charley horse

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See also: charleyhorse

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

The term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, and is possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn, who is said to have suffered from cramps.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

charley horse (plural charley horses)

  1. (idiomatic, US) A muscle cramp, usually a strong one, in the thigh, leg, arm, or core.
    Hypernym: cramp
    • 1914, Ralph Henry Barbour, Left End Edwards:
      Of course there had been plenty of bruises—one mild case of charley-horse, several dislocated or sprained fingers, a wrenched ankle or two and any number of cuts and scrapes, []
  2. (informal) A punch in the thigh.
    • 2006, Joe L. Kincheloe, The Praeger Handbook of Urban Education, volume 1, page 324:
      I knew to just keep my mouth shut about it — unless I wanted the word "dummy" to be followed by a charley horse.

Translations

References

  1. ^ Michael Quinion (1996–2025) “Charley horse”, in World Wide Words.

Further reading