to ride and tie
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Said of a couple of travellers who have only one horse between them. One rides on ahead and then ties the horse up and walks on, the other taking his turn on the horse when he has reached it.
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 “to ride and tie” mean?
Said of a couple of travellers who have only one horse between them. One rides on ahead and then ties the horse up and walks on, the other taking his turn on the horse when he has reached it.
Is “to ride and tie” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.