Meanings
adverbstraight from the horse's mouth (not comparable)
Origin
This idiom comes from British horse-racing circles, likely because the presumed ideal source for racing tips would be the horse rather than spectators or riders.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish suoraan hevosen suusta, suoraan hevosen suusta
- suoraan hevosen suustafirsthand
- suoraan hevosen suustafrom the source
French de première main, de première main
- de première mainfirsthand
- de première mainfrom the source
German aus erster Hand, aus erster Hand
- aus erster Handfirsthand
- aus erster Handfrom the source
Icelandic frá fyrstu hendi, milliliðalaust
- frá fyrstu hendifirsthand
- milliliðalaustfirsthand
- frá fyrstu hendifrom the source
- milliliðalaustfrom the source
Italian di prima mano, alla fonte
- di prima manofirsthand
- alla fontefirsthand
- alla fontefrom the source
Polish z pierwszej ręki
- z pierwszej rękifirsthand
Portuguese em primeira mão, direto da fonte
- em primeira mãofirsthand
- direto da fontefirsthand
Cite this entry
APA
straight from the horse's mouth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20horse's%20mouth
MLA
“straight from the horse's mouth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20horse's%20mouth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “straight from the horse's mouth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/straight%20from%20the%20horse's%20mouth.
Source: straight from the horse's mouth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.