one-horse race
1
4.8
- noun
- /ˈwʌnˌhɔrs reɪs/
:
carrera de un solo caballo
- Because no one pays to see a one-horse race.
Examples
-
That makes it a one-horse race.
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The election turned out to be a one-horse race, with the incumbent easily defeating his challengers.
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Since only one candidate participated, the competition was essentially a one-horse race from the start.
-
In the championship game, the defending champions played so well that it felt like a one-horse race throughout the match.
Antonyms
How Competitive
Surface Forms
Morphology
one-horse + race
The image 'a race with only one horse' directly leads to the idea of there being no real competition, so a learner who knows 'one', 'horse' and 'race' can plausibly infer the intended sense. However, the phrase is a metaphorical extension used idiomatically for any contest (not literally about horses), so full, conventionalized usage (apply to elections, markets, etc.) may not be completely predictable without exposure.
Etymology
The phrase one-horse race comes from horse racing: imagine a race where only one horse runs because the other horses are weak or missing. So today it means a contest with 'no real competition' or an 'easy win'.