Straight from the horses mouth

Posted by Victoria S Dennis on May 04, 2005

In Reply to: Straight from the horses mouth posted by David FG on May 04, 2005

: : What does the phrase mean "i got it straight from the horses mouth that there are only 15 days left in this school year?"

:
: It means you have privileged, 'inside' information. It derives, I think, from racing, in which one might get the likely winner 'from the horse's mouth'.

:Or from the fact that a horse's age can be deduced by looking at its teeth (which is why it's bad manners to "look a gift horse in the mouth"). If somebody tells you the horse's age, well, maybe it's true and maybe it's not. But the answer you get from the horse's mouth is reliable.

: DFG

See: the meaning and origin of the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".