Hold your horses
Meaning
To tell someone to slow down, be patient, or wait a moment before acting or speaking.
Origin
The phrase "hold your horses" emerged in 19th-century America, a time when horses were the primary mode of transportation and power for farming and industry. To literally "hold your horses" meant to rein in your team, preventing them from bolting, stopping them from moving too quickly, or simply pausing before setting off. This common command for physically restraining an animal became a popular, vivid metaphor for controlling one's own impulses, eagerness, or impatience, transitioning from the stable and dusty roads into everyday speech as a punchy injunction to slow down and wait.
Examples
- Hold your horses, we need to check the map again before we rush off in the wrong direction.
- Before you get too excited about the new proposal, hold your horses; there are still many details we need to clarify.