Charley

charley horse

A painful muscle spasm that most commonly occurs in the legs. The phrase is thought to have originated from baseball slang. Spending all day on my feet caused a charley horse in my leg that was so painful, I had to sit down for a while and rest.
See also: charley, horse

get a charley horse

To get a painful muscle spasm that most commonly occurs in the legs. (The term "charley horse" is thought to have originated from baseball slang.) After spending all day on my feet, I got a charley horse in my leg that was so painful, I had to sit down for a while and rest.
See also: charley, get, horse

good-time Charlie

An affable, lively, and entertaining man who is often or always seeking pleasure or a good time. I was something of a good-time Charlie back in college, always ready to party. I had a lot of friends and a great time, but I didn't get very good grades as a result.
See also: Charlie

have a charley horse

To have a painful muscle spasm that most commonly occurs in the legs. (The term "charley horse" is thought to have originated from baseball slang.) I didn't sleep well last night at all. I had a charley horse that was so bad, it woke me up.
See also: charley, have, horse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*charley horse

a painful, persistent cramp in the arm or leg, usually from strain. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) Don't hike too far or you'll get a charley horse.
See also: charley, horse
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

charley horse

Cramp or stiffness in a muscle, most often in the thigh, as in After working in the garden I frequently get a bad charley horse. First used in the 1880s among baseball players, the term was soon extended to more general use. Its true origin is disputed. Among the more likely theories proposed is that it alludes to the name of either a horse or an afflicted ball player who limped like one of the elderly draft horses formerly employed to drag the infield.
See also: charley, horse

good-time Charlie

Affable, convivial fellow, as in Joe was a typical good-time Charlie, always ready for a party. [Colloquial; 1920s]
See also: Charlie
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

Charley

n. the Viet Cong in Vietnam. (Military. From Victor Charley, which is from VC.) How come Charley never gets bit to death by those snakes?

good-time Charley

n. a man who is always trying to have a good experience; an optimist. Willy is such a good-time Charley. Who would believe the trouble he’s had?
See also: Charley
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions

charley horse

An intensely painful sustained muscle spasm or cramp in the leg, most often the calf. Originally used from the late 1800s on in baseball, where it resulted from excessive strain, the term was later applied not only to sports injuries but other kinds of cramp. The origin of the name is not known, but probably it was first used by or for a player who limped like an old horse, Charley being the name of either the player or the horse. It has become a cliché.
See also: charley, horse

good-time Charlie

A very sociable, gregarious fellow. The term dates from the first half of the twentieth century and the original Charlie, if ever there was one, has been forgotten. The Atlantic used it ironically in November 1969: “A royal-style good-time Charlie . . . akin to Edward VII.”
See also: Charlie
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

good-time Charlie

An easygoing and sociable guy. Popular in the 1920s, the phrase described a man who was always ready to have fun, although it sometimes meant someone who was your pal only during good times and who would desert you in your hour of need.
See also: Charlie
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • charley horse
  • get a charley horse
  • have a charley horse
  • iron poof
  • blimp
  • blimp out
  • gun
  • guns
  • (totally) tubular
  • brassic lint
References in classic literature
"Big Alec has a Chinese line out in the bight off Turner's Shipyard," Charley Le Grant said that afternoon to Carmintel.
Charley bit his lip with suppressed anger and turned on his heel.
"Well, then," and Charley's eyes glittered in a determined way, "we've got to capture Big Alec between us, you and I, and we've got to do it in spite of Carmintel.
Tales of the Fish Patrol
As for the matter of that, there could have been no better pioneer than "Old Charley," whom everybody knew to have the eye of a lynx; but, although he led them into all manner of out-of-the-way holes and corners, by routes that nobody had ever suspected of existing in the neighbourhood, and although the search was incessantly kept up day and night for nearly a week, still no trace of Mr.
So, in the present instance, it turned out with all the eloquence of "Old Charley"; for, although he laboured earnestly in behalf of the suspected, yet it so happened, somehow or other, that every syllable he uttered of which the direct but unwitting tendency was not to exalt the speaker in the good opinion of his audience, had the effect to deepen the suspicion already attached to the individual whose cause he pleaded, and to arouse against him the fury of the mob.
They had only remembered certain threats of disinheritance uttered a year or two previously by the uncle (who had no living relative except the nephew), and they had, therefore, always looked upon this disinheritance as a matter that was settled -- so single-minded a race of beings were the Rattleburghers; but the remark of "Old Charley" brought them at once to a consideration of this point, and thus gave them to see the possibility of the threats having been nothing more than a threat.
Poems
She laugh and says: 'Sitka Charley, that is none of your business.
Then she laugh and says, 'You think we get to Dawson before freeze-up, Charley?' Sometimes she sit in canoe and is thinking far away, her eyes like that, all empty.
Love of Life And Other Stories
She drummed with her hand and waited, while Binu Charley gazed wearily at her with unblinking eyes.
Adventure
'That,' rejoined the Dodger, with a wave of his pipe, 'That was all out of consideration for Fagin, 'cause the traps know that we work together, and he might have got into trouble if we hadn't made our lucky; that was the move, wasn't it, Charley?'
'It's naughty, ain't it, Oliver?' inquired Charley Bates.
Oliver Twist Or The Parish Boys Progress
"As often as I can," said Charley, opening her eyes and smiling, "because of earning sixpences and shillings!"
'To keep 'em safe, sir, don't you see?" said Charley. "Mrs.
Bleak House
'Get out of bed, Charley, and get washed and dressed, and then I'll tell you.'
'You see, Charley dear, I have made up my mind that this is the right time for your going away from us.
Our Mutual Friend