horse sense

noun

1. common sense.

horse sense

noun

1. another term for common sense

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse sense¹

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Idioms and Phrases

Sound practical sense, as in She's got too much horse sense to believe his story . The exact allusion in this term, which dates from the mid-1800s, is disputed, since some regard horses as rather stupid. However, they tended to be viewed more positively in the American West, where the term originated.

Example Sentences

Cole gets schooled in horse sense; his training features an in-your-face close-up of a wheelbarrow full of manure.

From New York Times

One might say they figured it just made good horse sense.

From Los Angeles Times

More likely, it was something in American Pharoah’s horse sense that told him the man in the suit was a weak specimen.

From Washington Post

People have many ways of talking about intuition: gut, nose, sixth sense, horse sense, Spidey-sense.

From Washington Post

It doesn’t take more than horse sense to understand that galloping a score of 1,400-pound beasts around a dirt oval turned into a mud soup at 40 miles per hour is dangerous.

From Washington Post