dark horse; unexpected winner
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesnoun
dark horse; a competitor who achieves unexpected success
neutralThis metaphor is used widely in sports, politics, business competitions, etc. The term is neutral to slightly positive. It is a direct loan translation from English.
Zhè这
cì次
wǎng网
qiú球
gōng公
kāi开
sài赛
shā杀
chū出
le了
yī一
pǐ匹
hēi黑
mǎ马
，
yī一
wèi位
pái排
míng名
hěn很
dī低
de的
xuǎn选
shǒu手
zuì最
zhōng终
duó夺
guàn冠
。
A dark horse emerged in this tennis open tournament; a low-ranked player ultimately won the championship.
Zài在
zǒng总
tǒng统
chū初
xuǎn选
zhōng中
，
tā他
yuán原
běn本
zhī支
chí持
lǜ率
hěn很
dī低
，
què却
chéng成
wéi为
zuì最
dà大
de的
yī一
pǐ匹
hēi黑
mǎ马
。
In the presidential primary, he had very low poll numbers initially but became the biggest dark horse.
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Zhè这
jiā家
chū初
chuàng创
gōng公
sī司
shì是
jīn今
nián年
kē科
jì技
háng行
yè业
de的
hēi黑
mǎ马
，
huò获
dé得
le了
jù巨
é额
tóu投
zī资
。
This startup is the dark horse of the tech industry this year, securing huge investments.
Dà大
jiā家
dōu都
kàn看
hǎo好
nà那
zhī支
lǎo老
pái牌
qiáng强
duì队
，
méi没
xiǎng想
dào到
hēi黑
mǎ马
nì逆
xí袭
le了
。
Everyone favored that veteran strong team, but unexpectedly, the dark horse made a comeback victory.