horse opera

American  

noun

1. a television or radio program or motion picture about the Wild West, often presented serially and usually dealing with adventures of cowboys, gunmen, gold prospectors, etc.

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horse opera British  

noun

1. informal another term for Western

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

horse opera

But also, because of the actor’s reliability, a figure that still felt rooted in the history of the horse opera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2021

“I met him on one of them horse opera TV deals. I was fascinated with what he was able to do as an actor. I’d never see anything like it.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 2, 2020

Since I saw X-Men, I have seen Captain America, a film about a mad Nazi scientist hellbent on the destruction of civilisation, and Cowboys & Aliens, a horse opera smorgasbord about a 19th-century extraterrestrial invasion.

From The Guardian ● Aug. 11, 2011

But cult status is measured in devotion, not just availability, and in that category Joss Whedon’s combination of space opera and horse opera ranks near the top.

From New York Times ● Mar. 5, 2011

Thought has never been so popular with mankind as horse opera, horse play, the main idea behind sheep's eyes.

From Guide to Life and Literature of the Southwest, with a Few Observations by Dobie, J. Frank (James Frank)