competition

See Also: BUSINESS, SPORTS

1. As competitive as two dogs after a bitch in heat —Anon
2. Asking him to compete fairly is like asking a hungry lion to leave the lambs alone —Mike Sommer
3. Competition is like sugar sprinkled on cobbler pie —Elmer Kelton
4. A non-competitive businessman is like an honest crook —Elyse Sommer
5. Playing tennis without keeping score is like apple pie sans la mode —Anon

the Devil take the hindmost Every man for himself; survival of the fittest; similar to the more current phrase the last one in is a rotten egg, popular among children. This expression is said to have derived from an old legend concerning the Devil’s school at Toledo where students were instructed in the art of black magic. Each year, as a sort of test, the graduating class was made to run through an underground hall. The last one, if caught by the Devil, would then become his servant. The phrase was used as early as 1611.

give [someone] a run for [his] money To provide keen and tough competition, thereby inciting one’s opponent to go all out, to “give it all he’s got” to win. Dating from the 19th century, this expression was originally racing slang. The then current have a run for one’s money was suggestive of a determined struggle and subsequent victory or payoff. Today to give [someone] a run for his money means to make that person work for what would otherwise have been an easy victory.

jockey for position To maneuver or compete within the ranks for an advantageous position; to manipulate or pull strings to gain a more favorable position. The allusion is to horse racing and the jockeys’ skillful maneuvering. The expression is now frequently applied to any kind of competitive maneuvering although it has been used in reference to sports since the early part of this century.

keeping up with the Joneses Trying to maintain the social standing of one’s neighbors; creating the impression that one is on an equal social or economic stratum as one’s neighbors. This expression was coined in 1913 by Arthur “Pop” Momand, a cartoonist for the New York Globe, who satirized his own social pretensions in his long-running comic strip. The surname Jones was undoubtedly picked to represent the average American of Anglo-Saxon descent.

rat race See FRENZIEDNESS.

take up the gauntlet To accept or undertake willingly any challenging task; to accept an offer to fight or duel. Similarly, throw down the gauntlet means to challenge one to a fight or duel. Gauntlets were the armored gloves worn by knights in medieval times. A knight wishing to joust with another would cast his gauntlet to the ground as a challenge to combat. The other knight would pick up the gauntlet to show the challenge was accepted.

throw one’s hat into the ring To enter a competition, to become a candidate for public office, to accept a challenge. This expression, dating from the mid-19th century, is said to derive from the custom of throwing a hat into the ring to signal the acceptance of a pugilist’s challenge.

up for grabs Open to competition; available, free. This U.S. expression made its appearance in slang dictionaries by the 1940s; it is now quite commonly used in informal writing, often in reference to positions, candidacies, etc.

While the phrase carries the connotation of wide-open competition, it also implies the necessity of effort and competence to attain the goal. A possible but totally conjectural origin is that up for grabs derives from the jump ball in basketball.