pony
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈpəʊni/
ipa: /ˈpoʊni/
rhymes: -əʊni
Forms: form: ponies
Etymology: 1659 from Scots powny, apparently from Middle French poulenet (“little foal”), ultimately from Late Latin pullanus (“young of an animal”), from pullus (cognate to English foal). Sense “small serving of alcohol” from 19th century, both for small sizes generally and for a quarter pint specifically, from the small size.
Senses: glosses: A small horse; specifically, any of several small breeds of horse under 14.2 hands at the withers.
glosses: A horse of any size.
glosses: a contraption built like a mount, strong enough to support one's weight
examples: text: 1879, “Some Queer Interviews: Interview with a Pony of Beer”, Puck, Vol. 5–6, p. 435
text: ‘I’m on the inside track,’ said a pony of beer as it went galloping down a man’s throat.
ref: 1885, New York Journal, August
text: Demon popped into his mouth a last morsel of black bread with elastic samlet, gulped down a last pony of vodka and took his place at the table with Marina facing him across its oblong length.
ref: 1969, Vladimir Nabokov, Ada or Ardor, Penguin, published 2011, page 193:
text: I did not even know what a ‘pony’, a small chaser of beer, was. But of course I could not admit that. So putting on an air of nonchalance, and a deep voice, I strolled into a pub with one of the other equally naive guys and we ordered two ponies of beer.
‘McEwans?’ asked the barman.
‘Naw - ponies’ said I.
ref: 2010, Dick Lynas, Pies Were for Thursdays: Tales from an Ordinary Glasgow East End Childhood, page 283:
glosses: A small serving of an alcoholic beverage, especially beer.
qualifier: Victoria
glosses: A serving of 140 millilitres of beer (formerly 5 fl oz); a quarter pint.
examples: text: “You said a pony,” interposed Clavering; “my dear fellow, you said a pony, and I’ll be eternally obliged to you; and I’ll not take it as a gift—only as a loan, and pay you back in six months. I take my oath, I will.”
“Well—well—there’s the money, Sir Francis Clavering. […] Here’s five-and-twenty for you.
ref: 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 61, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
glosses: Twenty-five pounds (money).
examples: text: She kept the dates written down in her Latin 'pony', so she didn't have to bother about who it was.
ref: 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, published 1985, page 104:
glosses: A translation used as a study aid; loosely, a crib, a cheat-sheet.
examples: text: His hair is a semilong dull red and pulled back in a sloppy pony at the base of his neck, and his face is riddled with small freckles and grease, but out here I can see personal hygiene isn't exactly at the top of the priority list.
ref: 2012, Amlynn Smith, Lost and Found, page 18:
glosses: A ponytail hairstyle.
examples: text: How many ponies are under the hood?
topics: automotive
transport
vehicles
glosses: One horsepower.
examples: text: Do the monkey, do the pony / Do the slop, do the boogaloo twist.
ref: 1971, “Suicide Song”, in Loudon Wainwright III (lyrics), Album II, performed by Loudon Wainwright III:
qualifier: preceded by definite article
glosses: A dance from the 1960s in which the dancer mimics the high-stepping prance of a pony.
examples: text: He suggested a Rose Ballet in which he would use the G. V. Follies chorus girls, chiefly the ponies and mediums.
ref: 1941, Thoda Cocroft, Great Names and how They are Made, page 140:
glosses: A chorus girl of small stature.
topics: video-games
glosses: Ellipsis of Sony pony.
Synonyms: english: small horse
translation: small horse
word: horseling
english: mount
translation: mount
word: buck
Derived terms: anypony
Asturian pony
baloney pony
brony
Chincoteague pony
cowpony
cow pony
Dales pony
dog and pony show
dog-and-pony show
everypony
Fell pony
Fell pony syndrome
flog a dead pony
Jerusalem pony
Johnny on a pony
Johnny on the pony
My Little Pony
New Forest pony
nopony
one-trick pony
one trick pony
pit pony
play the ponies
polo pony
ponify
pony and trap
ponyback
pony bead
pony bottle
pony boy
ponyboy
pony car
pony chaise
pony engine
Pony Express
ponyfoot
pony fucker
Ponygate
ponygirl
pony glass
pony in the barn
pony keg
pony keg station
ponykind
ponyless
ponylike
pony motor
ponyplay
pony putter
pony shoe
ponyskin
ponysona
ponytail
pony tail
pony-tailed
pony-trekker
pony-trekking
pony truck
pony truss
pony wall
ride the cotton pony
ride the pony
room for a pony
shanks' pony
Shetland pony
somepony
spanking pony
sportpony
Welsh mountain pony
Welsh pony
zony