eat like a horse
eat like a horse
Meaning
- to eat a lot
- to have a very healthy appetite
- to eat voraciously, greedily, quickly, hungrily, maybe even savagely
- to devour food like an animal
- to enjoy your food a little too much
- to take more than one’s fair share
- to eat far more than the average person
- to over indulge
Example Sentences
- He eats like a horse – there’s never enough left for everyone else once he’s been at the buffet.
- I’ve been eating like a horse since I’ve been pregnant. I know they say you’re eating for two now, but this is ridiculous!
- I eat like a horse after a good walk along the beach – the sea air really stimulates my appetite!
- If you would stop eating like a horse in front of the guests, I wouldn’t have to be so embarrassed to admit I’m related to you.
- I’ve been eating like a horse over Christmas. I’ll have to go on a diet after the New Year.
Origin
Origin is unclear. It is often stated in the sources that the meaning seems to be paradoxical, as horses do not eat voraciously or greedily. They eat hay and they eat it slowly. But this is a common feature of idioms – they are often paradoxical, the meaning sometimes being the exact opposite the literal interpretation of the words.
Share your opinions2 Opinions
Horses do, in fact, eat voraciously and greedily – the person who wrote this doesn’t know horses. A thousand pound horse eats about 20 pounds of food per day – some of it in the form of hay or grass, and some in the form of grain. If the person who wrote this had ever seen a horse eat grain, he would eat his words.
‒ Horse Owner August 29, 2019
Whoever wrote the “Origin” above knows nothing about horses, let alone their eating habits. Do not be misled. Horses eat like crazy. That’s where this phrase comes from, idiom, no idiom, or idiot. Not sure which.
‒ Horse Caretaker May 9, 2019