Thursday, April 30, 2009

Baseball or cricket, anyone?

Here is some interesting information that I found from the book Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English by Christopher Davies (1997, Houghton Mifflin, pgs. 125-126):

"Americans often use sports terms in conversations. One sport from which a lot of terms are borrowed is baseball, which, by the way, evolved from the British game called rounders."

a ballpark figure (a rough estimate)
a tough call (a difficult decision)
The bases are loaded. (It's a make-or-break decision.)
batting a thousand (going great guns)
batting zero (getting nowhere)
cover all bases (take care of everything)
didn't get to first base (didn't accomplish anything)
go to bat for someone (be someone's advocate)
be off-base (hold a mistaken idea)
out in left field (off track)
screwball (eccentric or irrational person)
step up to the plate (make a stand)
strike out (fail)
throw someone a curve[ball] (bowl someone a googly)
touch base (get in touch with someone)
whole new ball game (completely different situation)
You're up./You're at bat. (It's your turn)

I've also learned that the British have some expressions that come from the sport cricket. Here are a few which I gleened from different sources:

knocked for six - thrown for a loop
to bowl someone a googly - to throw someone a curve(ball)
on a good wicket - in a good position
on a sticky wicket - in a bad position or difficult situation
not batting on a full wicket - not playing with a full deck
Well bowled! - Well done!

I welcome comments from my American and British friends, and please let me know if you have any more expressions that I've omitted.

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