Meanings
present singular third person sees a man about a horse · participle present seeing a man about a horse · past saw a man about a horse · participle past seen a man about a horse
- euphemisticidiomaticUsed in place of a real explanation when excusing oneself for a short period of time, particularly to use a toilet.
I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail. I've just got to visit the ladies' room to see a man about a horse.
Synonyms: a man, a man about a dog, a man about the plumbing, use the toilet, urinate, and Thesaurus:defecate
Synonyms & antonyms
verbUsed in place of a real explanation when excusing oneself for a short period of time, particularly to use a toilet.
Origin
A variant of see a man about a dog, from the implied context of seeing someone about a bet on a horse race.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French aller entretenir le duc d’Aumale
- aller entretenir le duc d’Aumaleto leave to use the toilet
Cite this entry
see a man about a horse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20a%20man%20about%20a%20horse
“see a man about a horse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20a%20man%20about%20a%20horse. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “see a man about a horse,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/see%20a%20man%20about%20a%20horse.
Source: see a man about a horse on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.