Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[BMO]

A: How did your horse do in the race?

B: He won by a long shot.

About the answer. Is it the horse won by a big margin or that he wasn't supposed to win, but did?

[Sirius]

Generally the term long shot means unlikely to win.

The horse was a long shot to win.

Although in your example it sounds like he won by a large margin

[advoca]

Sorry, BMO, but you are not correct when you say "The horse won by a long shot." This is not right, not by a long shot. A horse cannot win by a long shot.

Long shot has three meanings:

� noun: a venture that involves great risk but promises great rewards
� noun: a contestant that is unlikely to win
� noun: a camera shot taken at considerable distance from the subject.

You could say:

�Buy some shares in that new gold mine company. It�s a long shot investment but the prospects are attractive.�

�Is that horse going to win?� �I don�t know. Maybe, but it�s a long shot.�

�When the cowboy arrives, take him from far back; a long shot.�

But the phrase is often used informally to mean "not by any means" (You are not right, not by a long shot.)

[BMO]

I think sirius is correct in saying that "by a long shot" means by a long distance. So the horse is way ahead of the runner-up. Please look at the following:

Michelle Kwan won the Figure Skating Championship by a long shot.

This probably means Michelle is ahead by a big margin. If I am correct, is she the number 1?

Thanks.

bmo

[advoca]

Beats me.

I have no idea how Michelle can win by a long shot. Just plain old-fashioned bad writing, I think.

[pugachevV]

Journalists are notorious for mangling the English language.
Take anything you read in the newspaper with a grain of salt. And I mean EVERYTHING.
If a horse wins a race by a large distance, you say he won by a mile, or he won "going away" (This actually means he was still increasing his lead as he passed the post).

A long shot is originally a term used in archery and shooting and it means what advoca, and the Oxford dictionary, say it means.

[BMO]

This is from Wordsmyth:

See: long shot


Definition 1. by a considerable amount or distance.
Example Her ball missed the line by a long shot ; That runner is ahead of me by a long shot.


------------------------
From M-W Online:
long shot
- by a long shot : by a great deal

[clonc]

[BMO]

[Sirius]

As you've indicated, a dictionary does not always reflect the fluidity of language.

I had not often heard long shot as a reference to winning by a large margin. A quick search on the internet showed that it is a fairly common term.

The main thing is that if you encounter this phrase, with a native English speaker, you understand the intent of what they're saying.

[BMO]

Hey, thanks again, sirius.

bmo