Dictionary

run for one's money en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

The idiom likely originates with horse racing, where one can get enjoyment "from watching the race even if one does not win much." Its usage was first recorded in 1874.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A difficult challenge for the person indicated, especially one involving a competitive situation.
   • Since the beginning of the world all men have hunted me like a wolf—kings and sages, and poets and lawgivers, all the churches, and all the philosophies. But I have never been caught yet, and the skies will fall in the time I turn to bay. I have given them a good run for their money, and I will now. 1908, G[ilbert] K[eith] Chesterton, The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare, Bristol: J[ames] W[illiams] Arrowsmith, […]; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company, →OCLC:
   • "If your competitor regards you as a menace to his pocketbook, he can give you a nice little run for your money and delay you indefinitely." 1918, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 24, in The Valley of the Giants:
   • After beating Bush in New Hampshire, McCain gave him a two month run for his money. Bush had to prove he wasn't just a famous name. 2003 April 3, Mitch Frank, “Why Primaries Matter”, in Time:
   • Zoe followed him out, and saw he was halfway down the street, running so fast he would give the Olympic-gold-winning sprinters a run for their money. 2012, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Ratburger, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
2. (dated, idiomatic) A reasonable opportunity to succeed, perform acceptably, or escape harm, especially in a difficult situation.
   • "I say he'll get a run for his money. If there's any killing to be done, it will be in fair fight." 1917, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 11, in The Sheriff's Son:
   • He appealed and, by some arrangement or other, got leave to state his case personally to the Court of Revision. Said, I believe, that he did not much trust lawyers, but that if the sahibs would give him a hearing, as man to man, he might have a run for his money. 1913, Rudyard Kipling, chapter 18, in Letters of Travel:

Forms

Relateds

have one's work cut out for one · money's worth

Translations (2)

pl wyzwanie (a difficult challenge for the person indicated) · de jemandem ordentlich Paroli bieten (a difficult challenge for the person indicated)