Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word dandy-horse. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word dandy-horse, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say dandy-horse in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word dandy-horse you have here. The definition of the word dandy-horse will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdandy-horse, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
In 1817 and in 1818, France and Germany both claimed they had come up with the first mechanism for a bike. It was a piece of wood with a wheel at one end and a wheel at the other, and you walked it along. In England, they called it a dandy horse.
2015, Chris Boardman, The Biography of the Modern Bike: The Ultimate History of Bike Design, Hachette, →ISBN, page 10:
Because these riders preferred smooth pavements to rough roads, they tended to travel on pavements and on park footpaths, where inevitable collisions with pedestrians resulted in such practices being outlawed. The dandy horse went out of fashion nearly as quickly as it came in.