farrier, shod. ostlers, riffraff. “He drove the farrier crazy because every time the guy did anything, Ito asked a question,”

Mr. Stroock of M.I.T. said Mr. Ito had an intense curiosity, whether focused on math theory or world affairs or shoeing horses. When Mr. Stroock taught at the University of Colorado in the 1970s, he recalled, Mr. Ito stayed with him while they worked on a writing project together. One day, Mr. Stroock told Mr. Ito that he could not work on their book because his horses were being shod that day.

Mr. Ito eagerly trailed along. “He drove the farrier crazy because every time the guy did anything, Ito asked a question,” Mr. Stroock said.

ostlers, farriers, riffraff

A good pub is a ready-made party, a home away from home, a club anyone can join. Some British pubs began as simple meeting places, some as coaching inns — hostelries where stagecoaches stopped for the night for fodder, bed and stable. Generally these were larger, and had a secondary pub at the back for ostlers, farriers and other riffraff.

riff-raff Show phonetics
n.

1. People regarded as disreputable or worthless.
2. Rubbish; trash.

plural noun DISAPPROVING
people with a bad reputation or of a low social class:
She says that charging high prices will keep the riff-raff out.

In Jerome Charyn’s 18th-century New York, George Washington mingles with prostitutes, swindlers, spies and other riffraff.

far・ri・er

━━ n. 〔英〕 蹄(てい)鉄工; （馬の）獣医.

shoe

/ʃuː/

verb

past tense: shod; past participle: shod

1. 1.

   fit (a horse) with a shoe or shoes.

   "they are waiting to have their horses shod"
2. 2.

   protect (the end of an object such as a pole) with a metal shoe.

   "the four wooden baulks were each shod with heavy iron heads"

ost・ler

━━ n. （宿屋の）馬丁.

A Pub Crawl Through the Centuries

2 a horseshoe

shoe Show phonetics
verb [T] shoeing, shod or US ALSO shoed, shod or US ALSO shoed
If you shoe a horse, you nail a horseshoe (= a curved piece of metal) to one or each of its feet.

shoe

/ʃuː/

verb

past tense: shod; past participle: shod

1. 1.

   fit (a horse) with a shoe or shoes.

   "they are waiting to have their horses shod"
2. 2.

   protect (the end of an object such as a pole) with a metal shoe.

   "the four wooden baulks were each shod with heavy iron heads"

farrier Show phonetics
noun [C] SPECIALIZED
a person who makes and fits metal plates for horses' feet

farrier

/ˈfarɪə/

noun

1. a smith who shoes horses.