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white rhinoceros American bighorn ram (Elizabeth Morales) |

blow (or toot) (one's) own horn Informal.
[Middle English, from Old English.]
horn horn adj.
Idioms beginning with horn:
horn in on
See also blow one's own horn; lock horns; pull in one's horns; take the bull by the horns.
A mountain peak formed when three or four cirques have cut into it, back to back, leaving a pyramidal peak. Examples include the Matterhorn, and Cir Mhòr, on the Isle of Arran.
In popular culture for centuries past, the phrase ‘he wears the horns’ was used to designate a cuckold, and rather than bringing forth sympathy it has been treated as a joke of which people never seem to tire. The metaphor of the horns was so well understood that it could be referred to obliquely by writers—‘Let him dub her husband knight of the forked order’ (1592) and also in Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus ((1594) II. iii). An appropriate gesture, with index and little finger extended, thumb and other fingers curled into the palm, was available for insulting people: one story which attempts to account for this explains that the knights who were away on the Crusades used the symbol of the horn as a device on their shields, and a horn therefore came to mean someone who had been away from his wife for a long time. See also Charlton Horn Fair for another alleged cuckoldry connection.
A different kind of symbolism is sketched out by William Andrews (Old Church Lore (1891), 65-79) in the form of ‘charter horns’. He identifies several existing horns which are taken as evidence of ancient land grants or charters, and links these with customs which still have hornblowing elements such as Hungerford Hocktide, and the Ripon hornblower.
See also: ABBOTS BROMLEY HORN DANCE; CHARLTON FAIR; EBERNOE HORN FAIR; HIGHGATE HORNS; RIPON HORNBLOWER; BAINBRIDGE HORNBLOWER; HUNGERFORD HOCKTIDE, WEYHILL FAIR.
Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.
1. Any projecting end of one of the members of a right-angle wood framing joint.
2. The extension of a sash stile below the bottom rail of an upper-hung sash, either for styling or to serve as a stop.
3. A horizontal extension of a windowsill beyond the jamb.
4. Same as spur, 1.
5. A volute, 1.
6. An acroterion, 2.
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(DOD, NATO) In naval mine warfare, a projection from the mine shell of some contact mines which, when broken or bent by contact, causes the mine to fire.
Horns in a dream sometimes indicate a "wake-up call" and the need to pay attention to the inner voices of one's intuition and spiritual guidance. Also, because of the dreaming mind's tendency to literalize linguistic metaphors and idioms, dream horns can mean that one is on "the horns of a dilemma."


| hoppy, hopped-up, hophead | |
| horn-mad, hornswoggle, horny |
1. a pointed projection.
2. the processes carried on the foreheads of most ruminants and rhinoceroses including skin-covered bony knobs in giraffes, velvet-covered branched deciduous bony antlers of deer, branched deciduous keratinized processes in pronghorns and the familiar hollow horns of bovids. In these a horny sheath is composed of keratinized epithelial cells borne on a fibrous corium that is carried on a cornual process, an extension of the frontal bone. In mature cattle the cavity of the frontal sinus extends into the cornual process. Called also fighting horns.
Cattle and buffalo horns are classed as shorthorn (short, in-curving), lyre (see lyrate), crescent or sickle (large, inward curving, downward inclined), long (long, handlebar configuration).

