frighten the horses

frighten the horses

To cause dismay or distress. While we're staying with your grandparents, please don't say anything to frighten the horses.
See also: frighten, horse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

frighten the horses

cause consternation or dismay; shock.
1996 Independent No matter the inadvertent hurt or crass provocation or outright insult, bite your tongue, be pleasant, be polite, don't frighten the horses.
See also: frighten, horse
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • frighten out of (someone or something)
  • frighten the life out of
  • frighten the life out of (one)
  • frighten the life out of someone
  • frighten/scare the life out of somebody
  • scare the bejabers out of (one)
  • intimidate
  • intimidate (one) into (something)
  • intimidate into
  • frighten the hell out of (one)
References in classic literature
Suddenly the horrid war-whoop burst on their ears, mingled with the sharp report of rifles, and a legion of savages sprang from their concealments, yelling, and shaking their buffalo robes to frighten the horses. Vanderburgh's horse fell, mortally wounded by the first discharge.
A land of fair play and cautious pragmatism (don't rock the boat, no need to frighten the horses, steady as she goes) has become moody and quarrelsome.
He reckoned if he was going to frighten the horses on one renationalisation, he might as well go for a stampede and promise to nationalise the lot, with compensation for privateers set by Parliament, not the market.
Asked whether there were any policies in the manifesto that might "frighten the horses" because of their left-wing extremism, Mr Watson said: "I don't think there is anything to frighten the horses in our manifesto.
Asked whether there were any policies that might "frighten the horses" because of their left wing extremism, Mr Watson said: "I don't think there is anything to frighten the horses in our manifesto.
Mr McWilliams told the inquiry that senior bank bosses warned him about "dangerous talk" and he was told: "Don't frighten the horses."
And there's nothing in this gentle, rolling journey through her life and career that's going to frighten the horses.
Frighten the Horses. Sarasota: Bardolf & Co., 2012
"Some people have such high energy and are so intense that they frighten the horses, so the chances are they do so when they meet people.
True, what we have heard so far about the plans wouldn't frighten the horses or indeed the flies that buzz around them on a hot day.
I'd even heard whispers that the working classes had been allowed entry this year, on condition that they were kept on leashes at all times and didn't frighten the horses.
Her Majesty is said to be worried that the 250mph bullet trains will frighten the horses at Stoneleigh Park.
"It doesn't matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don't do it in the street and frighten the horses." (1) What, pray tell, does this have to do with guns?
Here, the watchword is "don't frighten the horses," and oppositions which have tried to challenge the political consensus, such as Labour in 1983 and the Tories in 2001, have tended to come unstuck.
Ascot, like the Roman Catholic church, is not very keen on bare shoulders and, as for dcolletage, well, don't frighten the horses.