from the horse's mouth
7
4.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
de primera mano
- At least they hear from the horse's mouth and can actually ask a question.
- straight from the horse's mouth
- hear it from the horse's mouth
- get it from the horse's mouth
Examples
-
I've read it, but... ...quite frankly I'd rather hear it from the horse's mouth!
-
Attendees at the ABA Annual Meeting being held in San Francisco next month will be able to hear about the future of cloning straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Academic text (1998) -
But I want to hear it from the horse's mouth.
-
And she gets it straight from the horse's mouth.
-
This is from the horse's mouth.
-
Right from the horse's mouth.
-
This is direct from the horse's mouth, as Americans say.
-
But let's not jump the gun until we hear from the horse's mouth.
Blog text (34) -
They want it straight from the horse's mouth.
Fiction book (1990) -
I want to hear the news directly from the horse's mouth.
Synonyms
3
6.0
Directly from the person who knows the facts
1
3.5
Directly from the person, place, or event involved
Antonyms
How Reliable
- Informal
7
4.7
- Specialized
38
7.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'from' and 'mouth' individually signal a source, the image 'horse's mouth' does not compositionally indicate an authoritative information source; the connection is idiomatic and culture-specific rather than predictable from the parts. A typical B1 learner who knows the constituent words would be unlikely to infer 'obtained from the original/authoritative source' without prior exposure, so this expression is not transparent.
Etymology
From the horse's mouth may come from horse racing, where trainers, jockeys, and stable workers had the real facts about a horse and could tell you directly. So, hearing something from the horse's mouth means the news is 'reliable' because it comes straight from the 'original source'.