one-horse town

== English == === Etymology === The term “one-horse” originated as an agricultural phrase, meaning to be drawn or worked by a single horse. This led to the use of this phrase in a metaphorical sense as something that is small or insignificant. Charles Dickens explained in his publication All the Year Round (1871): ‘One horse’ is an agricultural phrase, applied to anything small or insignificant, or to any inconsiderable or contemptible person: as a ‘one-horse town,’ a ‘one-horse bank,’ a ‘one-horse hotel,’ a ‘one-horse lawyer’, etc. === Pronunciation === === Noun === one-horse town (plural one-horse towns) (US, idiomatic) A very small town, especially one of a rural nature and offering very few or no attractions. Synonyms: jerkwater town, one-blink town, Podunk; see also Thesaurus:remote place ==== Translations ==== === References === “one-horse town”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.