Question

Horse of a Different Color a different matter altogether; something from a different nature from that being noticed

Accepted Answer

I gave her a bus token, but when she wanted me to pay for the movies, too, that was a horse of a different color. William Shakespeare used a similar phrase in his play Twelfth Night, written in 1601. Some people think this expression may have come from betting on a racehorse of one color and then a horse of another color won. Whatever the origin of this saying, "horse" stands for an idea and "different color" (sometimes "another color") means a new thought. In the famous movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), Dorothy actually rode around in the Emerald City in a buggy pulled by a horse that kept changing colors. She was told that it was the "horse of a different color."

Idiom	Horse of a Different Color
Example	I gave her a bus token, but when she wanted me to pay for the movies, too, that was a horse of a different color.
Meaning	a different matter altogether; something from a different nature from that being noticed
Origin	William Shakespeare used a similar phrase in his play Twelfth Night, written in 1601. Some people think this expression may have come from betting on a racehorse of one color and then a horse of another color won. Whatever the origin of this saying, "horse" stands for an idea and "different color" (sometimes "another color") means a new thought. In the famous movie The Wizard of Oz (1939), Dorothy actually rode around in the Emerald City in a buggy pulled by a horse that kept changing colors. She was told that it was the "horse of a different color."

Horse Color I Gave Bus Token Wanted Pay