One-Trick Pony

One-Trick Pony

Welcome to English in a Minute.

A pony is a small horse.

Sometimes people teach them to do tricks, like in a circus.

Okay, things are coming along nicely.

We should be ready for the big conference next week.

Wait a minute.

We still need something to make a video of our products.

Ask Elissa to do it. She has tons of time.

Elissa? No way.

She is a one-trick pony.

She works with still images but not video.

Are you serious?

Why do we hire someone who can only do one thing?

A one-trick pony can only do one thing well.

A person who is a “one-trick pony” has little else to offer.

But we can also use this to describe someone who has had only one big success.

And that’s English in a Minute!