horses for courses

alternative courses for horses

1. UKidiomaticDifferent people are suited for different jobs or situations; what is fitting in one case may not be fitting in another.

   We must note, too, the good position (third) gained by Esmond as an undeniable instance of the "horses for courses" theory, for Esmond won the Peverill of the Peek Plate on this course two years in succession—1892–3.

   1894 December, Baily’s Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume 62, London: Baily Brothers, →OCLC, page 417

   5 more examples

   Not long ago, a group of Thames-side penthouses went up for sale with giveaway Ducati motorbikes worth £13,000 apiece. […] "In many cases giveaways are horses for courses, the inducements matching the styles of properties being marketed," he [David Hollingworth of London and Country Mortgages] adds.

   2003 May 14, Christopher Browne, “Bonanza time for home buyers”, in The Independent, London, archived from the original on 21 Nov 2017

   Far be it from me to judge what anyone else finds attractive – each to their own, horses for courses, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and any number of similar well-meaning platitudes – but no one's going to start arguing forcefully that Mick [Hucknall]'s ever been 'classically handsome'.

   2014 November 10, Helen Coffey, “What does Mick Hucknall have that other men lack?”, in The Daily Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2015

   Emailed greeting cards and digital photos may be more acceptable now, but are not a substitute for the post on every occasion. "People will still want to pour their heart out in letter or want that special photo of a grandchild. It's horses for courses," he [Alki Manias of NetValue] said.

   2002 March 13, Sarah Left, “Email beats snail mail for residential use”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 05 Mar 2016

   However intense music becomes, there's always a limit to how far it can go. And that limit is marked out by its genre or style. […] It's an age-old rule, this insistence on "horses for courses", but in the modern era many musicians have become impatient with it. They dream of a music that knows no limits, which can do everything, all at once.

   2013 January 12, Ivan Hewett, “John Zorn: Master of all styles and none”, in The Daily Telegraph, London, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2016

   Almost immediately he went on to press for stricter standardisation in the future, saying that "horses for courses" was a luxury B.R. could not afford and that manufacturers must expect more detailed specifications from railway engineers in the future.

   1961 July, “Editorial: Sir Brian begs the questions”, in Trains Illustrated, page 385