crab

horseˈmanship noun

The art of riding and of training and managing horses

horseman's word noun (Scot hist)

1. A ploughman's secret word to control horses
2. A magic word used against one's enemy, imparted by the Devil in exchange for service in hell

horse marine noun

1. A person quite out of his element
2. A member of an imaginary corps

horseˈmeat noun

1. Food for horses
2. Horseflesh used as food

horse mill noun

A mill turned by horses

horseˈ-milliner noun (archaic)

Someone who provides the trappings for horses

horseˈmint noun

1. Any wild mint
2. The American Monarda punctata, or any of several other species of Monarda
3. (sweet horsemint) the common dittany

horse mushroom noun

A large coarse mushroom

horse mussel noun

A mollusc (genus Modiolus) similar to the common mussel but much bigger

horse nail noun

A nail for fastening a horseshoe to the hoof

horse opera noun (facetious)

A Wild West film

horse pistol noun

A large pistol formerly carried in a holster by horsemen

horseˈplay noun

Rough, boisterous play

horseˈpond noun

A pond for watering horses at

horseˈpower noun

The power a horse can exert, or its conventional equivalent (taken as 745.7 watts, or metric horsepower taken as 735.5 watts)

horse race noun

A race by horses

horseˈ-racing noun

The practice of racing or running horses in matches

horseˈradish noun

1. A plant related to scurvy-grass with a pungent root, used in the preparation of a sharp-tasting condiment
2. The condiment itself (also horseradish sauce)

horseradish tree noun

1. A tree (Moringa pterygosperma) cultivated in tropical countries for its edible capsules and its seeds, ben-nuts, which yield oil of ben (the roots tasting like horseradish)
2. An Australian tree (Codonocarpus cotinifolius) with leaves of horseradish flavour

horse rake noun

A rake pulled by horses

horseˈ-rider noun

horseˈ-riding noun

horse sense noun (informal)

Plain common sense

horseˈshoe noun

1. A metal plate for horses' feet, consisting of a curved piece of iron nailed to the underside of the hoof
2. Anything of similar shape
3. A representation of it, esp as a symbol of good luck

adjective

Shaped like a horseshoe

horseshoe bat noun

A bat with a horseshoe-shaped appendage on the nose

horseshoe crab noun

A large marine arachnid (genus Limulus) with a convex horseshoe-shaped armoured body

horseˈshoeing noun

horseˈshoer /-shooˈər/ noun

A person who makes or fits horseshoes

horseˈ-sickness or African horse-sickness noun

A serious disease of horses, due to a virus

horse's neck noun

A cocktail consisting of brandy, ginger ale and a twist of lemon peel

horse soldier noun

A cavalry soldier

horseˈtail noun

1. A horse's tail
2. A Turkish standard, marking rank by number
3. Any plant of the genus Equisetum (scouring-rush) with hollow rushlike stems, constituting with related fossils a class of fern-allies, Equisetinae

horseˈ-thief noun

horseˈ-trading noun

Hard bargaining

horseˈ-trainer noun

A person who trains horses for racing, etc

horseˈway noun

A road along which a horse may pass

horseˈwhip noun

A whip for driving horses

transitive verb

1. To thrash with a horsewhip
2. To lash

horseˈ-woman noun

A woman who rides on horseback, or who rides well

horse-wrangler see under wrangle

dark horse see under dark

flog a dead horse

To try to work up excitement about a subject in which others have lost interest

from the horse's mouth see straight from the horse's mouth below.

gift horse see under gift

high horse see on one's high horse under high¹

hold your horses

1. Not so fast
2. Wait a moment

horse and hattock see under hat

horse around (informal)

To fool about, play boisterously

horse of a different colour

Another thing altogether

horses for courses

Phrase expressing the view that each racehorse will do best on a certain course which peculiarly suits it (also figurative of people)

metric horsepower see horsepower above.

put the cart before the horse see under cart

straight from the horse's mouth

From a very trustworthy source (of information)

take horse

To mount on horseback

white horse see under white

willing horse

A willing, obliging worker