dark horse

dark horse
noun
1. a political candidate who is not well known but could win unexpectedly
Hypernyms: ↑campaigner, ↑candidate, ↑nominee
2. a racehorse about which little is known
Hypernyms: ↑racehorse, ↑race horse, ↑bangtail

* * *

dark horse,
1. an unexpected winner about whom little is known.
2. a person who is unexpectedly nominated for a political office: »

Dark horses in both parties were bobbing up everywhere (Newsweek).

[< the practice of altering a horse's color in order to mask its identity]

* * *

n.
1) a person about whom little is known, esp. someone whose abilities and potential for success are concealed

[as adj.] a dark-horse candidate

2) a competitor or candidate who has little chance of winning, or who wins against expectations

a preseason dark horse as the nation's top collegiate football team

Origin:
early 19th cent.: originally racing slang

* * *

noun, pl ⋯ -es [count]
1 : a person (such as a politician), animal, or thing that competes in a race or other contest and is not expected to win

The Democrat from Utah has gone from being a dark horse to the front-runner in the campaign for President.

The movie is a dark horse for the award.

2 Brit : a person who has interesting qualities or abilities that most people do not know about

He is a dark horse, but I did find out that he once played football professionally.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

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  • Dark Horse — Dark|horse, (auch:) Dark Horse [ da:k hɔ:s], das; , s [...sɪz; engl. = dunkles Pferd, aus: dark = dunkel, ungewiss u. horse = Pferd] (Jargon): noch nicht bekanntes Rennpferd …   Universal-Lexikon

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