Having never read the book I try not to use this expression, but plenty of people do use it, most of whom I'd wager have never read the book - or even know it's a book! (Most recently heard, Ally McCoist on A Question of Sport. :rolleyes:)
Do you use this expression and if so, is it because you've read the book or merely because everyone else seems to say it?
Are there any other expressions that equate to nails on a blackboard for you?
I heard someone on the phone today saying they "need to ballpark a figure". So there you have it...ballpark is now apparently a verb.[/QUOTE
To me it doesn't make sense to say ballpark figure for a rough estimate, because whenever I've been to a sporting event the announcer has given a precise figure for the attendance. I've never heard some one announce that the attendance for the match was about 40,000 give or take!:D
I heard someone on the phone today saying they "need to ballpark a figure". So there you have it...ballpark is now apparently a verb.
To me it doesn't make sense to say ballpark figure for a rough estimate, because whenever I've been to a sporting event the announcer has given a precise figure for the attendance. I've never heard some one announce that the attendance for the match was about 40,000 give or take!:D
It's not really to do with attendance figures for the ballpark stadium though. It's more that the estimated figure is not exact but not too far from what the exact figure would be.
So it is 'in the ballpark' meaning somewhere in a defined, limited area - the ballpark representing a contained structure or field of play.
'in the ballpark' was the first use of the phrase, but it quickly became a 'ballpark figure'.
Whilst writing that has probably made me look like a dick, I can't help but observe that people's reactions to phrases or cliches is sometimes more a reaction to the person who says them rather than the phrase itself. Ballpark figures is often something touted around by piss-poor lower management types who also use other cliches to make themselves sound more business aware than they really are.
I've read Catch 22, loved it, and I've probably used it. Language is always evolving and I like how culture - books, films, tv, music, contributes to it.
The use and mis-use of phrases is fine with me, because it tells me about the type of person I'm dealing with - so SgtRock's example, where someone has turned ballpark into a verb - wouldn't grate - it would just mean I thought the person saying it was a ****.
I used to have a boss who would say things like - it's a real bag of worms. But he'd laugh at himself when he realised.
"110%" because giving 100% isn't quite enough, a bit like an amp that goes all the way to 11 (that's another one I hate - don't read this, no, don't even look at it - that's another)
Aww, I like things going all the way to 11, as long as the person isn't saying it seriously :eek:
"I/he/she/we/they/ turned round and said..." AAAAAAGGGGGHHHH!!!
Oh, I love that too. Purely because, thanks to some comedian or other, it gives me mental images of people pirouetting their way through a conversation.
I don't like "FACT!" (unless used ironically) or "End of". Business-speak-wise, I hate "incentivised", but for some reason have started using "to impact on" as a verb. Gah.
Here, have a glass of water. Feeling better now? How about slides and seesaws?
I've never really understood the full meaning of that phrase is it " what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts"? Or vice versa. I'm off to google it.
If someone says "to be honest" and then comes out with some boring triviality, I always reply "thank you for being honest". They always look confused.
Yep, then you have to explain to them that they said 'to be honest' and they still look and think you're a weirdo...
Its not me, its you, you're the weirdo!
Comments
Yes, especially as it's untrue.
"nails on a blackboard"
I have to admit, I was waiting for that.
I heard someone on the phone today saying they "need to ballpark a figure". So there you have it...ballpark is now apparently a verb.
It's not really to do with attendance figures for the ballpark stadium though. It's more that the estimated figure is not exact but not too far from what the exact figure would be.
So it is 'in the ballpark' meaning somewhere in a defined, limited area - the ballpark representing a contained structure or field of play.
'in the ballpark' was the first use of the phrase, but it quickly became a 'ballpark figure'.
Whilst writing that has probably made me look like a dick, I can't help but observe that people's reactions to phrases or cliches is sometimes more a reaction to the person who says them rather than the phrase itself. Ballpark figures is often something touted around by piss-poor lower management types who also use other cliches to make themselves sound more business aware than they really are.
I've read Catch 22, loved it, and I've probably used it. Language is always evolving and I like how culture - books, films, tv, music, contributes to it.
The use and mis-use of phrases is fine with me, because it tells me about the type of person I'm dealing with - so SgtRock's example, where someone has turned ballpark into a verb - wouldn't grate - it would just mean I thought the person saying it was a ****.
I used to have a boss who would say things like - it's a real bag of worms. But he'd laugh at himself when he realised.
'I'm a people person'
'Good morning, I'm fiona Phillips'
Others from the internet are:
Use use of LOL - online and SPEAKING it in real life
Hella good - wtf!
He did...hmmm. It's on one of his DVDs, but I can't remember which one. An Audience With, I think. (See also, "I'll take my hand off your face"
Aww, I like things going all the way to 11, as long as the person isn't saying it seriously :eek:
Oh, I love that too. Purely because, thanks to some comedian or other, it gives me mental images of people pirouetting their way through a conversation.
I don't like "FACT!" (unless used ironically) or "End of". Business-speak-wise, I hate "incentivised", but for some reason have started using "to impact on" as a verb. Gah.
[highlight]AAAARRRGGHHH!![/highlight]:mad:
Now breathe..........
Here, have a glass of water. Feeling better now? How about slides and seesaws?
I've never really understood the full meaning of that phrase is it " what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts"? Or vice versa. I'm off to google it.
Googled
Other than that I'm a reasonably tolerant person
It's a way of saying "we ****ed up but we're too spineless to actually admit it".
love the way you just tag on to the end of a thread over 4 years old as if it was only yesterday:eek:
I checked for a best before date first... honest!
With a post that's makes no sense.
Or a post which makes more sense than any post before it, all about how you look at these things
Which way are you looking at it?
The only way your post makes sense is if you interpreted the OP as saying
"Please pick 2 random phrases from Catch-22 that nobody uses ever"
The thing is...
That's the point of that phrase though. I always hear/say it as "6 of one, half a dozen of the other."
Yep, then you have to explain to them that they said 'to be honest' and they still look
Its not me, its you, you're the weirdo!
Maybe because my dad says it nearly everyday, that's why I find it annoying...
Yep, heard 'No offence but...' the other day.