run for the roses

run for the roses

English

Noun

run for the roses (plural runs for the roses)

1. (usually capitalized and preceded by the) The Kentucky Derby horse race.
2. (idiomatic, American football) A college football game or series of games played with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the championship Rose Bowl game.
   • 1954, Lloyd Larson, "Ohio Comes Through Like Real Champ," Milwaukee Sentinel, 23 Nov., part 2, p. 2 (retrieved 24 Aug. 2009):

     Looking back at Ohio State's run for the roses, there might be some who will insist the Buckeyes were lucky to escape defeat at least once. . . . the Buckeyes whipped a jinx in the form of premature Rose Bowl talk.

3. (idiomatic, by extension) A hard-fought competition or demanding challenge of any kind.
   • 1984, Lawrence Sanders, The Passion of Molly T., →ISBN, p. 226:

     The time had come, Dundee acknowledged, to decide if he was serious about making a run for the roses. It was only mid-1990, but presidential campaigns had evolved into two-year affairs, and if he really had that famous "fire in his belly," now was the time.

   • 2007, Kathleen Bacus, Calamity Jayne Heads West, →ISBN, p. 136:

     I thought about leaps of faith, runs for the roses, and reaching for the stars.