Word of the Day Monday, January 14, 2013

also-ran
 \ AWL-soh-ran \  ,
noun;  
1.Informal . A person who loses a contest, election, or other competition.
2.Sports . A. (In a race) a contestant who fails to win or to place among the first three finishers. B. An athlete or team whose performance in competition is rarely, if ever, a winning or near-winning one.
3.Informal . A person who attains little or no success: For every great artist there are a thousand also-rans .

Quotes:
Nah! They wouldn't want an also-ran , and Edsel will always be an also-ran . They want a contender, and that's you.
-- Emily Carmichael, "A New Leash on Life"

The Republicans’ allowing Clint Eastwood to improvise like an also-ran  at a talent show, on their Convention’s most important night, only heightened the contrast.
-- Steve Coll, "Conventional Wisdom," The New Yorker , Sept. 17, 2012

Origin:
Also-ran  was first used in the late 1800s to refer to the losing horse in a horse race. The term was applied more broadly to the loser of any contest shortly thereafter.