wheel horse

or wheel-horse

noun

1. Also called wheeler. a horse, or one of the horses, harnessed behind others and nearest the front wheels of a vehicle.
2. Chiefly South Atlantic States. the left-hand horse of a pair hitched to a wagon or plow.
3. Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a reliable, diligent, and strong worker.

wheel horse

noun

1. another word for wheeler
2. a person who works steadily or hard

Word History and Origins

Origin of wheel horse¹

First recorded in 1700–10

Example Sentences

Garrett one day, "every church has to have a wheel-horse, and I might as well be the wheel-horse as any body."

From Project Gutenberg

Probably nothing in the world could have more amazed his than to find Roscoe—the steady old wheel-horse—in this condition.

From Project Gutenberg

He was instantly met and borne to the snow by Bones, the second “wheel-horse.”

From Project Gutenberg

Mind and body need to be driven tandem, the body for the wheel horse and the intellect the leader.

From Project Gutenberg

The four-wheel horse cabs seem very slow to us now, but they carried more luggage than the taxi-cabs can.

From Project Gutenberg