A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

best boy • best man
best boy —
1
. (coll.) one’s favorite friend: “I was his best boy,”
Auguste told The Sunday Age. “I miss him dreadfully as a
companion.” 2. (Film or TV production) assistant to the chief
electrician: The gaffer’s assistant answers to the amusing title
of best boy!
best man —the groom’s aide at a wedding: Who will be your
best man when you get married?
Note: 
Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase
best people
— people of high social standing: There are other
hotels, but I couldn’t tell you much about them: they’re not
patronized by the best people.
best of British luck, the • luck of the Irish, the
best of British luck, the —(often shortened to “best of British”)
1
. is used to wish a person very good luck: Let me wish you
the best of British luck. We know how testing the competition
will be. 2. is used ironically, implying that the required luck
may not materialize: The chances of them winning are, let’s
be honest, slim, but we wish them the best of British luck.
luck of the Irish, the —
1
. = best of British luck, the 
1
: I have
stumbled across this journal and your adventure and wish you
the luck of the Irish in your pursuit. 2. extreme good luck or
fortune: Maybe it was the luck of the Irish that saved McFad-
den on that freezing December day.
bet on the wrong horse • put the saddle on the
wrong horse
bet on the wrong horse —(also: back the wrong horse) base
one’s plans, etc. on a wrong guess about smth.: To count on
the family farm as an important thing in the American future
looks like betting on the wrong horse.
put the saddle on the wrong horse —(also: get the wrong pig by
the tail) lay the blame on the wrong person: Blaming the
teacher for the lazy student’s academic failure is putting the
saddle on the wrong horse.