horse trading

American  

noun

1. the act or fact of conducting a shrewd exchange or engaging in a horse trade; bargaining.

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horse trading British  

noun

1. hard bargaining to obtain equal concessions by both sides in a dispute

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horse trading Idioms  

1. Negotiation marked by hard bargaining and shrewd exchange. For example, The restaurant owner is famous for his horse trading; he's just exchanged a month of free dinners for a month of free television commercials. This expression alludes to the notorious shrewdness of horse traders, who literally bought and sold horses. [c. 1820]

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Etymology

Origin of horse trading

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

That means extensive glad-handing and horse trading before the famously blunt Milei can get started on a daunting legislative agenda.

From Barron's • Oct. 28, 2025

Archaeological analysis of a near unique animal cemetery discovered in London nearly 30 years ago has revealed the international scale of horse trading by the elites of late medieval and Tudor England.

From Science Daily • Mar. 22, 2024

There may be weeks of horse trading — or a new election later this year.

From New York Times • Jul. 24, 2023

"Parties set out, this is what we want, and then it's a question of finding acceptable compromises on these things. Presenting it all as horse trading, I think it's very negative phrasing."

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2021

In that territory slave trading and slave owning were just as much a matter of course as horse trading and horse owning were a matter of course in the North.

From The American Empire by Nearing, Scott