man on horseback
Americannoun
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a military leader who presents himself as the savior of the country during a period of crisis and either assumes or threatens to assume dictatorial powers.
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any dictator.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The show, now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, culminates with a monumental sculpture of a fallen man on horseback, draped over the horse as if he had just been shot, his Nikes dangling below the saddle.
From New York Times
There is also a second sense in which I have rethought my views on civil-military relations in the face of a civilian “Man on Horseback” scenario.
From Salon
After a career of galloping to hounds, and a historic reputation as America's premier man on horseback, he was never able to hold his seat in the saddle with the same confidence.
From Literature
He invokes what is thought to be the very first moving image, captured by the 19th-century inventor and adventurer Eadweard Muybridge, of a man on horseback.
From New York Times
Advocates have also come across images of yellow and black coasters showing a man on horseback with his reins in the air, chasing a family of three.
From Seattle Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
