a dark horse
/ə ˌdɑːk ˈhɔːs/NEUTRAL · C1
Meaning
someone with unexpected talents or interests they rarely mention
Examples
- 1Aisha is a dark horse; none of us knew she could play the violin.
- 2Our quiet neighbour turned out to be a dark horse with several published novels.
- 3What a dark horse you are, keeping your fluent Japanese a secret from us all!
- 4That unexpected chess trophy revealed Ben as a dark horse; he'd never mentioned playing before.
- 5I'd call our receptionist a dark horse: her pottery exhibition surprised everyone who knew her only at work.
Grammar
Countable; usually singular after be or turn out to be. Use a before dark horse.
Similar in meaning
More idioms about animals
All 20 idioms and the topic quiz →a night owlsomeone who prefers staying awake and active latelet sleeping dogs lieto avoid reopening an old problema guinea pigsomeone used to test a new product or methodmonkey businessdishonest or unacceptable behaviourcrocodile tearspretended sadness or regret that is not sincerean eager beaversomeone very keen to work hard
English Idioms400 idioms in 20 topics — with reviews that keep them from fading
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