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trailing

English translation: It depends

18:44 Mar 30, 2016
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
English term or phrase: trailing
But soon their skins turned cold, for there came a galloping across the moor, and the black mare, dabbled with white froth, went past with trailing bridle and empty saddle.
(which of the following meanings is correct? 1. moving in the air 2. dragging on the ground)
gladbird
Local time: 00:14
Selected answer:It depends
Explanation:
"As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit."

So whether the bridle moves in the air or trails along the ground will depend on how long the reins are, and how tall the horse is.

I don't think it's really a meaningful distinction in English, though it may be in other languages. "Trailing" simply means that no one is holding on to the reins.

Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +4It depends
philgoddard
5 +1dragging on the ground
Helena Chavarria


  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
dragging on the ground


Explanation:
A bridle isn't particularly lightweight, so it would drag along the ground.

Helena Chavarria
Spain
Local time: 22:44
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Marina Soldati
38 mins
  -> Thank you, Marina :-)
neutral  philgoddard: Surely it's about length, not weight.
43 mins
  -> Well, I just imagine the horse galloping with its reins trailing loosely, in a downwards direction, not horizontally. Jet planes leave a trail of smoke in the air (definition 1. in the question)
neutral  Tony M: probably wouldn't be long enough to actuall drag on the ground, or the horse would rapidly have broken them.
14 hrs
  -> Tony, thank you for your opinion. Obviously people don't understand my answer, or I didn't understand the question. I can't imagine a bridle moving in the air, like a flag, smoke, etc.
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52 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
It depends


Explanation:
"As defined in the Oxford English Dictionary, the "bridle" includes both the headstall that holds a bit that goes in the mouth of a horse, and the reins that are attached to the bit."

So whether the bridle moves in the air or trails along the ground will depend on how long the reins are, and how tall the horse is.

I don't think it's really a meaningful distinction in English, though it may be in other languages. "Trailing" simply means that no one is holding on to the reins.




    Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridle
philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 50

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: Yes, the main point is that no one is holding the reins and that's why it's trailing =falling downwards, if the reins are long enough, perhaps to ground
22 mins
  -> Exactly. Thanks.
agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
12 hrs
agree  Victoria Britten
13 hrs
agree  Tony M: Yes, no-one holding them is the key point; generally, the reins wouldn't be long enough to actually touch the ground if they were just left across the horse's neck, they would just dangle either side.
14 hrs
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