shank's mare

****************************************************************
Attention word gurus:  try WORD SWEEP!, the first board game to feature 
Merriam-Webster definitions! Available at Borders Bookstores.
http://www.wordsweep.com
****************************************************************

The Word of the Day for January 16 is: 

shank's mare   \SHANKS-MAIR\   noun
          : one's own legs 

Example sentence:
          We were determined to see the ruins, and when we found out the 
shuttle bus wasn't running that day, we traveled by shank's mare.

Did you know?
          "A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!" Many travelers in 
centuries past would have agreed with King Richard's famous lines from 
Shakespeare's _Richard III_ -- when you needed to travel any distance in the 
days before automobiles, you definitely wanted a horse. When one wasn't 
available, you had to rely on your built-in transportation equipment, your feet 
and legs. The word "shank" has been used to mean "the lower leg" since before 
the 12th century, and "shank's mare" first appeared in writing in the late 
1700s. Another vivid expression connecting people and horses was "horse with 
ten toes," but that one is now relegated to history.





You Are Subscribed As: gclw-mw-wod7@xxxxxxxxx

To unsubscribe, please click here:
http://www.drhinternet.net/mw/u/966408/568f14b4ab4f050b/N442L6

To change your e-mail address or to subscribe to the html
version of Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day, featuring audio
pronunciations, please visit:
http://mw.drhinternet.net/sm/wod/changeofaddress.iphtml

(c) 2007 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

Merriam-Webster, Inc.
47 Federal Street
P.O. Box 281
Springfield, MA 01102