A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn (keratin and other proteins) surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls[citation needed], in the families Antilocapridae (pronghorn) and Bovidae (cattle, goats, antelope etc.). One pair of horns is usual, but two or more pairs occur in a few wild species and in a few domesticated breeds of sheep. Polycerate (multi-horned) sheep breeds include the Hebridean, Icelandic, Jacob, Manx Loaghtan, and the Navajo-Churro. Partial or deformed horns in livestock are called scurs.
Horns usually have a curved or spiral shape, often with ridges or fluting. In many species only males have horns. Horns start to grow soon after birth, and continue to grow throughout the life of the animal (except in pronghorns, which shed the outer layer annually, but retain the bony core). Similar growths on other parts of the body are not usually called horns, but spurs, claws or hoofs, depending on the part of the body on which they occur.
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The term "horn" is also popularly applied to other hard and pointed features attached to the head of animals in various other families:
Many mammal species in various families have tusks, which often serve the same functions as horns, but are in fact oversize teeth. These include the Moschidae (Musk deer, which are ruminants), Suidae (Wild Boars), Proboscidea (Elephants), Monodontidae (Narwhals) and Odobenidae (Walruses).
Polled animals or pollards are those of normally-horned (mainly domesticated) species whose horns have been removed, or which have not grown. In some cases such animals have small horny growths in the skin where their horns would be – these are known as scurs.
Cutaneous horns are the only examples of horns growing on people. They are most often benign growths and can be removed by a razor.
Cases of people growing horns have been historically described, sometimes with mythical status. Researchers have not however discovered photographic evidence of the phenomenon.[3] There are human cadaveric specimens that show outgrowings, but these are instead classified as osteomas or other excrescences.[3] Theoretically, there may be children born with horns which are corrected with early surgical intervention[original research?]. The phenomenon of humans with horns has been observed in countries lacking advanced medicine. There are living people, several in China, with cases of cutaneous horns, most common in the elderly[4].
Some people, notably The Enigma, have horn implants; that is, they have implanted silicone beneath the skin as a form of body modification.[5]
Animals have a variety of uses for horns and antlers, including defending themselves from predators and fighting members of their own species for territory, dominance or mating priority. Horns are usually present only in males but in some species, females too may possess horns. It has been theorized by researchers that taller species living in the open are more visible from longer distances and more likely to benefit from horns to defend themselves against predators. Female bovids that are not hidden from predators due to their large size or open Savannah like habitat are more likely to bear horns than small or camouflaged species.[6]
In addition, horns may be used to root in the soil or strip bark from trees. In animal courtship many use horns in displays. For example, the male blue wildebeest reams the bark and branches of trees to impress the female and lure her into his territory. Some animals with true horns use them for cooling. The blood vessels in the bony core allow the horns to function as a radiator.
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - horn, gevir, hornblæser, spids, advarselshorn
v. intr. - stange, trænge sig på, blande sig i, blæse i horn
idioms:
Nederlands (Dutch)
hoorn, claxon, hoornvlies, koperen blaasinstrument, waldhoorn, spits van maansikkel, hoekrotsen, gewei, misthoorn, riviervertakking, erectie, hoornen, hoornachtig, voorzien van een hoorn, hoornvorm geven aan, op de horens nemen, af-/ bijzagen van horens, zich ermee bemoeien
Français (French)
n. - (Zool) corne, aigrette (d'un hibou), (fig) corne, corne (du diable), (Mus) cor, klaxon, avertisseur, sirène, corne (la substance), corne (pour boire)
v. intr. - intervenir
idioms:
Deutsch (German)
n. - Horn, Geweih, Hupe
v. - mit Hörnern aufspießen
idioms:
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - κέρας, κέρατο, κεραία (εντόμου), κόρνα, κλάξον, (μουσ.) κέρας, κόρνο, τρομπαρίνα
v. - βγάζω κέρατα, κερατίζω, κουτρώ
idioms:
Italiano (Italian)
corno francese, corna, clacson, corno, di corno, scornare, ferire con le corna
idioms:
Português (Portuguese)
n. - chifre (m), corneta (f) (Mús.)
v. - chifrar, cornear
idioms:
Русский (Russian)
рог, рожок, бодать, выгибать
idioms:
Español (Spanish)
n. - trompa, cuerno, asta, claxon, bocina, de cuerno
v. intr. - cornear, (jer) meter los cuernos
idioms:
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - horn (äv. mus.), signalhorn, lur, spets (på månskära), antenn (äv. insekts), flodgren, ståkuk (vulg.), telefon, megafon
v. - sätta horn på, stånga
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
角, 喇叭, 角质, 吹喇叭
idioms:
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 角, 喇叭, 角質
v. intr. - 吹喇叭
idioms:
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 지각, 뿔, 촉각, 경적
v. intr. - 간섭하다
idioms:
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 角, 触角, 角製の物, 角笛, 警笛, ホルン, 角製の容器
v. - 角で突く, 角を付ける
idioms:
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) قرن, المادة القرينه للاظلاف والحوافر والاظافر, شئ كالقرن أحد طرفي الهلال ألخ, بوق أو صور, النفير لاطلاق اشارة تحذير, قوة, سلطه, مجد, اعتبار (فعل) يتطفل, يشارك في أمر من غير دعوة
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - קצה סהר, צופר, קרן, שופר, חומר קרני, טלפון (מדוברת, ארה"ב), זרוע של נהר או מפרץ, קרן צרפתית (כלי נשיפה), סימן
v. intr. - תקע בקרן, התערב, תחב אפו
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