What it means
Horseplay is rough, rowdy messing about that's meant to be funny till someone gets shoved into a wall, trips over a chair, or catches an elbow by accident. People say it when kids, mates, or a whole room start getting too physical and too wild for the space they're in.
Usage examples
"The teacher yelled no horseplay in the hallway, and right then Josh shoulder-checked me into a locker. Now we’re both in detention."
"The geography teacher walked in to find the lads engaged in proper horseplay round the back of the prefab classroom, two chairs upended, a globe rolling under the radiator, and the new map of the Sahara in pieces on the windowsill."
"Stop the horseplay in the kitchen, you two, the gravy is on the hob, the dog is under the table waiting for an accident, and your nan has not even unpacked the rice pudding from the boot of the car yet."
"There was a bit of horseplay by the pool and one of them nearly took the whole stack of plastic chairs out with him."
"Cut the horseplay on the train platform, mate, you're two seconds from sending someone's coffee flying."
Voice comments
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Where it comes from
Recorded in English since the late 16th century, horseplay has long meant rough, boisterous fooling around. The horse bit taps into an older image of horses as strong, unruly, and not exactly graceful when things get lively. The meaning barely budged and stayed tied to rowdy physical messing about.
Other ways to say it
Editors of this term
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