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Glite Dictionary
💢 Harsh or cruel 🐎 With spiked shoes
roughshod

roughshod

9.1
Wearing horseshoes with metal nails or studs to stop slipping
  • adjective
  • /ˈrʌfˌʃɒd/
  • Archaic
translation icon : con clavos
  • The blacksmith ensured the mare was roughshod before riding on icy roads.

Examples

  • The horse was fitted with roughshod shoes for better traction.

  • Using roughshod shoes can prevent slipping on icy surfaces.

  • Farmers in the region often have their horses roughshod for the winter months.

  • The old painting depicted a knight on a roughshod steed.

  • The blacksmith ensured the mare was roughshod before riding on icy roads.

  • Farmers in the region often have their horses roughshod for the winter months.

  • Using roughshod shoes can prevent slipping on icy surfaces.

Synonyms

shoed
vsroughshod
1 5.6

A person, animal, or thing that wears coverings on the feet, for example horses with metal pieces on their hooves

has horseshoes fitted with projecting nails or points to prevent slipping

Idioms

to ride roughshod
1 8.8

Treat people badly and ignore their feelings or rights

Surface Forms

roughshod positive

Morphology

roughshod = rough + shod (transparent) = rough + shod

The sense is a straightforward compound: 'shod' (fitted with shoes) modified by 'rough' (rough shoes), making the literal meaning directly derivable.

Etymology

Roughshod originally described horses whose feet were shod with rough shoes or projecting nails to stop them slipping on ice or rough ground. So a roughshod horse is one fitted with strong, rough shoes for extra grip.