Eat Like A Horse

Meaning of Idiom ‘Eat Like a Horse’

To eat like a horse means to eat a large amount of food or to have a very large appetite. 1,2

Compare to:

I Could Eat a Horse.
Eat Like a Bird.


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Examples Of Use

“If Ben is coming to visit you better buy extra food. He eats like a horse.”

“I had the oddest first date ever. The woman completely ignored me and ate like a horse.”

Meaning of idiom eat like a horse

Origin

Used since the early 1700s.

The idiom alludes to the idea that horses eat a lot. They seem to eat constantly and will eat whatever is available. The idiom used as an antonym, eat like a bird, is technically inaccurate. Relative to their body weight, horses do not eat as much as a bird does! 3

More Idioms Starting with E

More Appetite Related Idioms

More Animal Idioms

More Eat/Eating Idioms

More Food Related Idioms

More Horse Idioms

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References
  1. Brenner, Gail Abel. Webster’s New World American Idioms Handbook. Wiley, 2003.
  2. Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995.
  3. Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.