Where Did The Term Charlie Horse Come From
Camila Farah
There are lots of theories about the term s origin.
A charley horse is a popular north american colloquial term for painful spasms or cramps in the leg muscles typically lasting anywhere from a few seconds to about a day. It can also refer to a bruise on an arm or leg and a bruising of the quadriceps muscle of the anterior or lateral thigh or contusion of the femur that commonly results in a haematoma and sometimes several weeks of pain and disability. It refers to a painful involuntary cramp in a leg muscle usually that of an athlete as a result of a muscular strain or a blow. Dead legs and charley horses are two different types of injuries.
It dates from the 1880s and may have been originally baseball slang. Another story mentions a horse named charley that used to work at comiskey park the chicago white sox s baseball stadium. The term formerly referred more commonly to bruising of the quadriceps muscle of the anterior or lateral thigh or contusion of the femur that commonly results in a haematoma and sometimes several weeks of pain and disability. The term originally dates back to american slang of the 1880s possibly from the pitcher charlie old hoss radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps.
The actual facts behind the term are unknown but one common theory is that it is named for baseball player charley radbourne who suffered a muscle cramp during a baseball game. In the 1880s multiple publications referred to the term charley horse often capitalized as charley horse or spelled charlie horse as something familiar to baseball players who reportedly used it to describe certain muscle injuries or pains. Charley horses are incredibly painful muscle spasms typically in the legs. In this latter sense such an injury is known as dead leg.
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There are three primary sources for the phrase. Another derivation that seems likely but hasn t been proved traces charley horse to the constables or charleys of 17th century england. Charley horse sometimes misspelled charlie horse is an american phrase and originated in the sport of baseball. A charley horse is a painful involuntary cramp in the legs and or foot lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a day.
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