shanks' mare

Believed to be Scottish in origin and derives from shanks' nag (shanks-naig 1774), referring to the use of shank to refer to the part of the human leg between the knee and ankle. One theory cites "shank's mare" derived from a horse-drawn lawn mower, manufactured by Shanks & Company Ltd. (founded 1853) which required that the human operator walk behind the device to guide the horse; however, references to the phrase in Scottish literature pre-date the existence of the Shanks lawn mower.

• "A public exhibition of the velocipede [a predecessor of the bicycle] ... will never come into general use in competition with Shank's mare."
• "“Well! Well! Here's Aunt Cannie. Waiting for your car?” “No suh, Mr. Henry. Shank's mare is plenty good fer me. I been ridin' dis ol' mare for more'n a hund'ed years.”"
• "Once they take to Shanks' mare, they are all equal."
• "The last thing we'd want to be seen doing...is using shanks mare, even though the day is holding up well."

• shanks' nag
• shanks-nag
• shanks' pony