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In games where a ball may be legally caught (e.g. baseball) or carried (e.g. American football), a player (or the player's team) may be penalized for dropping the ball; for example, an American football player who drops a ball ("fumbles") risks having the ball recovered and carried by the other team; in baseball, a player who drops a thrown or ...
Tearing the cover off the ball was possible in the early days of baseball, since a single ball was often used for the entire game (as is the case in the game of cricket). The phrase was used in a newspaper account of a baseball game as early as 1866. [68] "In the last two quarters, we knocked the cover off the ball. . . . We exceeded analysts ...
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
According to the 2007 Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, the phrase came from baseball terminology, referring to a play in which the ball is thrown from the area covered by the left fielder to either home plate or first base, surprising the runner. Variations include "out in left field" and simply "left field".
In sabermetrics, "ball in play" and "batting average on balls in play" (BABIP) have specific technical definitions that are used to determine pitchers' ability independently of the fielding defense of a team. In this definition, a home run is not a ball in play. See Defense Independent Pitching Statistics. Also see in play.
Some idioms you likely use all the time, while others might be new to you.
[1] [2] The phrase was originally used as a sports metaphor in political contexts, but has expanded to discussions of other topics as well. [1] Language commentator William Safire wrote that the term refers to details about a subject that require such a specific knowledge about what is being discussed that the nuances are not understood or ...
The Brass Monkey of Stanthorpe, Queensland, a place known for its "brass monkey weather", complete with a set of balls "Cold enough to freeze the balls off (or on) a brass monkey" (also "brass monkey weather" [1]) is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers to describe extremely cold weather.