horsefeathers

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horsefeathers

Where it comes from

From horse + feathers.

The "nonsense" sense, a euphemism for horseshit, is a reference to a nonexistent item as only birds have feathers. Compare hen’s teeth.

The "horse hair" sense notes the similarity of that hair to bird feathers.

Regarding the roofing sense, compare with feathering strip.

interjection horsefeathers!

US, euphemistic Indicates disbelief. Horsefeathers! You knew it was a bad idea and now you're just making excuses about it.
Similar: fiddlesticks, get out of town, pull the other one

noun

plural plural of horsefeather (“one of the long hairs on lower legs of a draft horse; a type of cocktail”)

noun

US, euphemistic, plural, plural only Nonsense; indicates disbelief. Dismissing the rumors as "horsefeathers", he advised everybody to disregard them.
plural, plural only Long hair on lower legs of a draft horse (e.g., Clydesdale), especially the rear legs.
plural, plural only Feathering strips. The exterior of the court is entirely of sheathing and wood shingles applied over "horsefeathers."

Opposite: spats

Thesaurus

noun

Opposite: spats

Translations

Every language

noun hair

Português	crina

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Cite this

MLA

"horsefeathers." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/horsefeathers. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

horsefeathers. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/horsefeathers

Chicago

"horsefeathers." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/horsefeathers.

BibTeX

@misc{horsefeathers_2026,
  title = {horsefeathers},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/horsefeathers},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}