Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Drawn by or using only one horse.
- adjective Very small or insignificant.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Drawn by a single horse: as, a one-horse plow.
- Using or possessing only a single horse.
- Hence Petty; on a small scale; of limited capacity or resources; inferior: as, a one-horse concern; a one-horse college.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Drawn by one horse; having but a single horse.
- adjective Slang, U.S. Second-rate; inferior; small.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective small and remote and insignificant
Etymologies
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Examples
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Henry Phillips possesses a sharp wit that is both endearing and crude, a somewhat cynical wit he has honed by performing for too many years in front of too many bored drunks in too many one-horse towns.
Joseph Smigelski: Film Review: Punching the Clown Joseph Smigelski 2010
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“So tell me Bart,” she cajoled, “What's a guy like you doing in a one-horse town like Taos?”
Bacon and Eggs, 1977 Robert Vaughan 2011
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This town needs this measly one-horse institution if only to have some place where people can come without crawling to Potter.
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Henry Phillips possesses a sharp wit that is both endearing and crude, a somewhat cynical wit he has honed by performing for too many years in front of too many bored drunks in too many one-horse towns.
Joseph Smigelski: Film Review: Punching the Clown Joseph Smigelski 2010
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Somewhat like the wonderful, one-horse shay, I guess … None of us are here forever.
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However, when I visited my older brothers in the cities, it was exciting to hear the vegetable and fruit man calling out his wares as his one-horse drawn cart rambled through the streets.
Tianguis: itinerant traders in a traveling Mexican market 2009
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Because the Knicks have been a one-horse team for much of this season, Stoudemire has put up unreasonable amounts of minutes on knees that have both been surgically repaired.
'Melo Mania, but Will He Fit? Kevin Clark 2011
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However, when I visited my older brothers in the cities, it was exciting to hear the vegetable and fruit man calling out his wares as his one-horse drawn cart rambled through the streets.
Tianguis: itinerant traders in a traveling Mexican market 2009
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"It's a one-horse town and it's time to diversify, perhaps," Shirley Tapley, the town administrator, said as she gazed out of her office window at the idle mill.
Mill Towns Now Look to Saving Trees Jennifer Levitz 2011
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This town needs this measly one-horse institution if only to have some place where people can come without crawling to Potter.
Lance Mannion: 2009
vendingmachine commented on the word one-horse
Hence Petty
February 17, 2018