war horse

war horse

Someone or something who is often depended on to do what is necessary to achieve success, especially in the face of conflict or during difficult times. Though it has struggled in its various other enterprises, the massive corporation still saw a rise in profits at the end of the year thanks to its powerhouse video game console, which has been something of a war horse for it in the past four years. The first goal of the game was scored by the home team's war horse, Jack Milan. You can tell there's been a dearth of new plays worth producing when the national theater company begins putting on shows of their old war horses like "Romeo and Juliet" and "A Streetcar Named Desire."
See also: horse, war
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

war horse

Also, old war horse. A dependable, frequently performed attraction, as in The opera company is doing nothing but old war horses this season, like, Aida and La Bohème. This term originated in the mid-1600s for a military charger that had been through many battles. In the 1800s it began to be used for human veterans, and in the mid-1900s for popular productions, especially of musical works.
See also: horse, war
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • it is all up with
  • it is all up with (someone or something)
  • let (someone) in on the act
  • sacrifice (someone or something) for (someone or something else)
  • sacrifice for
  • keep at
  • keep at (someone or something)
  • (you) can't win them all
  • can’t win em all
  • can’t win them all
References in periodicals archive
He will be giving a performance of songs from War Horse as well as more traditional and contemporary British folk songs along with tales and humour from his recent travels.
Author Michael Morpurgo describes War Horse as an "anthem for peace", although watching the action unfold against a dusky backdrop of exploding shells, zipping bullets, smoke and mustard gas, it's Wilfred Owen's Anthem for Doomed Youth that comes more readily to mind.
At its heart are the magnificent war horses themselves -- Joey, the equine hero of the story, and the thoroughbred Topthorn, both brought to life with extraordinary nuance and attention to detail by their teams of head, heart and hind puppeteers who remain ever visible and yet at the same time become invisible as we completely invest in the puppets as living, breathing entities.
War Horse would probably have not made it to the stage - or at least not been so successful as it has been - were it not for the truly astonishing life-sized 'horses' by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company, who bring the animals to life.
"When my lovely fellow actors are doing their job it can be hard for me to concentrate as there are some really powerful scenes and I am looking at the reaction of the audience, many of who are in tears." War Horse is based on the famous children's book of the same name by acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo.
Curve Chief Executive Chris Stafford and Artistic Director Nikolai Foster said: "War Horse is a landmark of contemporary British theatre, beautifully directed by Marianne Elliot and Tom Morris.
The 10-year-old Irish Sports Horse mare travelled in to the city centre from her stables at Alcott Farm, near Alvechurch, Worcestershire, for a very special meet and greet with War Horse's hero, Joey.
Following eight record-breaking years in London's West End, War Horse has now played in 11 countries around the world and been seen by over seven million people.
The National Theatre's acclaimed production of War Horse arrives at The SEC Armadillo Glasgow from January 15 - February 2, 2019, as part of its national tour and we are giving you the chance to win one of 10 pairs of tickets.
WHEN Birmingham-born actor Lewis Howard was a teenager he went to see the stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse. Amazed at what he was watching, Lewis little expected that ten years later he would be one of the puppeteers bringing that horse, Joey, to life for thousands of other theatre-goers.
THE story of War Horse was first conceived in front of the log fire in the The Duke of York pub in Iddesleigh (Devon) in the winter of 1980, after (or was it during?) a conversation with an old soldier from the First World War, Wilf Ellis, who first told me how it was to find himself as a young man in the trenches of Flanders.
Seeing War Horse on stage is the closest thing you'll get to witnessing a movie unfurl before your very eyes in real time.
Ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa's Handspring Puppet Company brings breathing, galloping horses to life on stage, helping make War Horse the most successful play in the National Theatre's history.
IT WHEN his farmer dad Ted comes home with a foal called Joey, in War Horse (BBC1, tomorrow, 2.05pm), young Albert (Jeremy Irvine) says he will train the animal to work the fields.
This incident was first reported Saturday by (https://www.revealnews.org/blog/hundreds-of-marines-investigated-for-sharing-photos-of-naked-colleagues/) the War Horse via a website called Reveal , which is part of the Center for Investigative Reporting.