Dictionary

hold one's horses en · VERB

Pronunciation

• hōld' wŭnz' hôrs′ĭz
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

A play on different senses of the word stable in the sense of a place where horses are held, and also in the sense of being steady and unerratic.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) To be patient; to wait.
   • "I'm going to tell you, ain't I?" he said, gruffly. "Just hold your horses a minute, please." 1921, Booth Tarkington, chapter 24, in Alice Adams:
   • "I would ask everybody to hold their horses until we go through the process," ElBaradei said. 2007 September 17, “Force is last resort in Iranian crisis”, in forbes.com/Thomson Financial News, retrieved 05 Oct 2008:
2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hold, one's, horses.

Forms

Relateds

back that train up

Synonyms

hold one's breath · abide · stand by · hold one's water · defer · bide one's time · stay · hang on · twiddle one's thumbs · bide · mark time · back that train up · hold one's water · expect · wait · hold out · hold on · hold one's horses

Translations (21)

cs krotit se (idiomatic: to be patient) · da spise brød til (idiomatic: to be patient) · fi pysyä housuissaan (idiomatic: to be patient) · nb ta det med ro (idiomatic: to be patient) · cmn 耐心等待 (idiomatic: to be patient) · is bíða (idiomatic: to be patient) · is róa sig (idiomatic: to be patient) · ru придержи́ коне́й (idiomatic: to be patient) · nb avvente (idiomatic: to be patient) · pl czekać (idiomatic: to be patient) · pl (czekaj) chwilę (idiomatic: to be patient) · pt aguentar os cavalos (idiomatic: to be patient) · fr du calme (idiomatic: to be patient) · is stilla sig (idiomatic: to be patient) · uk не жени коней (idiomatic: to be patient) · es apaciguar sus aguas (idiomatic: to be patient) · cs držet se na uzdě (idiomatic: to be patient) · fr minute, papillon (idiomatic: to be patient) · da klappe hesten (idiomatic: to be patient) · es parar el carro (idiomatic: to be patient) · ru попридержи́ коне́й (idiomatic: to be patient)