also-ran
a loser
TRANSLATION
also-ran = der Verlierer, der Versager also-ran = (fig.) der Schlechtplatzierte (Er kommt unter "ferner liefen") --- GOOGLE INDEX also-ran: approximately 1,800,000 hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
The company has gone from the darling of the mobile phone industry to an ALSO-RAN in the UK market…
(The Guardian)
---
"If we don't inspire future generations to follow in the footsteps of the giants from our scientific past, Britain could quickly find itself overtaken by those countries that prize science more highly than us, and we would become an ALSO-RAN rather than a leader in world science."
- Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society
(The Guardian)
---
"If we don't inspire future generations to follow in the footsteps of the giants from our scientific past, Britain could quickly find itself overtaken by those countries that prize science more highly than us, and we would become an ALSO-RAN rather than a leader in world science."
- Lord Martin Rees, president of the Royal Society
Did you
know?
also-ran
noun
- one that has little talent or success
- a loser in a competition, as in an election
- a horse that does not win, place or show in a race
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
---
WORD ORIGIN
The term also-ran comes from racing and describes a horse that finishes in fourth place or lower or does not finish a race at all. It first appeared in the 1890s in published racing results, and has since come to mean losers in any kind of competition. It's also used in a broader sense to describe unsuccessful persons.
Horse racing has produced many idioms that are still used today:
down to the wire, neck-to-neck: refer to a very close race or competition. Down to the wire refers to the wire above the finish line. Neck-to-neck stems from the image of two horses racing side-by-side towards the finish line. (Bob and Sandra are running neck-to-neck for the CEO job)
dark horse: describes a little known, but unexpectedly successful participant in a race or competition (dark is a metaphor for unknown). The term is frequently used in politics to describe little-known candidates, but it has general application as well. (John is a bit of a dark horse, let's see how he performs)
the inside track: means having the most advantageous position when competing for something. The horse that starts the race from the position closest to the inside of the track (called the inside rail) has the shortest route to the finish, thus giving it an advantage over the other horses. (Monica is on the inside track for the PR director's job)
jockey for position: means to manoeuvre for a certain position or advantage. (three companies are jockeying for the top industry position)
---
SYNONYMS
bomb, dud, flop, failure, loser, non-starter
---
ANTONYMS
champion, cream of the crop, champ, king, leader, top dog, victor
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Some also-rans can be revived into successful products."
noun
- one that has little talent or success
- a loser in a competition, as in an election
- a horse that does not win, place or show in a race
(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
---
WORD ORIGIN
The term also-ran comes from racing and describes a horse that finishes in fourth place or lower or does not finish a race at all. It first appeared in the 1890s in published racing results, and has since come to mean losers in any kind of competition. It's also used in a broader sense to describe unsuccessful persons.
Horse racing has produced many idioms that are still used today:
down to the wire, neck-to-neck: refer to a very close race or competition. Down to the wire refers to the wire above the finish line. Neck-to-neck stems from the image of two horses racing side-by-side towards the finish line. (Bob and Sandra are running neck-to-neck for the CEO job)
dark horse: describes a little known, but unexpectedly successful participant in a race or competition (dark is a metaphor for unknown). The term is frequently used in politics to describe little-known candidates, but it has general application as well. (John is a bit of a dark horse, let's see how he performs)
the inside track: means having the most advantageous position when competing for something. The horse that starts the race from the position closest to the inside of the track (called the inside rail) has the shortest route to the finish, thus giving it an advantage over the other horses. (Monica is on the inside track for the PR director's job)
jockey for position: means to manoeuvre for a certain position or advantage. (three companies are jockeying for the top industry position)
---
SYNONYMS
bomb, dud, flop, failure, loser, non-starter
---
ANTONYMS
champion, cream of the crop, champ, king, leader, top dog, victor
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Some also-rans can be revived into successful products."
