shanks' pony
- idiom
- Archaic
- We missed the bus and had to use shanks' pony to get home.
Examples
-
She often prefers shanks' pony to taking the car when commuting to work.
-
I had to rely on my shanks' pony to get to the store.
-
I'm afraid it's shanks' pony for us today, since the train is cancelled.
-
After the car broke down, we used shanks' pony to reach home.
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Since our car broke down, it's shanks' pony for us to the party tonight.
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When the buses stopped running, we had to rely on shanks' pony to reach the festival.
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After missing the last train, we decided to take shanks' pony home instead of waiting for a taxi.
Synonyms
Walking instead of using a car or bus
A joking way to say you will walk somewhere instead of taking a car
To go somewhere on foot
Walking because no other transport is available
Antonyms
How Energetic
Surface Forms
Morphology
shanks' + pony
If a learner knows 'shank' (the lower part of the leg) and 'pony' (a small horse), they can plausibly infer the metaphor that one’s legs are acting as a horse for travel, so the meaning 'to walk' is derivable. However, the expression is idiomatic, humorous and somewhat dated, relying on a metaphorical possessive mapping that may not be fully predictable for a B1 learner without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Shanks' pony may come from a joking image of using your own shanks, the lower part of your legs, as a pony to ride, so it means 'walking' or 'going on foot'.