Charley horse


Stiffness or cramp in the arm or leg.

He was just on the verge of scoring his first hundred and then got a charley horse and couldn’t hold the bat.

USA, late 19th century.

Little-known outside the USA.

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.