to shoe the wild colt
Preserved but no longer current.
To exact a fine called "footing" from a newcomer, who is called the "colt." Colt is a common synonym for a green- horn, or a youth not broken in. Thus Shake- speare says — aAy, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse" (Mer- chant of Venice, i, 2.).
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 shoe the wild colt” mean?
To exact a fine called "footing" from a newcomer, who is called the "colt." Colt is a common synonym for a green- horn, or a youth not broken in. Thus Shake- speare says — aAy, that's a colt indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse" (Mer- chant of Venice, i, 2.).
Is “to shoe the wild colt” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.