horse sense

American  

noun

1. common sense.

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horse sense British  

noun

1. another term for common sense

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horse sense Idioms  

1. Sound practical sense, as in She's got too much horse sense to believe his story. The exact allusion in this term, which dates from the mid-1800s, is disputed, since some regard horses as rather stupid. However, they tended to be viewed more positively in the American West, where the term originated.

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Etymology

Origin of horse sense

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

He had that horse sense about him and how horses are traveling and what they should have left in the tank.

From Los Angeles Times

Cole gets schooled in horse sense; his training features an in-your-face close-up of a wheelbarrow full of manure.

From New York Times

One might say they figured it just made good horse sense.

From Los Angeles Times

More likely, it was something in American Pharoah’s horse sense that told him the man in the suit was a weak specimen.

From Washington Post

People have many ways of talking about intuition: gut, nose, sixth sense, horse sense, Spidey-sense.

From Washington Post