You woke up this morning full of energy and now you are looking for new adventures. You are more than ready, you were born ready, and whatever challenge the new day throws at you, you will rise to it. Nothing can stop you... well, maybe... just slow down for a moment and... hold your horses! Or, if you prefer, cool your jets. But what horses? And why jets?
Hold your horses - meaning and examples
"Hold your horses" is a common idiomatic expression in both written and spoken English. As our AI suggests, it is generally used to tell someone to be more patient or to slow down.
Looking at the reliable examples provided by Ludwig, we can see how this idiom is often used in newspaper articles about the launch of a new high-tech marvel. Take these sentences from TechCrunch, for example:
So I've been hearing for weeks now that Apple is waffling a bit on a date for its Mac event at the end of October. But according to my sources, a date has been set: Thursday 27 October. So if you're in the market for a new MacBook, hold on tight. And if you're a journalist, flights are getting a bit tricky, but hotels are still pretty cheap.
Two weeks ago, Steve Balmer said that Natal was coming next year. Then Microsoft came out and said, "Whoa, whoa, slow down. We don't have a release date yet, so hold your horses".
Needless to say, this idiomatic phrase is also used when journalists write about the imminent release of a new film or TV series. See this excerpt from an article about the famous television series Breaking Bad that appeared in the Independent in 2014:
Unfortunately, wanting something to happen isn't enough to make it happen, so hold your horses before jumping on the Breaking Bad series 6 bandwagon.
The idiom can be used in everyday language in a variety of situations, for example when you are finishing something but someone is rushing you:
Hold your horses, I'm almost done with my presentation.
But the yellow cab drivers are asking the mayor to hold his horses, as they are already plagued by Uber, a popular taxi app, and don't want more competition.
In short, the expression is used to ask someone to calm down and be careful.
The mysterious origin of the idiom: from "hold your horses" to "cool your jets".
You don't have to be a linguist or an expert historian to understand that the use of the phrase "hold your horses" certainly preceded the invention of the car and is somehow linked to the old days when horse-drawn carriages were the main means of transport. However, scholars disagree as to when the idiom originated.
Horses have played a major role in our lives since the first millennium BC. In Book 23 of the Iliad, King Menelaus tells Prince Antilochus to "hold his horses". However, the latter phrase probably had a literal meaning, as it is placed in the context of a chariot race organised in honour of the funeral of Patroclus.
The first written sources of the phrase "hold your horses" as an idiomatic expression date back to the 19th century and seem to have originated among the cowboys of the Far West. Specifically, in a newspaper printed in New Orleans in September 1844, we can read the following sentence written in Old English slang:
Oh, hold your hosses (old slang for “horses”), Squire. There's no use gettin' riled, no how.
With the advent of new technologies, such as jet engines, a similar new idiom emerged: "cool your jets". The meaning is exactly the same as "hold your horses". It comes from the literal practice of cooling jet engines after a flight, but soon acquired a metaphorical meaning. Its first written appearance as an idiomatic expression dates from 1973.
Ludwig's wrap-up
Need to tell someone to calm down? Well, the idiom "hold your horses" and its newer sibling "cool your jets" can really come in handy! Although technology advances every day, there have always been hotheads. Being impulsive, or worse, angry for no reason at all, is not always a good thing. So breathe, relax and take control of your life!
Good luck!
