Dark Horse - Wiktionary

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• 1 English Toggle English subsection
  • 1.1 Etymology
  • 1.2 Pronunciation
  • 1.3 Noun
    • 1.3.1 Derived terms
    • 1.3.2 Translations
    • 1.3.3 See also
  • 1.4 References
  • 1.5 Further reading

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• Discussion

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In other projects Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wiktionary, the free dictionary See also: darkhorse

English

[edit] WOTD – 14 June 2016

Etymology

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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 (1804–1881).[1]

Pronunciation

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• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

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dark horse (plural dark horses)

1. (idiomatic) Someone who possesses talents or favorable characteristics that are not known or expected by others.
   • 1952, Daphne Du Maurier, “Monte Verità”, in The Apple Tree:‘She’s a dark horse,’ he said. ‘She knows just as much about climbing mountains as you or I. In fact, she was ahead of me the whole time, and I lost her.’
   • 2005, Steve Augarde, Celandine, London: Corgi Books, published 2006, →ISBN, page 13:As she pulled the door closed behind her, she heard the nurse say, “Well! You’re a dark horse, I must say! Do you know that extraordinary-looking girl?”
   • 2009, Sophie Kinsella, Twenties Girl: A Novel, London: Black Swan, published 2010, →ISBN, page 183:“Well!” Genevieve laughs – the kind of bright, trilling laugh you give when you’re really quite annoyed about something. “Ed, you are a dark horse! I had no idea you had a girlfriend!”
2. (idiomatic, politics) A candidate for an election who is nominated unexpectedly, without previously having been discussed or considered as a likely choice.
   • 2025 May 11, Jason Horowitz, Emma Bubola, Elizabeth Dias, Patricia Mazzei, “How a Quiet American Cardinal Became Pope”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:That left Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69 — a quiet American dark horse who had, surprisingly, emerged in the evening’s vote — as a source of particular interest.
3. (horse racing) A horse whose capabilities are not known.
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see dark,‎ horse.

Derived terms

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• darkhorse

Translations

[edit] possessor of unexpected talents or favorable characteristics

Belarusian: цёмны конік (cjómny kónik) Chinese: Mandarin: 黑馬 / 黑马 (zh) (hēimǎ) Czech: černý kůň m Finnish: musta hevonen (fi) Greek: σιγανό ποτάμι n (siganó potámi) Hindi: छिपा रुस्तम m (chipā rustam), काला चोर m (kālā cor) Hungarian: sötét ló Icelandic: (to be a dark horse) leyna á sér Indonesian: kuda hitam (id) Italian: acqua cheta f, cavallo nero m Polish: cicha woda (pl) f, czarny koń (pl) m Russian: тёмная лоша́дка f (tjómnaja lošádka) Slovak: čierny kôň Sorbian: Upper Sorbian: čorny kóń Spanish: tapado (es) m Thai: ม้ามืด (máa-mʉ̂ʉt) Ukrainian: темна конячка (temna konjačka)

unexpectedly nominated candidate

Chinese: Mandarin: 黑馬 / 黑马 (zh) (hēimǎ) Estonian: üllatuskandidaat Finnish: musta hevonen (fi) French: outsider (fr) m Italian: outsider (it) m or f Japanese: 穴馬 (ja) (あなうま, anauma), (obsolete) 惑星 (ja) (わくせい, wakusei) Polish: czarny koń (pl) m Russian: тёмная лоша́дка f (tjómnaja lošádka) Spanish: tapado (es) m Thai: ม้ามืด (máa-mʉ̂ʉt)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations. Translations to be checked

Hindi: (please verify) काला चोर m (kālā cor) Japanese: (please verify) ダークホース (ja) (dāku hōsu) Kannada: (please verify) ಕಪ್ಪುಕುದುರೆ (kn) (kappukudure) Korean: (please verify) 다크호스 (ko) (dakeuhoseu) Swedish: (please verify) dark horse (sv) c

See also

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• underdog
• black sheep
• black horse

References

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1. ^ [Benjamin Disraeli] (1831), chapter V, in The Young Duke. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, book II, page 163: “[…] and a dark horse, which had never been thought of, […] rushed past the grand stand in sweeping triumph.”

Further reading

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• dark horse on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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