Shanks 's Mare
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To ride Shanks 's mare is to go on foot, the shanks being the legs. A similar phrase is "Going by the marrow-bone stage" or "by Walker's bus.
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 “Shanks 's Mare” mean?
To ride Shanks 's mare is to go on foot, the shanks being the legs. A similar phrase is "Going by the marrow-bone stage" or "by Walker's bus.
Is “Shanks 's Mare” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.