straight from the horse's mouth
Directly from the source; firsthand.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I heard the news straight from the horse's mouth.”
“He gets the wedding details straight from the horse's mouth.”
“She told me she was quitting, so I heard it straight from the horse's mouth.”
“I did not believe the store was closing until the owner told me straight from the horse's mouth.”
“Instead of listening to office gossip about the bonus, wait to hear the facts straight from the horse's mouth during the meeting.”
“To avoid any rumors, the director addressed the staff directly, ensuring they received the policy changes straight from the horse's mouth.”
From British horse-racing circles, the idiom emerges from the logic of the betting ring, where the quality of a tip is measured by its proximity to the source. A spectator might speculate and a rider might exaggerate, but the most reliable intelligence would theoretically issue from the horse itself. By the early 20th century, the phrase was established as the standard expression for information obtained directly from the highest authority.
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all mouth and no trousers
Alternative form of all mouth and trousers.
- 02
all mouth and trousers
Superficial, engaging in empty, boastful talk, but not of real substance.
- 03
all one's taste is in one's mouth
One lacks good taste in aesthetic or cultural matters.
- 04
bad taste in one's mouth
A feeling that something is morally despicable as to cause nausea.
- 05
big mouth
The mouth of someone who talks too much, especially by making exaggerated claims or by inappropriately revealing information.
- 06
born with a silver spoon in one's mouth
Born rich, or into a wealthy family.
- 07
butter wouldn't melt in someone's mouth
The identified person appears to be benign, mild-mannered, or calm (but with an integral suggestion that, to the contrary, they really are untrustworthy, disagreeable, or mean-spirited).
- 08
damn straight
Without doubt, certainly, for sure.
Last updated August 10, 2026