The last time Charley Horse attacked was two years ago when I was racing Josh across a pool in North Dakota. Sooooo not fair. Anyway. Last night was more abusive then said pool attack as Charley grabbed my leg in my sleep. Taken completely off guard, I sat up, promptly let out a yelp, leapt out of bed, and stomped on it--which gave me the upper hand. Oy!
My poor husband. It took some explaining this morning.
Know why it's called a Charley Horse?
Because it feels like you got kicked by this.
(among other reasons, I'm sure)
Here are some other names for it:
USA: Tommy Horse
UK: Deadleg, Grand Daddy or Chopper
Australia: Corked Thigh or "Corky"
German: Pferdekuss - "horse's kiss"
Norway: Lårhøne - "thigh hen"
Netherlands: Ijsbeen - "ice leg"
France: Béquille - "crutch"
Portugal: Paralítica - "paralyzer"
Japan: Komuragaeiri - "cramp in the calf"
Northwest Italy: Vecchia - "old woman" or Dura - "hard/tough one"
South Italy: Morso di Ciuccio - "donkey bite"
Israel: Regel Etz - "wooden leg"
I find this interesting. I'm a linguist.
