shanks' mare
- noun
- Archaic
- Since the buses were on strike, we had to rely on shanks' mare to get to work.
Examples
-
They missed the last train and finished their journey by shanks' mare.
-
Whenever his bicycle breaks down, Tom uses shanks' mare to go to school.
-
I took shanks' mare to the store.
-
Don't forget to use shanks' mare instead of driving!
-
Since the buses were on strike, we had to rely on shanks' mare to get to work.
-
They missed the last train and finished their journey by shanks' mare.
-
Whenever his bicycle breaks down, Tom uses shanks' mare to go to school.
Synonyms
To walk somewhere instead of using a car or bus
A joking way to say you will walk somewhere instead of taking a car
Walking because no other transport is available
Antonyms
How Energetic
Surface Forms
Morphology
shanks' + mare
The phrase is a humorous metaphor: literally 'shanks' (lower parts of the legs) + 'mare' (a horse) implies ‘your legs are your horse’, i.e. you travel by walking. The mapping is inferable if a learner knows the less common word 'shank' and recognizes the possessive metaphor, but the archaic/colloquial form and less frequent vocabulary make it not fully predictable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Shanks' mare probably comes from an old joke: your shank, the lower part of your leg, is your mare, a horse, so your legs are your horse. That's why the phrase now means 'walking' or going 'on foot' instead of using a car or bus.