[Ads-l] Horse creature

[Margaret Lee]

There's also puppy dog.

--Margaret Lee


>________________________________
> From: David Daniel <david at COARSECOURSES.COM>
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
>Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2014 10:42 AM
>Subject: Re: Horse creature
>  
>
>There might be an interim step at wildebeest?
>
>Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
>Subject:      Re: Horse creature
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>---
>
>If you like tuna fish, horse beast is clearly the next step.
>
>LH
>
>On Nov 6, 2014, at 8:49 AM, Michael Quinion wrote:
>
>> An intriguing question has arrived at World Wide Words from a genealogist 
>> who has found examples of the term "horse creature" in old American court 
>> records and newspapers. She asked why the redundancy?
>> 
>> I've found numerous examples of the term, often in sale announcements, and
>
>> also of "horse beast", which was used in the US and also in the UK (the 
>> first example in the OED is dated 1573). DARE has "horse beast" and also 
>> "horse critter" but not "horse creature". There are 16th-century British 
>> references to "rother beast", where a rother was an ox or bullock, but no 
>> other farm animal seems to have one of these words added to its name.
>> 
>> Can anyone suggest to my reader why a farmer or auctioneer might refer 
>> specifically to a "horse creature" or "horse beast"? I'm at a total loss!
>> 
>> --
>> Michael Quinion
>> World Wide Words
>> Web: http://www.worldwidewords.org/
>> 
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
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>
>
>    

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