Horsefeathers

Horsefeathers

"Horsefeathers" is a term used to say that something is nonsense, often used as an exclamation after hearing something which one totally disagrees with. It is supposed to imply that an idea is as silly or as unbelievable as horses having feathers. The word is fairly new in origin; its first recorded use was in 1927 (with the Marx Brothers' film being released in 1932 of a similar name), perhaps as a polite replacement for "horseshit." "Bull butter" is a similar euphemism, alluding to the absurdity as a bull producing butter, and at the same time avoiding the profanity of "BS".

Since horses are mammals and not birds, horses do not have feathers, but there are a few mythical creatures which are horses (at least in part) which have feathers, e.g. the hippogriff and pegasus.

The word may also have originated from the now-archaic builder's term "horse feathers", meaning feathering strips in roofing.

In journalism, horsefeathers is sometimes used as a bracketed substitution for the word "bullshit" in a quotation, when it would not be appropriate to reproduce profanity.

External links

* [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hor1.htm Origin of the word "horsefeathers"]


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  • horsefeathers — nonsense, 1928, said to have been coined by U.S. cartoonist Billy De Beck; perhaps a variant of horseshit nonsense, though the latter is attested only from 1940s …   Etymology dictionary

  • horsefeathers — [hôrs′feth΄ərs] n., interj. Slang nonsense …   English World dictionary

  • horsefeathers! — {n. phr.}, {slang} 1. Not true; I don t believe what you re saying. * / Horsefeathers! Brad cried. I can t believe a word of what you said about Jessica. / 2. Exclamation of disgust. * / Horsefeathers! Fred cried. We ve just missed the bus. /… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • horsefeathers! — {n. phr.}, {slang} 1. Not true; I don t believe what you re saying. * / Horsefeathers! Brad cried. I can t believe a word of what you said about Jessica. / 2. Exclamation of disgust. * / Horsefeathers! Fred cried. We ve just missed the bus. /… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • horsefeathers — 1. interjection Indicates disbelief. Horsefeathers! You knew it was a bad idea and now youre just making excuses about it. 2. noun Nonsense; indicates disbelief. Dismissing the rumors as horsefeathers , he advised everybody to disregard them …   Wiktionary

  • horsefeathers! — n. phr. slang 1. Not true; I don t believe what you re saying. Horsefeathers! Brad cried. I can t believe a word of what you said about Jessica. 2. Exclamation of disgust. Horsefeathers! Fred cried. We ve just missed the bus. Compare:… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • Horsefeathers! — exclam. Phooey!; Nonsense! □ Oh, horsefeathers! You’re nuts! □ Horsefeathers! I did no such thing! …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • horsefeathers — noun plural Date: 1927 slang nonsense, balderdash …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • horsefeathers — /hawrs fedh euhrz/, Slang. n. 1. (used with a sing. or pl. v.) something not worth considering. interj. 2. rubbish; nonsense; bunk (used to express contemptuous rejection). [1925 30, Amer.; HORSE + FEATHERS, as euphemism for HORSESHIT] * * * …   Universalium

  • horsefeathers — interj. nonsense!, that s ridiculous! …   English contemporary dictionary

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