straight from the horse's mouth

English

Etymology

This idiom comes from British horse-racing circles, likely because the presumed ideal source for racing tips would be the horse rather than spectators or riders.[1]

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Adverb

straight from the horse's mouth (not comparable)

(idiomatic) Directly from the source; firsthand.
If you don't believe me, go talk to him and hear it straight from the horse's mouth. It's true.

Usage notes

Modifies verbs like "hear" and "get"

Translations

firsthand

Finnish: suoraan hevosen suusta
French: de première main (fr)
German: aus erster Hand (literally: from the first hand)
Icelandic: (from the first hand) frá fyrstu hendi, (without an intermediary) milliliðalaust
Italian: di prima mano, alla fonte
Portuguese: em primeira mão, direto da fonte
Russian: из пе́рвых рук (ru) (iz pérvyx ruk, literally “from the first hands”)

Adjective

straight from the horse's mouth (not comparable)

(idiomatic) firsthand; direct; from the source.
This is straight from the horse's mouth.

Translations

from the source

Finnish: suoraan hevosen suusta (adverb)
French: de première main (fr)
German: aus erster Hand (literally: from the first hand)
Icelandic: (from the first hand) frá fyrstu hendi, (without an intermediary) milliliðalaust
Italian: alla fonte

References

The Oxford dictionary of idioms‎, 2nd ed edition, Judith Siefring, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, →ISBN, →OCLC

Gary Martin (1997–) “Straight from the horse's mouth”, in The Phrase Finder, retrieved 26 February 2017.

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[1] The Oxford dictionary of idioms‎, 2nd ed edition, Judith Siefring, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004, →ISBN, →OCLC