a dark horse
an unexpectedly successful person
TRANSLATION
a dark horse = eine unbekannte Größe, ein unbeschriebenes Blatt, stilles Wasser
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Genome 'DARK HORSE' comes to the fore.
A "DARK HORSE" private company in the US is claiming to have taken a major lead on its rivals in the race to produce a complete gene map of humans.
At the same time, publicly-funded scientists in Germany and Japan have passed another milestone in decoding human chromosome 21.
(BBC News)
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So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
Cause I'm coming atcha like a DARK HORSE
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
Katy Perry - Dark Horse
A "DARK HORSE" private company in the US is claiming to have taken a major lead on its rivals in the race to produce a complete gene map of humans.
At the same time, publicly-funded scientists in Germany and Japan have passed another milestone in decoding human chromosome 21.
(BBC News)
---
So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
Cause I'm coming atcha like a DARK HORSE
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
Katy Perry - Dark Horse
Did you
know?
dark horse
noun
1. One who achieves unexpected support and success as a political candidate (typically during a party's convention)
2. A little-known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in a horserace.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
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ORIGIN
This idiom is said to go back to the Victorian politician Benjamin Disraeli who, apart from finding time to regularly become Prime Minister, also found time to write a novel called "The Young Duke". In the book there is a description of a horse race in which the two favourites cannot make the running. In the meanwhile "a dark horse...rushed past the grandstand in a sweeping triumph".
The phrase is still used today. In a 2013 pop song, Katy Perry asks, “Do you dare to do this? ’Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse.” Who knows what rock stars really mean in their lyrics, but we can guess that Perry meant she was an unexpected suitor who would be unexpectedly successful.
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SYNONYMS
an unlikely winner, a long shot, a hundred-to-one shot, a slim chance, an unknown
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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"Bob is a bit of a dark horse, no-one expected him to be promoted to the board so quickly"
noun
1. One who achieves unexpected support and success as a political candidate (typically during a party's convention)
2. A little-known, unexpectedly successful entrant, as in a horserace.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
---
ORIGIN
This idiom is said to go back to the Victorian politician Benjamin Disraeli who, apart from finding time to regularly become Prime Minister, also found time to write a novel called "The Young Duke". In the book there is a description of a horse race in which the two favourites cannot make the running. In the meanwhile "a dark horse...rushed past the grandstand in a sweeping triumph".
The phrase is still used today. In a 2013 pop song, Katy Perry asks, “Do you dare to do this? ’Cause I’m coming at you like a dark horse.” Who knows what rock stars really mean in their lyrics, but we can guess that Perry meant she was an unexpected suitor who would be unexpectedly successful.
---
SYNONYMS
an unlikely winner, a long shot, a hundred-to-one shot, a slim chance, an unknown
---
SMUGGLE OWAD INTO A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"Bob is a bit of a dark horse, no-one expected him to be promoted to the board so quickly"
