also-ran
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From the world of horse race betting, where lists of winners would be published with non-paying positions printed in a block under the heading “Also Ran”.
Noun
[edit]- A person or animal who competed in a race but did not win.
- (figuratively) A loser; a person or thing soon to be forgotten.
- 1960 June 18, “Nerves of Steel”, in The New York Times:
- It also turned Palmer from an also-ran into a challenger.
- 1962, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament, volume 4, Australia, page 261:
- I have 37 actors and actresses I would supply for television and radio work and then I have maybe 150 to 200 also-rans who get extra work and television commercials.
- 1978 April 26, Janet Maslin, “Film: Scorsese and the Band”, in The New York Times[1]:
- […] some of Mr. Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but an also-ran.
- 1993, Martin Yate, Hiring the Best, Adams Media, page 58:
- And, of course, it is also far easier, quicker, and less embarrassing to dismiss an also-ran over the phone than it is in person […]
- 1998, Richard C Dorf, The Technology Management Handbook, CRC Press, page 40:
- […] as the drug came out of the R&D laboratory, it could have been just another also-ran […]
- 2004 August 9, The New Yorker, page 40:
- The transition from comer to also-ran can be quick […]
Translations
[edit]a person or animal who competed in a race but did not win
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See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “also-ran”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
- “also-ran”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
- “also-ran” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.