Horsefeathers
intj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 plural of horsefeather (singular not used) form-of, plural
- 2 Nonsense; indicates disbelief. US, euphemistic, plural, plural-only
"Dismissing the rumors as "horsefeathers", he advised everybody to disregard them."
- 3 Long hair on lower legs of a draft horse (e.g., Clydesdale), especially the rear legs. plural, plural-only
- 4 Feathering strips. plural, plural-only
"The exterior of the court is entirely of sheathing and wood shingles applied over "horsefeathers.""
- 1 Indicates disbelief. US, euphemistic
"Horsefeathers! You knew it was a bad idea and now you're just making excuses about it."
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"Horsefeathers! You knew it was a bad idea and now you're just making excuses about it."
Etymology
The "nonsense" sense, a euphemism for horseshit, is horse + feathers, a nonexistent item as only birds have feathers. Compare hen’s teeth. The "horse hair" sense notes the similarity of that hair to bird feathers. Regarding the roofing sense, compare feathering strip and horsefeathers.
Related phrases
More for "horsefeathers"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.