English · Idiom Historical

the wooden horse

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

An enchanted horse of the old romance that could be directed by a peg turned by the rider and could fly through the air. Cambuscan (<?.v.) had such a horse, but his was of brass.

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.

Topics: Horses Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “the wooden horse” mean?

An enchanted horse of the old romance that could be directed by a peg turned by the rider and could fly through the air. Cambuscan (<?.v.) had such a horse, but his was of brass.

Is “the wooden horse” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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