The smart money hit the canvas. The long shot got the nod.

The smart money hit the canvas. 

Hit the canvas 
definition. 
verb phrase To be knocked down in a fight (entry form 1922+, variant 1919+)



“Once I saw a prizefighter boxing a yokel. The fighter was swift and
amazingly scientific. His body was one violent flow of rapid rhythmic action.
He hit the yokel a hundred times while the yokel held up his arms in
stunned surprise. But suddenly the yokel, rolling about in the gale of boxing
gloves, struck one blow and knocked science, speed and footwork as cold as a
Well-digger's posterior. The smart money hit the canvas. The long shot got the
nod. The yokel had simply stepped inside of his opponent's sense of time.” 
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man


“Once I saw a prizefighter boxing a yokel. The fighter was swift and
amazingly scientific. His body was one violent flow of rapid rhythmic action.
He hit the yokel a hundred times while the yokel held up his arms in
stunned surprise. But suddenly the yokel, rolling about in the gale of boxing
gloves, struck one blow and knocked science, speed and footwork as cold as a
Well-digger's posterior. The smart money hit the canvas. The long shot got the
nod. The yokel had simply stepped inside of his opponent's sense of time.” 
― Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

well-digger's ass

Older slang, used in cold weather to place emphasis on how extremely cold it is outdoors.

Damn, it's colder than a well-digger's ass!

Posterior 

n. 名詞; 1. 【文】【幽】後部；臀部[C]. He paused a moment to raise his posterior from the chair. 他停頓了一下，從椅子上立起來。

- Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posterior

このページを訳す

Posterior may refer to: Posterior (anatomy), the end of an organism opposite to its head. Buttocks, as a euphemism. Posterior probability, the conditional probability that is assigned when the relevant evidence is taken into account; Posterior ...

郭恆祺 經過了一個鐘頭的google與比對，我想學長這句話應該是出自於美國知名小說“ Invisible Man"小說中吧？the smart money 我查到的另一義是”老手“，hit the canvas在拳擊術語中是被擊倒而臉撞在拳擊台上(canvas原意是畫布，但我查到另一義是拳擊台的表面)，而這段小說的原文我猜應該是一位老練的比賽常勝拳擊手訓練有素,出拳精確，但最後反而輸給另一個本來居於弱勢，最後一陣亂拳打昏（老）師父的yokel（鄉巴佬/路人甲).The long shot got the nod，應該是指不可能贏的人最後取得勝利。

long shot=幾乎不可能發生的事，get the nod=被認可。

以推理方式查典故句比較有效，但單句的話真的常會被猜離本意。

還是要看上下文來解題,我也不一定是對的 ,請參考一下囉!

smart money

noun

1. money bet or invested by people with expert knowledge.

   
   

   "the smart money in entertainment is invested in copyright"

   • knowledgeable people collectively.

     
     

     "the smart money in music programming is abandoning pop"

smart moneynoun 

/ˈsmɑːt ˌmʌn.i/ /ˈsmɑːrt ˌmʌn.i/

​

[ U ] money that is bet (= risked) or invested (= put into something inorder to make a profit) by people who know a lot about a subject:

A lot of smart money is going into the uranium market right now.

the smart money [ S ]

​

the people who know a lot about a subject:

The smart money always finds a way to win.

Americans like staying near beaches, but the smart money stays up high, away from the crowds and the heat.

​

If the smart money is on something, or says something, peoplewho know a lot about the situation think it will happen:

There's no doubt that the smart money will be on Williams to repeat last year's success.

And the smart money says that the committee will reject the offer.