I remember someone disparaging a politician who had been photographed on a horse in cowboy attire, as ‘prancing around’ in a ‘cowboy suit’ on ..
And I’ve forgotten the way the horse was disparaged.
I can understand why ‘prancing’ is disparaging, and I guess ‘cowboy suit’ is a phrase used about children or movie stars dressed up as cowboys.
prance — Noun: 1. A prancing movement., — Verb: 1. (of a horse) To spring forward on the hind legs., 2. (colloquial, figurative) To strut about in a showy manner.
lol (read, smirk)
smirk — Noun: 1. an uneven, often crooked smile that is insolent, self-satisfied or scornful, 2. a forced or affected smile; a simper, — Verb: 1. To smile in a way that is affected, smug, insolent or contemptuous., — Adjective: 1. (obsolete) smart; spruce; affected; simpering
lol
Before I google for the sentence, how can a horse (actually the politician through the horse) be disparaged?
A ‘thoroughbred’? Wait, I think it was ‘pony’!
Why is ‘pony’ disparaging?
pony — Noun: 1. A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers..
dressage — Noun: 1. (uncountable) The schooling of a horse., 2. (uncountable) An equestrian sport in which the horse and rider perform a test of specific movements in an arena, and are judged on the horse’s obedience, acceptance of the bridle and of the rider’s aids, gaits, impulsion, and the harmony between horse and ride..
I can’t find on google or duckduckgo the original quote.
Sorry, I’m conflating 2 different episodes. The politician was photographed on a horse, but the disparagement was of something that occurred on a different occasion at a political rally, where he was said to be ‘prancing around on a stage in a cowboy suit.’
Thanks to tinsoldier and the people on the ##English channel on the freenode IRC network who contributed to this essay with their comments.
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