This is another part in our mini-series on colloquial ways of referring to someone who is somewhat “lacking in intelligence” (i.e. “stupid”). Here’s an example of this month’s construction, “He isn’t the quickest horse in the stable.” This is an example of understatement – a way of saying something that suggests that the thing you are referring to is less important than it really is. So, in this case, instead of saying, “He’s a slow horse,” the speaker “understates” this fact by using more positive language and saying, “He isn’t the quickest horse.” And the “horse” and its speed are used as a metaphor for a person and their intelligence. So, a slow horse is a metaphor for a stupid person. OK, let’s look at some more examples that follow this pattern.
Warning!
Hot English does not recommend using any of these expressions. However, they are useful to understand as they are used fairly commonly in a colloquial context.