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The length of a horse between us

Posted by RP on January 07, 2011 at 10:36

Thank you for these past (many) months of enjoyment of "A Phrase a Week".

There is a phrase which I've heard my mother use which you might enjoy. (Her people were Scots, though several generations may have resided in England.) The phrase is "There is the length of a horse between us.", which I take to mean "We agree to disagree"; each party assuming he is at the nose end of the horse.

I have found no references to it other than my family but I'm sure they didn't create it. Google always finds something, but not this phrase. It is probably not known to your readers, so of little interest for you to research, but I present it to you as an expression that should be better known. Should you disagree, there is a horse standing ready to interpose itself!

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