odds-on choice
- noun
:
opción favorita
- In the upcoming election, the incumbent candidate is widely regarded as the odds-on choice.
Examples
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Kept wide and in the clear down the backside, Called to Serve settled near the back of a compact field as odds-on choice Willy Beamin set a modest pace of 24 3/5, 49 1/5, and 1:13 1/5.
Blog text (15) -
Many experts believe that Sarah is the odds-on choice to win the tournament this year.
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With his impressive track record, Mark has become the odds-on choice for the promotion.
Synonyms
104
4.4
A person who is likely to be chosen for a job or prize
7
4.4
A person or team thought most likely to win
Antonyms
How Likely
77
2.4
- US
165
1.9
152
3.5
4
5.0
- Informal
14
4.6
Surface Forms
Morphology
odds-on + choice
The adjective 'odds-on' is a betting-derived term meaning 'very likely' or 'favored', so 'odds-on choice' literally means the option most likely to succeed. However, the likelihood sense of 'odds-on' is lexicalized and relies on understanding betting 'odds' rather than straightforward compositional meaning, so a B1 learner who only knows the literal constituents may not reliably infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
The phrase odds-on choice comes from betting talk: when a bet is 'odds-on' the chances are clearly for one side, so people who bet put their money on that choice. So, an odds-on choice now means the person or thing most likely 'to win' or be chosen.