Gonnella's Horse
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Gonnella, the domestic jester of the Duke of Ferrara, rode on a horse all skin and bone. The jests of Gonnella are in print.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Gonnella's Horse” mean?
Gonnella, the domestic jester of the Duke of Ferrara, rode on a horse all skin and bone. The jests of Gonnella are in print.
Is “Gonnella's Horse” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.