heart attack kid
attrib.— «He won the Santa Anita Derby in 1958. No—he swamped The Derby in 1958. He came from 30 lengths out of it to an unbelievable victory. Of course, he won other contests zooming up from as much as 40 lengths off the pace. Between gasps, fans called him “The Showboat” and “The Heart Attack Kid.”» —“’…And Here Comes Silky Sullivan!'” in advertisement Los Angeles Times Mar. 25, 1975. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
What’s the origin of the phrase a country mile? Vida from Rochester, New York, says her husband often uses it, as in “go about a country mile and then make a left.” The expression goes back at least 300 years in the United Kingdom and has long meant...
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...