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Glite Dictionary
to ride tall in the saddle

to ride tall in the saddle

8.2
Feel and act confident
  • idiom
translation icon : sentirse seguro
  • Despite criticism, he continued to ride tall in the saddle, confident in his decisions.

Examples

  • Her recent success on the project made her ride tall in the saddle during meetings.

  • After landing his dream job, he began to ride tall in the saddle at work.

  • She rides tall in the saddle with confidence!

  • After winning the championship, she rides tall in the saddle!

  • After landing his dream job, he began to ride tall in the saddle at work.

  • Despite criticism, he continued to ride tall in the saddle, confident in his decisions.

  • Her recent success on the project made her ride tall in the saddle during meetings.

Synonyms

to ride high
vsto ride tall in the saddle
  • Informal
11 5.9

To be very successful and confident for a time

feels steady self-assurance not tied to success or popularity
to hold one's head high
vsto ride tall in the saddle
  • Informal
4 4.4

Act proudly and confidently, not ashamed

acts with steady personal confidence rather than reacting to hardship

How Confident

to ride tall in the saddle
8.2
to strut
41 5.5
to hold one's head high
  • Informal
4 4.4
anxious
201 2.7
hangdog
1 8.6

Surface Forms

ride tall in the saddle infinitive
rode tall in the saddle past
riding tall in the saddle present participle
rides tall in the saddle third person singular
ridden tall in the saddle past participle

Morphology

ride + tall + in + the + saddle

The literal words ('ride', 'tall', 'saddle') allow a learner to picture an upright posture on a horse, which can suggest confidence; this gives partial cueing to the idiomatic sense. However, the meaning 'act with confidence' is a metaphorical extension tied to horseback imagery and conventional usage, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not fully predict the idiomatic sense without prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom ride tall in the saddle comes from horse riding. A rider who sits high and straight (ride tall in the saddle) looks confident and in control of the horse, so 'to ride tall in the saddle' means 'to feel confident and act in control'.