dark horse—a candidate, etc. of whom little is known but who may unexpectedly come to the front:
- Every now and then a dark horse is heard of, who is supposed to have done wonders at some obscure small college.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase gray mare, the—(dated) the wife who rules her husband (in allusion to the saying “the gray mare is the better horse”):
- Thus, by the covetousness of this woman, who was the gray mare, and the folly of the master … my good principles were nearly eradicated from my bosom.
white horse—
1. (pl.) white foam and spray on the crests of waves:
- As mariners say, the sea is covered with “white horses.”
2. (UK) a horse carved into the side of a chalk hill and visible from a great distance (most some hundreds of years old):
- The Uffington white horse is by far the oldest … and is of an entirely different design.
3. (White Horse) the proprietary name of a brand of whisky:
- White Horse was the first distillery to sport screw caps.
Cf.: white mule—(U.S. sl.) cheap or illicitly distilled whisky:
- I know a good bootlegger over there in Santa Fe, and if you take me over there, I’ll buy you a gallon of White Mule.
4. (U.S. Drug users) cocaine:
- White Horse, White Lady, White Girl: Those are just a handful of cocaine’s street names.