Where did the phrase "charlie horse" come from ?

The term dates back to American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps. Another story mentions a horse named Charley that used to work at Comiskey Park, the Chicago White Sox's ballpark. In those days, an old, retired horse was often called "Charlie".

Charley horse

Meaning

Leg cramp or stiffness.

Origin

'Charley horse' (sometimes misspelled 'Charlie horse') is an American phrase and originated in the sport of baseball. The term is very much American and not in use in many other English-speaking countries. I've certainly never heard it use in the United Kingdom - here we are less imaginative and when we get cramp we call it just cramp. All the early citations of the phrase relate to baseball in some way or another. The earliest I can find is from The Fort Wayne Gazette, July 1887:

"Whatever ails a player this year they call it 'Charley horse'. 'Tom and Jerry horse' would fit many cases."

There are reports, which seem reliable but which I haven't yet been able to confirm, that the phrase appears in 'Sporting Life' in 1886. The text of the item above would seem to indicate the phrase was coined around that time.

Why should leg cramp be called 'Charley horse'? Well, no one seems to know. There are several speculated derivations but they amount to little more than guesses:

- A lame horse named Charley pulled the roller on the Chicago White Sox ballpark in the 1890s. That's the most commonly repeated version but appears to be false as we can put the phrase before the horse, so to speak.

- Policemen in 17th century England were supposed to be called Charleys and the term migrated to America. The amount of walking the police were required to do gave them aching legs. This seems fanciful. I can't confirm the use of the term Charleys for police in England or America and there seems nothing to explain the link with baseball.

- The pitcher Charley Radbourne was nicknamed Old Hoss. He got cramp during a baseball game in the 1880s. This at least is plausible and has no obvious fault to rule it out, but that's not enough to prove it is the origin.

The term may date back to American baseball slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps. Another story mentions a horse named Charley that used to work at Comiskey Park, the Chicago White Sox's ballpark. In those days, an old, retired horse was often called "Charlie".

Charley Horse Origin

For the best answers, search on this site https://shorturl.im/K1Fn3

The phrase is from Alice which was a television show back in the the late 70's/early 80's. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job working at a roadside diner on the outskirts of Phoenix, Arizona. Most of the episodes revolve around the goings on at Mel's Diner. Flo's catch phrase, "Kiss my grits!" was enormously popular at the time her character appeared on Alice. I loved this show as a child! If any catch phrase needs to make a comeback its Dyno-mite!!! LOL

This Site Might Help You.

RE:

Where did the phrase "charlie horse" come from ?

A rancher was feeding his horse (named Charley), and the horse kicked him, fairly softly, in the lower thigh. The rancher was surprised that that one spot hurt so much when hit, so he named it after the horse that helped him discover it.

Nobody knows. But here are two theories:

Check out the following: