shanks' mare

English

Etymology

The expression -- believed to be Scottish in origin -- derives from shanks' nag (shanks-naig 1774), referring to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. One theory cites "shank's mare" derived from a horse-drawn lawn mower, manufactured by Shanks & Company Ltd. (founded 1853) which required that the human operator walk behind the device to guide the horse; however, references to the phrase in Scottish literature pre-date the existence of the Shanks lawn mower.

Alternative forms

• shanks's mare, shank's mare, shanks mare

Noun

shanks' mare (plural shanks' mares)

1. (US, idiomatic) One's own legs used for walking; to "travel by shanks' mare" or "ride on shanks' mare" is to walk to your destination.
   • 1942. Transit Journal, McGraw Hill, page 173[1]:

     Once they take to Shanks' mare, they are all equal

   • 1869. Iowa newspaper, The Dubuque Daily Herald, May 1869:

     A public exhibition of the velocipede [a predecessor of the bicycle] ... will never come into general use in competition with Shank's mare.

   • 2003. John O'Flaherty, Rafferty, p. 77[2]:

     The last thing we'd want to be seen doing...is using shanks mare, even though the day is holding up well.

Related terms

• shanks' nag, shanks-nag, and variants (Scottish)
• shanks' pony and variants (UK, Australian)

Translations

walking

• Icelandic: (to ride on shanks' mare) fara á tveimur jafnfljótum (is), ganga (is)

• Russian: (on shanks' mare) на своих двоих (ru) (na svoíx dvoíx)  /lit: on one's own two/, на Пешкарусе (ru) (na Peškáruse)  /lit: on Peshkarus(contamination of пешком(on foot) and Икарус (Hungarian bus brand, common in Russia))/

References

• Shanks' mare, by Michael Quinion, World Wide Words, 2002-08-31
• Shanks' mare, Gary Martin, 2007.