the.com/steer
A bull whose career change was decided by a quick, surgical betrayal.
means To guide or direct the course of something — a vehicle, a conversation, a life — by controlling which way it goes; or, as a noun, a castrated male cattle raised for beef.
from Two words sharing one spelling, both old. The verb 'steer' comes from Old English 'stieran' (to guide, direct), tied to 'steor' meaning a rudder — the original act of steering was literally working a ship's helm, and it spread outward to anything you could point in a direction. The noun 'steer' (the bovine) descends from a separate Old English word 'stēor', an ox or young bull, with cousins across the Germanic languages. The two meanings just happened to converge in sound — a coincidence the essence enjoys, since one steer gets steered toward an unfortunate fate.
- definition
- Castrated male cattle, calmer and bred for beef
- steer vs ox
- An ox is just a steer with a job
- steer wrestling
- Rodeo event where humans tackle them sideways
- weight
- Reaches over 1,000 pounds at maturity
- the word
- Also means to guide — same root, calmer energy
ferdinand the bull — fictional steer from 1938 children's book who refused to fight in bullfighting arenas
brahman cattle king ranch — texas ranch famous for breeding championship steers since 1853
lamplighter the rodeo steer — texas steer that won bucking bull competitions in 1960s-70s prca rodeos