Politics is a strange beast.

Throw in one of the most destructive (and disruptive) viruses, leadership succession, and an economy ravaged by “crisis of a generation” for more than a year and you get what is known as politics in Singapore.

And just a few days ago, you can add metaphorical to this oddity.

Ho Ching, outgoing CEO of Temasek Holdings and wife of PM Lee Hsien Loong, used a horse’s pace to describe the Covid-19 situation in Singapore -- particularly about the reporting (or rather unreporting) of unlinked Covid-19 cases in the community.

Since one of the characteristics of commenting about politics in Singapore is not to directly talk about it, here’s a glossary of words that are associated with horses that may or may not be related to real-life events.

Here comes the cavalry.

Dark horse

Actual meaning: A candidate or competitor about whom little is known but who unexpectedly wins or succeeds.

Local context, please: What could be described as a two-horse race suddenly became a three-horse derby with a dark horse full of youth and vitality threatening to gallop away with the premiership.

Derby

Actual meaning: An annual flat race for three-year-old horses, founded in 1780 by the 12th Earl of Derby and run on Epsom Downs in England in late May or early June.

Seriously, who is the next boss?: This derby has been in the making since the last day of 2017 when a retired thoroughbred hoped the next premiership champion could emerge soon.

Gallop

Actual meaning: The fastest pace of a horse or other quadruped, with all the feet off the ground together in each stride.

When unlinked becomes history: “We are not there yet, and unlinked cases are still relevant for the purpose of getting a sense whether we are having a runaway gallop or a steady trot.”

Jockey

Actual meaning: A person who rides in horse races, especially as a profession. Or struggle by every available means to gain or achieve something.

Politically speaking: All three horses are jockeying for space to expand the "safe space" for Singaporeans.

Stable

Actual meaning: A building set apart and adapted for keeping horses. Or (of an object or structure) not likely to give way or overturn; firmly fixed.

Stability in Singapore: Is the Covid-19 situation stable enough for us to proceed to the endemic stage? I think the jockeys want to walk us through the situation via Zoom.

Trot

Actual meaning: (with reference to a horse or other four-legged animal) proceed or cause to proceed at a pace faster than a walk, lifting each diagonal pair of legs alternately.

When you want unlinked numbers to come back: “We are not there yet, and unlinked cases are still relevant for the purpose of getting a sense whether we are having a runaway gallop or a steady trot.”

Turf

Actual meaning: Horse racing or racecourses generally. Or an area or sphere of activity regarded as someone's personal territory.

Every time the premier thoroughbred wants to shake things up: This used to be its turf but has since switched hands to another horse due to a reshuffle in the stables.

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And from the horses’ (the multi-ministry taskforce co-chairs’) mouths, Singapore will hit 1,000 new Covid-19 cases daily soon and the next two to four weeks are crucial.

This means we should stop horsing around and trot cautiously -- at least for the next four weeks -- before we turn into thoroughbreds and gallop into the sunset.

All meanings from the Oxford dictionary. Top photo via Unsplash