horse-collar

A farmer adjusts the horse-collar on his draft horse.

Definition

Noun:
- A piece of harness: a padded leather or synthetic loop that fits around a horse's neck, used to attach the animal to a cart, plow, or other vehicle for pulling.
- A type of tackle in American football: a defensive maneuver where a player grabs the back of an opponent's shoulder pads or jersey from behind, pulling them down. This is often penalized as a dangerous play.
Verb (rare, informal):
- To tackle by the horse-collar: to perform a horse-collar tackle in football.

Usage Examples

Noun:
- The farmer adjusted the horse-collar before hitching the horse to the plow. (A piece of harness placed around the horse's neck.)
- The referee threw a flag for a horse-collar tackle, which is illegal in most leagues. (A specific type of tackle in American football.)
Verb:
- The defender was penalized for horse-collaring the quarterback. (Performing the horse-collar tackle.)

Advanced Usage

"to frin through a horse-collar": This is a misspelling or variant of "to grin through a horse-collar," which is an idiom meaning to make a foolish or forced smile, as if one's head were stuck in a horse-collar. It implies a strained or comical expression.
- He stood there grinning through a horse-collar at the party. (He smiled awkwardly, as if embarrassed or forced to be cheerful.)

Variants and Related Words

Horse-collar tackle (n): the specific defensive move in American football.
Horse-collaring (n/adj): the action or technique of performing a horse-collar tackle.

Synonyms

Phrasal Verbs

Horse-collar someone: (informal, football) to tackle an opponent by grabbing the back of their shoulder pads.
- The safety horse-collared the runner, drawing a penalty.

Related Idioms

Grin through a horse-collar: to smile in a forced or awkward way, often in an embarrassing situation.
- When the joke fell flat, he grinned through a horse-collar. (He smiled stiffly to hide his discomfort.)