horse trade

Related to horse trade: horse trader

horse-trad·ing

(hôrs′trā′dĭng)

Negotiation characterized by hard bargaining and shrewd exchange: political horse-trading.

horse trade n.

horse′-trade′ v.

horse trader n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

horse′ trade`

1. a shrewdly conducted exchange, as of favors or objects, usu. involving close bargaining.

2. an exchanging or trading of horses.

[1840–50, Amer.]

horse′-trade`, v.i. -trad•ed, -trad•ing.

horse′-trad`er, n.

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Noun

horse trade - the swapping of horses (accompanied by much bargaining)

horse trading

barter, swap, swop, trade - an equal exchange; "we had no money so we had to live by barter"

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References in periodicals archive ?

When you hear horse enthusiasts, racers and breeders arguing that slaughter is a better option than other "disposal" methods for when their equine charges are old and tired, it becomes evident that the horse trade is yet another human enterprise driven by profits and with no good answer for what to do when its "product" has outlived its usefulness.