Phrase guide

horseshoe up one's ass

noun · 1 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

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1

noun

Meaning 1

Exceptionally favorable personal luck.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, vulgar

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

To have something up one's ass (= stowed there) is (in cynical jocular formulation) to have it on hand and available despite the unlikelihood of being so equipped. (You're going to patch that tire right now, out here? What, do you have a patch kit up your ass?) A horseshoe is a traditional good luck charm in folklore. Thus, to have a horseshoe up one's ass is to have an unlikely amount of luck and to carry it around continuously in a way that seems unexpected.