one-trick pony

Alternative forms

• one trick pony

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

one-trick pony (plural one-trick ponies)

1. A performing animal (especially a pony) that knows only one trick.
2. (idiomatic, by extension) A person or group noteworthy for only a single achievement, skill, or characteristic.
   • 1980, Paul Simon, “One-Trick Pony”:

     He's a one-trick pony / One trick is all that horse can do / He does one trick only / It's the principal source of his revenue