one-horse town

Definition

A very small town, especially one of a rural nature and offering very few or no attractions.

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.

Example Sentences

• "It's surrounded by beautiful wilderness, but otherwise it's just a one-horse town."
• "The journey took 48 hours with a stopover in a Bates-style motel in the one-horse town of Marblemount – the last services for 70 wild miles of boscage and bears."