on the hoof

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   Of livestock, not yet butchered.

   • […]he is hereby directed to purchase, and have in Readiness by the First Day of July next, Two Hundred good draught Horses, Thirty Hogsheads of Rum, Ninety Thousand Weight of Beef on the Hoof, Hides included,[…]
   • A 150-pound whitetail on the hoof can be reduced to 100 pounds of pure meat.
2. 2

   Alive

   Alive; embodied in a living animal (including a human); in working order.

   • Barely 10% of the country's corn crop ever goes into commercial channels to become breakfast cereal, corn starch or oil. Less than 25% ever leaves the farm where it was grown - until it leaves on the hoof.
   • In 1920, votes at the Republican National Convention were selling at $2,500 on the hoof.
   • It seems to me that the university degrees as I see them on the hoof in Calgary at any rate serve to widen the gulf between the people who need help and the people who are there to help.
3. 3

   Of a human activity, while standing, walking, or running

   Of a human activity, while standing, walking, or running; on foot.

   • Upon the breaking out of the Rebellion in that Country in 1641, the Mother fled with our Author and another Child towards England, and landing at Leverpoole in Lancashire, they all beated it on the hoof thence to London,[…]
   • Look at this crowd! Bound to be a lot of pussy on the hoof in a crowd like this.
4. ›+ 1 more definitionshow fewer

   1. 4

      Without proper thought or preparation

      Without proper thought or preparation; done as one goes.

      • Near-synonym: extempore
      • But billets need not be a great issue, and it is possible that, apart from the first and last nights, choice can be made 'on the hoof'. When on the road, consultation with the map and the clock will indicate when to start looking.
      • To make such an expensive commitment without properly thinking about how best to help travellers on low incomes shows that the policy was developed on the hoof.

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