See a man about a horse

It means to politely excuse yourself from a situation to go to the restroom or buy a drink. It originated from men disappearing to go bet on horse or dog races. See a man about a dog means the same thing.

The earliest confirmed publication is the 1866 Dion Boucicault play Flying Scud in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, "Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can't stop; I've got to see a man about a dog." In a listing for a 1939 revival on the NBC Radio program America's Lost Plays, Time magazine observed that the phrase is the play's "claim to fame".

During Prohibition in the United States, the phrase see a man about a horse was most commonly used in relation to the consumption or purchase of alcoholic beverages.

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