straight from the horse's mouth
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Direct from the highest authority, which can not be questioned. The only certain way of discover- ing the age of a horse is by examining its lower jaw.
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 “straight from the horse's mouth” mean?
Direct from the highest authority, which can not be questioned. The only certain way of discover- ing the age of a horse is by examining its lower jaw.
Is “straight from the horse's mouth” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.