It's a pretty good game.
As I sat and watched, cuddling a grumpy wakey Cora, I almost made a comment about Lee's fleeting proximity to the ball, and I caught myself, noting the idiomatic play on words that would go right over his head.
And that got me to thinking.
Why the heck does "on the ball" mean being in control, and having everything going the way you planned it?
Because as I watch my son stand on the basketball--using the back of the couch for support--it sure doesn't look like he is in control! When a person is standing on top of a ball, balance is elusive and gravity becomes the seemingly most powerful force, wreaking havoc on the grace, control and 'plans' that the person atop that orb may try to possess.
Which gets me thinking about my own life and its current events. And you know what?
I'm totally on the ball!!!
from bigsiteofamazingfacts.com: To be “on the ball” means to be at the top of your game.
ReplyDeleteWe have all heard a pitcher’s excuse of not having his “stuff” after a bad outing and wondered how that excuse would work with our bosses if we had a bad day.
From the early days of baseball, when a pitcher couldn’t find the spin and lost control, it’s been said he had “nothing on the ball” which gave us “on the ball” as meaning “he’s in control.”
We often say that someone who is sharp is “on the ball”.