horse-latitudes

Noun

horse latitudes pl (plural only)

1. (informal, plural, plural-only) The warm, subtropical bands which encircle the globe between approximately 30 and 35 degrees both north and south of the Equator, characterized by high atmospheric pressure and dry variable winds ranging from calm to light.
   • At the equator, an immense mist seems permanently to encircle the globe. It is known as the cloud-ring. The function of the cloud-ring is to temper the heat of the tropics. . . . These are what are called horse latitudes. It was here that navigators of bygone ages were accustomed to cast their...1866, Victor Hugo, chapter 6, in W. Moy Thomas, transl., Toilers of the Sea
2. (figuratively, plural, plural-only) A condition of relative inactivity, calm, or lethargy.
   • After months in the horse latitudes, retail and auto sales are scudding along at a brisk pace.1961 December 15, “State of Business: Hardening the Soft Spots”, in Time