YOYO English Club

I read a Chinese article, and in the article it mentions that when Obama was elected as president, some Chinese newspapers used "黑馬躍白宮" as the headline.

That is a very good pun, so this question occurs to me. In Chinese, 黑馬 means someone who might win in a competion unexpectedly.

Is there any similar term in English?

The phrase "黑馬" came from the idiom, "dark horse"; in racing parlance it originally means a little-known horse that wins the race (with few bets on it). "Sleeper" is a good one as either an adjective or a noun for a sports player or movie that achieves unexpected (and sometimes belated) success.

Many thanks, Kat

原來 this phrase is originally from English. Silly me...

This reminds me of the fact that actually some Chinese phrases we use nowadays are also originally from English, such as

1. 這場選舉將是一場割喉戰( cut-throat)

2. 最有價值單身漢 ( most eligible bachelor)

3. 連鎖反應 ( chain reaction)

4. "頭條"新聞 ( headline)

5. 前衛的 ( avant-garde, this word is probably from French)

Can anyone think of other examples?

A "dog-eat-dog" world?

A "generation gap"?

Being "short-sighted"?

"White-collar" and "blue-collar"?

"Hot line" and "Cold War"?





Anytime, Michael.

In the world of NCAA basketball tournament, such team is often called a Cinderella team.

Wikipedia also mentions another term - giant killer, which is a person or sports team that defeats a much stronger opponent, according to definition in a Longman dictionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella_%28sports%29
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball ... cn-8210891

Very good, Kooper! You're right on the money.

"Underdog" is another word for "黑馬".

Wayne 寫:"Underdog" is another word for "黑馬".

According to dictionaries, "underdog" means

1. Longman: a person, team etc that is weaker than the others, is always expected to be unsuccessful, and that is often treated badly

2. Cambridge: in a competition, the person or team considered to be the weakest and the least likely to win

Thus, it seems "underdog" does not fit the meaning of "黑馬"

Kat C 寫:A "dog-eat-dog" world?
A "generation gap"?
Being "short-sighted"?
"White-collar" and "blue-collar"?
"Hot line" and "Cold War"?



Anytime, Michael.

Add one more: to pour cold water on something