horse sense
idiomatic noun-phrase

- practical knowledge and good judgment about ordinary life; common sense

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

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Niels Bohr was an eminent Danish physicist and Nobel Prize recipient whose research contributions were instrumental to understanding atomic structures and quantum mechanics. Contrary to the stereotype of the absent-minded professor scientist, Bohr exhibited extreme horse sense.

A visitor to Bohr's country cottage once noticed a horseshoe hanging on a wall and teased the physicist about his apparent superstition. "Is it possible that you of all people believe that such things bring you luck?"

"Of course not," Bohr replied, "but I understand it brings you luck whether you believe it or not."

The expression "horse sense" stems from the idea that horses are intelligent in an everyday sense. As W.C. Fields once put it, "Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."

Horses are considered not only smart, but strong as well. And because strong is equated with healthy, another common expression is "He's as healthy as a horse." English has a wide range of expressions that compare animal characteristics to humans:

- as sly as a fox

- as quiet as a mouse

- as slow as a snail

- as blind as a bat

- as slippery as an eel

- as proud as a peacock

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SYNONYMS for horse sense

common sense, good sense, good reasoning, sense, sensibleness, native wit, native intelligence, mother wit, wit, judgement, sound judgement, level-headedness, prudence, discernment, acumen, sharpness, sharp-wittedness, canniness, astuteness, shrewdness, judiciousness, wisdom, insight, intuition, intuitiveness, perceptiveness, perspicacity, vision, understanding. Informal: smarts, nous, gumption, savvy, know-how, the sense one was born with

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Practice OWAD in a conversation

"One thing business schools cannot teach students is HORSE SENSE."