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.
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
The myth of Joe Louis' invincibility started a year ago when, a raw but talented young fisticuffer eight months out of the amateur class, he defeated a worn trial horse named Natie Brown.
From Time Magazine Archive
In three races, Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith's new Endeavor, in which he and Mrs. Sopwith expect to cross the Atlantic this month, beat her trial horse, W. L Stephenson's Velsheda, twice.
From Time Magazine Archive
His comeback so far had been unimpressive; in January he was beaten by a clumsy trial horse, Tiger Jones.
From Time Magazine Archive
And in the matter of a contest Jasper could not imagine a better trial horse than Buck Heath.
From Way of the Lawless by Max Brand
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.
