Etymology Journal · H
Horseplay
Meaning
- Rough or boisterous play, usually involving physical movement. It is the kind of activity that usually ends with someone getting told to stop because something might break.
Warning, parental
Used in a sentence
- Stop the horseplay in the living room before you break the lamp.
- The teacher told the students there would be no horseplay in the hallway.
- We had some fun as kids, but dad never tolerated any horseplay near the pool.
The backstory
The term likely comes from the way horses act when they play in a field, which is often rowdy and uncoordinated. By the 16th century, it was used to describe human behavior that was similarly reckless.
Heard in
Nationwide
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