ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pale rider

idiom
Meaning

Death, the Grim Reaper or angel of death; and one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Origin

disputed origin

A reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the rider of a pale horse is Death.

Examples
SIMPLE

The old stories describe death as a pale rider.

CONTEXTUAL

In the ancient prophecy, the arrival of the pale rider signals the end of the world.

COMPLEX

The villagers watched the horizon with dread, fearing that the pale rider had finally come to claim the souls of the fallen.

Anchors to
Related idioms4entries
  1. 01

    black rider

    Famine, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

  2. 02

    pale in comparison

    To appear small or unimportant in relation to something else.

  3. 03

    red rider

    War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

  4. 04

    white rider

    Conquest or Pestilence, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

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