dodgepot

n. originally, a race horse that is heavily favored but has mixed success; (hence) a quirky or eccentric person. Subjects: English, United Kingdom, Horses, Sports & Recreation

Etymological Note: The information given in Gerald Hammond’s The Language of Horse Racing is probably correct, that dodgepot is a blend of dodgy and hotpot. Hammond says a hotpot first meant a heavily backed race horse, then later came to also mean a “star performer.” Hammond traces the term dodgepot back to as early as 1990.

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Citations: 1996 Sporting Life (U.K.) (June 11) “Time To React Over Jarvis Filly” p. 15: The old boats and dodgepots who make up the jumpers are back clambering over timber and birch, and just to remind me a nice juicy cheque arrived the other day. 1997 Sun (U.K.) (June 14) “From Derby rags to royal riches”: Brian Meehan’s old dodgepot, Tumbleweed Ridge, will get his favoured conditions—a strong pace and easy ground. 1998 Mary Hannigan Irish Times (June 11) “Walking Parisian grass takes le biscuit” p. 23: Re Brazil’s goalkeeper—Alan Hansen: “Brazil are great going forward, terrfic, but their goalkeeper is an absolute dodgepot.” Jimmy Hill: “It doesn’t take a genius to see that their goalkeeper is slightly suspect.” 1998 Chris Lloyd Northern Echo (U.K.) (June 25) “Chris Lloyd’s World Cup bit on the side” p. 26: In Scotland’s last lament, all the commentators and pundits concentrated on the dodgepot Moroccan keeper. He did indeed have many eccentricities but he pulled off the reflex save of the tournament. 2000 Gerald Hammond Language of Horse Racing (June 1) p. 66: Dodgepot Presumably derived from “dodgy” and “hotpot,” a dodgepot is a horse which has failed to live up to its breeding and reputation. 2000 [Firebeast] Usenet: uk.sport.horseracing (June 19) “Re: Ascot picks, day 1”: A real dodgepot of a race, with loads in with a shout on bare form, but not a lot on the ground conditions. 2005 [Baroness Edwina Frogbucket] Usenet: uk.politics.misc (Aug. 22) “Re: Panorama finds ‘moderate’ Muslims Guilty of Heinous Crime!”: The so-called moderate voice of Islam as repesented by the Muslim Council of Britain, is affilliated to some real dodge-pot radical organisations. 2005 Martin Hannan Scotland on Sunday (Oct. 9) “Cracking reads and not a dodgepot among them” p. 21: I confess I had never heard of a dodgepot before. It’s a portmanteau word combining dodgy and hotpot, and means a talking horse—another term in the lexicon—which should be avoided by punters at all costs. I’ve backed enough of them to know that a dodgepot is all too common these days. 2005 Stevie Bennett Bald Is The New Black (London, England) (Dec. 11) “Warning—Torrent of Shite. Very long”: McCoy tried to pinch the race by going clear down the hill. However Paul Carberry on the enigmatic (in racing parlance that means ‘dodgepot’ by the way) Harchibald had the move covered to score a comfortable success.

Posted 28 Dec 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend