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Synonyms

one-horse town

Idioms  

  1. A small and unimportant place, as in Ours was just a one-horse town until the nuclear plant was built. This expression, first recorded in 1857, presumably alluded to a town so small that a single horse would suffice for its transportation needs.

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.

He was born in Charkhari, a state in British India, in what he describes as a "one-horse town".

From BBC • Aug. 15, 2025

As a child in a "one-horse town in South Carolina," Smalls was drawn to Shakespeare and prose, spending time in his mother’s rose garden, despite the skepticism of those around him.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2025

She left her one-horse town in Ireland and moved to New York City.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 22, 2021

If you’ve been to Santa Monica, you know it’s not some one-horse town.

From Slate • May 13, 2021

The problem with living in a one-horse town like Chokecherry is you can’t get away with anything.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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.