form book
- noun
- Jargon
:
libro de forma
- The day started with a somewhat shocking result if the form book is anything to go by, with Marsh ejecting current IPA Number 1 and recent European Open winner Gareth Potts in a deciding frame shootout.
Examples
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Punters often rely on the form book to make informed decisions during horse racing events.
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The coach used the form book to evaluate how each player performed in previous matches.
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Creation of that form book has cost clients a bundle.
Academic text (1993) -
Those documents are a custom-crafted form book perfectly suited to the firm's needs.
Academic text (1993) -
Before placing a bet, many people check the form book to analyze competitors' past performances.
Synonyms
A paper that lists horses, race results and betting odds
A printed or online list of the races and horses running
How Detailed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a record of previous performances' is directly derivable from combining 'form' (a competitor's performance state) with 'book' (a collection of pages): literally a book containing competitors' form. This noun+noun compounding is a regular, compositional pattern in English (and parallels exist in other languages), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should infer the meaning.
Etymology
Form book comes from horse racing, where people kept a small book listing each horse's recent form, meaning how it had run and finished. That's why today form book means 'a record of previous performances' used to help decide bets.