a horse apiece

[Drew Danielson]

> I'll be
> interested to hear where you've heard the phrase "a horse apiece" used.
> All of our examples are from Wisconsin, but since they were heard
> anecdotally, we didn't know whether it was an accident of our location or
> whether there might be some real regionality.

I honestly don't remember where I first heard the phrase, only that it's
been recently (within the past 5 years) that I remember hearing it.  I
spent a lot of time in parts of Virginia where there are military
families from all over the US, but that may or may not be where I heard
it.

The phrase is not in common usage in my region (Western PA), but I think
it's a colorful expression so I try to use it when I can to help grow
its currency.  I haven't had to explain its meaning to anyone, so
apparently it's understood (or else its meaning is easily inferred
through its context).

I did quick searches on google.com and altavista.com for the phrase, and
the  minimal data I was able to collect there show the phrase being used
once in a Usenet message by someone from one of the Dakotas, and a
Canadian website for writers attributed it as being used in Upper
Michigan and Wisconsin.

Drew.Danielson at cmu.edu