Out to gander pasture

Posted by ESC on September 09, 2011 at 14:49

In Reply to: Out to gander pasture posted by Bill on September 08, 2011 at 08:13:

: : I know that 'out-to-pasture' is generally understood as the practice of putung a 'worn out' stud horse to pasture to live his last days. In my neck-of-the-woods during my youth the phrase "put out to gander pasture" was commonly used. I think it means the same as 'horse' pasture. Who has also heard the phrase and can you confirm meaning. It is not findable in online engines.

I don't know if this is related. "Gander" or "gandering" can mean staying close to home because your wife is pregnant. The man stays home like the gander sits on the nest to give mother goose a rest. "Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English" by Michael B. Montgomery and Joseph S. Hall (University of Tennessee Press, 2004), Page 247. Gander can also have the opposite meaning -- for a man to be away from home. If he is with other guys, it's a "gander party."