charley horse
Synonym of cramp, a painful involuntary muscle contraction, particularly a strong…Synonym of cramp, a painful involuntary muscle contraction, particularly a strong cramp in the torso, arms, or legs.
Meaning
2 senses(US, idiomatic)Synonym of cramp, a painful involuntary muscle contraction, particularly a strong cramp in the torso, arms, or legs.
(informal)A punch in the thigh.
- a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
Uncertain, although first attested in American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly relatUncertain, although first attested in American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly related to cramps suffered by the pitcher Charles Gardner Radbourn, who was nicknamed "Old Hoss", or possibly from period use of Charlie as a generic name for horses similar to Rover for dogs and Felix for cats.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.