A Man about a Horse

[Jeffrey William McKeough]

Hanna Miller wrote:
>
>Is anyone familiar with the expression "I have to see a man about a
>horse," meaning "I have to shop for a gift, but I can't tell you that
>because the gift is for you"? It was common in my family, but I haven't
>found a single non-relative who understands it. Thanks so much.

I've heard the phrase, but I always understood (and used) it to mean
that the person was going off for an appointment to talk to someone
about a matter that needed to be settled or arranged.  (Maybe like an
error on a bill, or talking to someone about renting a room for a
party.)  I've always thought it had a slight element of haggling to
it.

An IRC friend from northern England (for whom the phrase was "see a
man about a dog") says that when said by a man she understands it to
mean going to the bathroom.  But she said that my explanation works
with the addition of the task being something "slightly shady,
sometimes, that you don't want to explain".

But the consensus on my IRC channel (with speakers from the US,
England, and Australia) seems to be that we're not precisely sure what
it means.

--
Jeffrey William McKeough  jwm at spdcc.com (or spdcc.net)
"In junior high, [...] Justin was 'so outraged by the social
injustice' portrayed in the musical 'Les Miserables' that he went to
see the show four times." - Boston Globe on the CEO of voter.com