trial horse
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of trial horse
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In a dozen tune-up races with an elderly twelve-meter trial horse, Evaine, the gleaming Sceptre had been beaten every time.
From Time Magazine Archive
He even went so far as to commission Britton Chance Jr. to design a new 12-meter to be used as a trial horse for the challenging French sloop.
From Time Magazine Archive
But Sydney is not Newport, and after watching Dame Pattie in U.S. waters against her trial horse, Nefertiti, most experts do not rate her quite as fast as Intrepid.
From Time Magazine Archive
In a month of sailing against the trial horse Vim, Gretel had shown an alarming tendency to heel over in heavy weather.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ye couldn't have a better trial horse fer a new b'y.
From Thoroughbreds by Fraser, William Alexander
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
