back the wrong horse

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Also, bet on the wrong horse. Guess wrongly or misjudge a future outcome, as in Jones garnered only a few hundred votes; we obviously backed the wrong horse, or Counting on the price of IBM to rise sharply was betting on the wrong horse. Transferred from wagering money on a horse that fails to win the race, a usage dating from the late 1600s, this term is widely applied to elections and other situations of uncertain outcome.

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The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

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Words nearby back the wrong horse

backswimmer, backswing, backsword, backswordman, back talk, back the wrong horse, back to back, back-to-basics, back to the drawing board, back to the salt mines, back to the wall

Example sentences from the Web for back the wrong horse

France 24 is providing live, round-the-clock coverage of both scenes as they progress.
LIVE Coverage of the Paris Terror Attacks||January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Think back to the Bush-Kerry race of 2004, the Thrilla in Vanilla.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Back in New York, the slow pace and inward focus of her yoga practice was less fulfilling.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Music is a huge part of the tone of Black Dynamite overall—going back to the original 2009 movie on which the series is based.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The al Qaeda-linked gunmen shot back, but only managed to injure one officer before they were taken out.
France Kills Charlie Hebdo Murderers|Nico Hines|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
Ages back—let musty geologists tell us how long ago—'twas a lake, larger than the Lake of Geneva.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
The boys were tumbling about, clinging to his legs, imploring that numerous things be brought back to them.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
With a suffocating gasp, she fell back into the chair on which she sat, and covered her face with her hands.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4|Jane Porter
She was holding the back of her chair with one hand; her loose sleeve had slipped almost to the shoulder of her uplifted arm.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin

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