also-ran

English

Etymology

From the world of horse race betting, where lists of winners would be published with non-paying positions printed in a block under the heading “Also Ran”.

Noun

also-ran (plural also-rans)

1. A person or animal who competed in a race but did not win.
2. (figuratively) A loser; a person or thing soon to be forgotten.
   • 1960 June 18, “Nerves of Steel”, in The New York Times:

     It also turned Palmer from an also-ran into a challenger.

   • 1962, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament, volume 4, Australia, page 261:

     I have 37 actors and actresses I would supply for television and radio work and then I have maybe 150 to 200 also-rans who get extra work and television commercials.

   • 1978 April 26, Janet Maslin, “Film: Scorsese and the Band”, in The New York Times‎:

     […] some of Mr. Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but an also-ran.

   • 1993, Martin Yate, Hiring the Best, Adams Media, page 58:

     And, of course, it is also far easier, quicker, and less embarrassing to dismiss an also-ran over the phone than it is in person […]

   • 1998, Richard C Dorf, The Technology Management Handbook, CRC Press, page 40:

     […] as the drug came out of the R&D laboratory, it could have been just another also-ran […]

   • 2004 August 9, The New Yorker, page 40:

     The transition from comer to also-ran can be quick […]

Translations

See also

• first loser
• nearly man
• underdog

Further reading

• “also-ran”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “also-ran”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “also-ran” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.

Anagrams

• nasoral