An unexpected success.
Etymology:
- Originally an allusion to an unknown horse with a dark coat winning a race, as used in the 1831 novel The Young Duke by Benjamin Disraeli : “ and a dark horse, which had never been thought of, rushed past the grand stand in sweeping triumph.”
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Submitted on September 01, 2009
Additional definitions for 'dark horse':
| dark horse | A candidate who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice. |
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Nearby phrases
Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to dark horse
a dark horseevery horse thinks its own pack heaviestand the horse you rode in oncharley horseall cats are gray in the darka camel is a horse designed by a commit…get back on the horse that bucked oneenough to choke a horseflog a dead horsedon't put your cart before the hor…close the stable door after the horse h…gift horseget off one's high horseain't no hill for a stepping horse
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"dark horse." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/dark-horse_3148>.
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