Definition

1. Noun:
   • Sound practical judgment; common sense: "Horse sense" refers to the basic, practical intelligence and good judgment that comes from everyday experience rather than formal education. It implies a straightforward, no-nonsense understanding of what is sensible and effective in real-life situations.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • He may not have a college degree, but he has a lot of horse sense about running a business.
  • The old farmer's horse sense told him a storm was coming long before the weather report.
  • When the car broke down, she used her horse sense to safely pull over and call for help.

Advanced Usage

• "to have horse sense": to possess practical wisdom.
  • You don't need a fancy manual; just use your horse sense to assemble the furniture.
• "to appeal to someone's horse sense": to try to convince someone using practical, straightforward reasoning.
  • The manager appealed to the team's horse sense, explaining how the simple change would save everyone time.

Variants and Related Words

• Common sense (n): Practical judgment concerning everyday matters; basic ability to perceive, understand, and judge.
  • It's just common sense to look both ways before crossing the street.
• Gumption (n, informal): Shrewd or spirited initiative and resourcefulness.
  • It took a lot of gumption for her to start her own company.

Synonyms

• Practicality: The quality of being sensible and based on real-world considerations.
• Shrewdness: The quality of having or showing sharp powers of judgment; astute.
• Wisdom: The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.

Related Idioms

• "Good old-fashioned horse sense": Emphasizes the traditional, unpretentious nature of this practical wisdom.
  • Forget the complicated theories; sometimes you just need some good old-fashioned horse sense.
• "More [something] than horse sense": Used to suggest something is very obvious or basic.
  • It doesn't take more than horse sense to see that plan won't work.

Noun

1. sound practical judgment
   • Common sense is not so common
   • he hasn't got the sense God gave little green apples
   • fortunately she had the good sense to run away