Idiom
charley horse
Meaning
A muscle cramp, usually a strong one, in the thigh, leg, arm, or core.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“I got a charley horse in my leg last night.”
“Swimming in cold water often gives me a charley horse.”
“She woke up with a painful charley horse and had to walk it off.”
“If you do not drink enough water before your workout, you might develop a painful charley horse in your calf.”
“The soccer player had to pause the game because a charley horse made his thigh muscle feel like a hard knot.”
“The runner collapsed mid-race, clutching his thigh where a sudden charley horse had seized the muscle.”
Examples
simple
“I got a charley horse in my leg last night.”
“Swimming in cold water often gives me a charley horse.”
contextual
“She woke up with a painful charley horse and had to walk it off.”
“If you do not drink enough water before your workout, you might develop a painful charley horse in your calf.”
“The soccer player had to pause the game because a charley horse made his thigh muscle feel like a hard knot.”
complex
“The runner collapsed mid-race, clutching his thigh where a sudden charley horse had seized the muscle.”
Origin
The term is perhaps rooted in 1880s American slang, potentially originating with the baseball pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn. Radbourn was noted for his tendency to suffer from muscle cramps during play, and it is suggested that his nickname and frequent physical discomfort provided the basis for the expression. Whether the association was a tribute to the man's endurance or a comment on his sudden immobility remains a matter of some uncertainty.
Key words
Related idioms
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