Phrase guide

charley horse

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American: /t͡ʃɑɹli hoɹs/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /t͡ʃali hɔːs/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of cramp, a painful involuntary muscle contraction, particularly a strong cramp in the torso, arms, or legs.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: cramp

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A punch in the thigh.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

a muscular cramp (especially in the thigh or calf) following vigorous exercise

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: charley-horse

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spasm, cramp, muscle spasm

History

Etymology

Uncertain, although first attested in American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly related to cramps suffered by the pitcher Charles Gardner Radbourn, who was nicknamed "Old Hoss", or possibly from period use of Charlie as a generic name for horses similar to Rover for dogs and Felix for cats.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Cantonese: 抽筋 (cau1 gan1) — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Chinese Mandarin: 抽筋 (chōujīn) — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Esperanto: krurkramfo — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Esperanto: gambkramfo — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Finnish: jalkakramppi — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Finnish: suonenveto — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • French: jambe de bois — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • French: béquille — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Icelandic: harðsperrur — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Icelandic: þreytukrampi — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Japanese: こむら返り (komuragaeri) — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Norwegian Bokmål: lårhøne — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg
  • Swedish: lårkaka — a muscle cramp, usually in the thigh or leg