ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ridden hard and put away wet

idiom
Meaning

Mistreated; not properly cared for.


Origin

disputed origin

From the inadvisable practice of riding a horse and then stabling it while it is still coated in sweat, rather than brushing and grooming it properly afterwards.

Examples
SIMPLE

That old car looks like it was ridden hard and put away wet.

CONTEXTUAL

He bought a used laptop that had clearly been ridden hard and put away wet, so it crashed constantly.

COMPLEX

The abandoned estate appeared as if it had been ridden hard and put away wet, with its once-grand architecture now crumbling from years of total neglect.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    all wet

    Utterly incorrect; erroneous; uninformed.

  2. 02

    away game

    An athletic contest played away from the team's home field.

  3. 03

    away with the fairies

    Not all there; slightly crazy.

  4. 04

    bang away

    to strike or hit repeatedly

  5. 05

    bear away the bell

    To be superior in something.

  6. 06

    beaver away

    To work hard at a task.

  7. 07

    blaze away

    To fire (firearms) repeatedly.

  8. 08

    blow away

    To kill (someone) by shooting them with a firearm.

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