straight from the horse's mouth
From the authority
Straight from the horse's mouth means directly from the most authoritative or reliable source—the person who actually knows.
The phrase comes from horse racing, where a tip about a horse's condition would be most trustworthy if it came from the horse itself: I heard it straight from the horse's mouth—she's resigning next week.
- firsthandWithout intermediary
- figure of speechNonliteral expressive phrase
- credibleWorthy of acceptance
- directUndeviating or to guide
- tell it like it isSpeak with complete candor
inside scoop · primary · unfiltered · original · saying · colloquialism · dependable · statement · authoritative · verified · tip · reliable · insider · horse racing · idiom · trustworthy · authentic · adage
- Animal Idiomsblind as a bat, brave as a lion, busy bee, copycat, dark horse
- farm idiomsmake hay while the sun shines, cream of the crop, put the cart before the horse, till the cows come home, buy the farm
- Horse Idiomsdark horse, high horse, horse sense, beating a dead horse, put the cart before the horse
straight from the horse's mouthsecondhand
Having had prior ownership
through the grapevine · hearsay · second-hand · indirect · reported
straight from the horse's mouthalleged
Claimed but unproven
unconfirmed · supposedly · unverified · apocryphal · gossip
straight, straighter, straightest, straighten, straightened, straightening, straightens, straightness, horses