What it means
To horse around is to mess about in a loud, physical, slightly wild way, usually with your mates. It’s shoving, chasing, mock wrestling, bouncing off furniture, all that daft chaos where nobody’s properly trying to start a fight. It’s mostly harmless till someone clips a table, breaks something, or ends up on the floor rubbing an elbow.
Usage examples
"Oi, stop horsing around. You nearly took the telly out. Dan went for a flying tackle, slipped on a sock, and ate carpet."
"The lads were horsing around in the pool until one of them belly-flopped onto the lilo and sank it."
"Stop horsing around near the shelves, you'll have the whole display over and we'll be paying for it."
"The kids were horsing around upstairs and now it sounds like someone's gone through the ceiling."
"We were just horsing around in the garden till Josh got shoved into the paddling pool with his phone in his pocket."
Voice comments
No one has left their voice yet. Break the ice.
Where it comes from
Horse around is recorded in American English from the late 19th century. It grows out of horse as a verb and noun linked to rough, energetic behaviour, with the animal image doing the heavy lifting. From early on, it meant boisterous fooling about, not serious aggression.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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