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Preserved but no longer current.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.
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.