Get off your high horse
Posted by Gary Martin on March 15, 2010 at 09:57
In Reply to: Get off your high horse posted by J. Modisett on March 15, 2010 at 09:47:
: What is the origin of "get off your high horse"?
Perhaps you watched David Dimbleby's 'Seven Ages of Britain' on the BBC yesterday evening? I noticed that he referred to General Gordon 'sitting on his high horse' and thought that might be a good phrase to research.
On first glance it appears that John Wyclif used 'hye ors' in a text in 1380. It began being used to refer to an affected air of superiority in the 18th century.