Language: en
Meaning: (chieflyBritish,idiomatic)Different people aresuitedfor different jobs or situations; what isfittingin one case may not be fitting in another.2003May 14, Christopher Browne, “Bonanza time for home buyers”, inThe Independent[1], London, archived fromthe originalon21 November 2017:Not long ago, a group of Thames-side penthouses went up for sale with giveaway Ducati motorbikes worth £13,000 apiece.[…]"In many cases giveaways arehorses for courses, the inducements matching the styles of properties being marketed," he [David Hollingworth of London and Country Mortgages] adds.2014November 10, Helen Coffey, “What does Mick Hucknall have that other men lack?”, inThe Daily Telegraph[2], London, archived fromthe originalon11 March 2015:Far be it from me to judge what anyone else finds attractive – each to their own,horses for courses, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and any number of similar well-meaning platitudes – but no one's going to start arguing forcefully thatMick [Hucknall]'s ever been 'classically handsome'.2002March 13, Sarah Left, “Email beats snail mail for residential use”, inThe Guardian[3], London, archived fromthe originalon5 March 2016:Emailed greeting cards and digital photos may be more acceptable now, but are not a substitute for the post on every occasion. "People will still want to pour their heart out in letter or want that special photo of a grandchild. It'shorses for courses," he [Alki Manias of NetValue] said.2013January 12,Ivan Hewett, “John Zorn: Master of all styles and none”, inThe Daily Telegraph[4], London, archived fromthe originalon15 March 2016:However intense music becomes, there's always a limit to how far it can go. And that limit is marked out by its genre or style.[…]It's an age-old rule, this insistence on "horses for courses", but in the modern era many musicians have become impatient with it. They dream of a music that knows no limits, which can do everything, all at once.1894December,Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume62, London: Baily Brothers,→OCLC, page417:We must note, too, the good position (third) gained by Esmond as an undeniable instance of the "horses for courses" theory, for Esmond won the Peverill of the Peek Plate on this course two years in succession—1892–3.1961July, “Editorial: Sir Brian begs the questions”, inTrains Illustrated, page385:Almost immediately he went on to press for stricter standardisation in the future, saying that "horses for courses" was a luxury B.R. could not afford and that manufacturers must expect more detailed specifications from railway engineers in the future.
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