one-horse town
Meaning
Noun
- A very small town, especially one of a rural nature and/or offering very few or no attractions.
Related
Similar words
- backwater, bump in the road, jerkwater town, one-blink town, Podunk, boondocks, the sticks, backwoods, middle of nowhere
Origin
- The term "one-horse" originated as an agricultural phrase, meaning 'to be drawn/worked by a single horse.' This led to the use of this phrase in a metaphorical sense as something that is small or insignificant.
- Charles Dickens explained in his publication All the Year Round (1871):
- 'One horse' is an agricultural phrase, applied to anything small or insignificant, or to any inconsiderable or contemptible person: as a 'one-horse town,' a 'one-horse bank,' a 'one-horse hotel,' a 'one-horse lawyer', [etc.]
Modern English dictionary
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