cinderella

4 definitions • 3 examples

a girl in a traditional story who was badly treated by her sisters but who met and married a prince

someone or something that is given little attention or care, especially less than is deserved:

Mental health has long been considered the Cinderella of the health service.

someone or something, especially a sports team, that achieves success when people think they are very unlikely to:

The Colts, with their "poor" defense, may prove to be the Cinderella team of the playoffs.

someone or something suddenly successful but previously unknown or given little attention, from a traditional story:

All four Cinderella teams lost in the semifinals, leaving no true underdogs.