horseshoe up one's ass
Exceptionally favorable personal luck.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“He always wins the lottery; he has a horseshoe up his ass.”
“She missed the last train but found a twenty-dollar bill on the platform, proving she has a horseshoe up her ass.”
“He walked away from that terrible car accident without a single scratch, making everyone at the hospital think he has a horseshoe up his ass.”
“Despite his complete lack of preparation, he passed the difficult exam with ease, leading his peers to joke that he must have a horseshoe up his ass.”
The expression is a cynical, jocular formulation involving the traditional folkloric status of a horseshoe as a charm for good luck. To have something stowed in such a manner suggests you have the item on hand and available despite the profound unlikelihood of being so equipped.
The idiom implies you possess an unlikely amount of luck and carry it around continuously in a way that seems unexpected. It functions as a rhetorical query for the improbable: if you were to patch a tire in the middle of nowhere, the observer might ask if you happen to have a patch kit in the aforementioned location.
- 01
abound in one's own sense
To follow one’s own inclinations and opinions.
- 02
ace up one's sleeve
A surprise advantage of which others are not aware.
- 03
act one's age
To behave in a manner appropriate to one's age.
- 04
act one's age, not one's shoe size
Synonym of act one's age (“to behave in a mature manner; to avoid being childish”).
- 05
afraid of one's own shadow
Exceptionally timid.
- 06
air one's dirty laundry in public
To reveal one's sordid secrets to the public.
- 07
air one's dirty linen in public
Synonym of air one's dirty laundry in public.
- 08
albatross around one's neck
A characteristic, possession, associate, or previous deed that hinders one's ability to succeed.
Last updated August 10, 2026