1. Re: Horses for Courses
Derek wrote:
> Must be an Australianism - ain't diversity a wonderful thing.
Actually, it's a British racing term. Certain horses run better on certain=
=20
courses. Its used to mean a person or thing being employed for the purpose=
=20
for which it is best suited.
Not that I know this first hand; I defer to:
http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/13/messages/690.html
for the following information:
A mostly British expression urging someone to stick to the thing he knows=20
best, 'horses for courses' comes from the horse racing world, where it is=20
widely assumed that some horses race better on certain courses than on=20
others. In 1898 a British writer noted in the first recorded use of the=20
expression: "A familiar phrase on the turf is 'horses for courses.'" From t=
he=20
"Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on=20
=46ile, New York, 1997, Page 339).
A course of action or policy that has been modified slightly from the origi=
nal=20
to allow for altered circumstances. A horse that runs well on a dry course=
=20
will run less well on a damp course and vice versa.
=46rom "Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, Sixteenth Edition" (1999)
A familiar phrase on the turf is "horses for courses".... The Brighton Cour=
se=20
is very like Epson, and horses that win at one meating often win at the=20
other. (A.E.T. Watson, "Turf", 1891)
He must concentrate on the doctrine of horses for courses ... in using the=
=20
special knowledge of individual ministers. (H. Wilson, "Governance of=20
Britain", 1976)
In the thoroughbred racing, it's called "horses for courses." In Hollywood,=
=20
it's known as smart casting. ("Washington Post", July 7, 1996)
=2D- David Cuny
