my kingdom for a horse

my kingdom for a horse

I would give all that I have for the thing that I currently lack. The phrase comes from Shakespeare's Richard III, when the title character bemoans his lack of a horse in the midst of a losing battle. I'm so thirsty—ugh, my kingdom for a horse! Or, better yet, for a drink of water!
See also: horse, kingdom
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
See also:
  • have had the Richard
  • Richard
  • rose by any other name, a
  • the lady doth protest too much, methinks
  • it's all Greek to me
  • (it's) (all) Greek to me
  • be all Greek to someone
  • Greek to me
  • Greek to me, it's
  • prince
References in periodicals archive
'My kingdom for a horse' can be interpreted as meaning 'right now, I would give anything or everything I have for a horse to be available'; it might also contain the implication 'I will richly reward anyone who can provide me with a horse here and now'.
Pope, 'My Kingdom for a Horse.' N&Q, ccxxxix (1994), 472-7.
A horse for Richard III
My kingdom for a horse!' are irreconcilable because they belong to two different versions of the play.
My kingdom for a horse