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Astor's pet horse

Posted by ESC on September 08, 2003

In Reply to: Astor's pet horse posted by ESC on September 08, 2003

: : : : I have used and heard the phrase "dressed up like(Lady/Mrs.)Astor's pet horse" but cannot find the origin. Who out there can help me? Thanks.

: : : I suggest that you look up/google "Lady Nancy Astor" - sparring partner of Sir Winston Churchill.

: : "like Nancy Astor's plush horse" turns out to be a quote from some American book called "Killing..." (McGee?) which seems to be about Boxcar Willie or somesuch character. Anyway, it appears Astor was a follower of equine pursuits as well as being a ground-braking feminist "I married beneath me, all women do"

: Boxcar Willie? He is a country singer from the U.S.

ASTOR'S PET HORSE - Also pet cow, pet pony, plush horse. A variation of Mrs. Astor's pet horse. 1. An overly dressed-up or made-up person. 1950. 2. A self-important person. 1967-69. From the "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume 1 by Frederic G. Cassidy (1985, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England).

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