Meaning & use
one-trick pony
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
Someone or something that has only one skill, idea, or method and cannot do other things well.
Grammar: Countable: use a/an or a plural: a one-trick pony, several one-trick ponies. Often used after be.
Patterns
- be a one-trick pony
- become a one-trick pony
The band was called a one-trick pony because every song sounded the same.
He can fix cars, but he's a one-trick pony—he can't do anything else.
Investors worry that the company is a one-trick pony with only one product.
Word forms
| plural | one-trick ponies |
|---|
Common combinations
- be a one-trick pony
- The team is a one-trick pony: they only know how to play long balls.
- a bit of a one-trick pony
- The restaurant is a bit of a one-trick pony, serving only one dish.
- dismiss someone as a one-trick pony
- Critics dismissed the singer as a one-trick pony.
Synonyms and how they differ
- specialist
- A specialist is neutral or positive and means someone who knows one area deeply; a one-trick pony is negative and suggests a lack of variety.
- limited
- Limited is an adjective meaning restricted in ability; a one-trick pony is a noun for a person or thing with only one skill.
Practice
The coach said the team was a one-trick pony because ______.
Choose one answer.
A one-trick pony has only one skill or method, so relying on one play fits. Winning every match or training daily does not show a lack of variety.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “one-trick pony”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.