In Friday's USA Today there was an article in their business section on Americans' use of sports jargon in global business ventures. Here's a great example:

quote:

Arrow Electronics is a Fortune 500 company in Melville, N.Y., that does business in 53 countries. CEO William Mitchell remembers wanting to change the agenda at a global leadership meeting in Fiuggi, Italy. He stood up and announced, "I'm calling an audible." Americans understood. "The Europeans hadn't a clue," Mitchell says.

I also liked this quote by Paula Shannon, the senior vice president of Lionbridge:

quote:

"The Hail Mary is my favorite expression, which doesn't make sense anywhere that isn't football mad," Shannon says. "You can establish your American centricity and risk a religious offense at the same time."

Also, take a look (at the left of the article) at the baseball/business dictionary. One I hadn't heard of was "can of corn." In baseball it means a fly ball that's an easy catch and in business it's a decision or action that is a no-brainer; a product that sells itself.

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Originally posted by Kalleh:
One I hadn't heard of was "can of corn."

I hadn't heard of it before, either, but The Word Detective had. In this article he plugs "New Dickson Baseball Dictionary," by Paul Dickson. See Wikipedia: "List of baseball jargon" and "English language idioms derived from baseball."

Tinman

American sports are not well-known outside America and hence their jargon is also not well-known. I would suggest that other sports that are rarely played outside their country of origin would also have jargon that is known only in the home country.

I know very little about any sport but even I have heard a few terms that would be known only by those who know about cricket (and thus not by many Americans).

And having bowled that particular googly, I expect to be hit for six by someone more knowledgeable about cricket than I am.

Out of curiosity, is the term 'hospital pass' used in the USA? In rugby and football (and by extension in business) it means the sort of hurried pass to a team-mate that will only put him in trouble (but, however, gets you out of it). The team-mate is immediately jumped upon by the opposition - literally or metaphorically.

Also out of curiosity, what does 'calling an audible' mean?

I never heard hospital pass before.

Audible: In American football, the plans for the next play are communicated in an onfield huddle before the ball is put in play. If the quarterback determines that the defense has lined up so as make the planned play unlikely to succeed, he may call an audible, a new play whose instructions are coded in the words he shouts before the ball is put in play. In short, it means to abandon the previously worked-out plan because the tactical situation has changed and put a new plan into effect on the ground, as it were.

An American equivalent to "hospital pass" would be "hung out to dry". That would describe a situation such as a high pass to a receiver over the middle that leaves the receiver exposed to a vicious hit when he extends to catch the ball. "The quarterback really hung his man out to dry with that wounded duck (bad pass)."

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Originally posted by arnie:
Out of curiosity, is the term 'hospital pass' used in the USA? In rugby and football (and by extension in business) it means the sort of hurried pass to a team-mate that will only put him in trouble (but, however, gets you out of it). The team-mate is immediately jumped upon by the opposition - literally or metaphorically.

Good heavens! Does it? Shows how much I know about sport. I have never heard the term. I ammore familiar with the various US sporting metaphors from watching TV.

I use baseball jargon often, and occasionally I will use the term "balk" in the baseball sense and a room full of Americans won't know what I mean. In baseball, a "balk" is an illegal maneuver where you start to pitch the ball, but stop in the middle. I use the term to describe someone starting something(small) but stopping in the middle.

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American sports are not well-known outside America

I can't say I agree with that. Surely basketball is a growing sport internationally. Many players in our draft now come from foreign countries. Likewise for baseball. While American football is probably not as popular, it surely is a growing sport worldwide. The Superbowl was seen in 232 countries by an estimated 1 billion people. Broadcasters worked the game in 12 languages: English, Danish, Flemish, French, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portugese, Romanian, Russian, and Spanish. More than that, the game was also broadcast in Arabic, Basque, Cantonese, Catalan, Croatian, Faroese, Farsi, Filipino, Galician, Greek, Greenlandic, Hindi, Icelandic, Italian, Korean, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Polish, Serbian, Swedish and Thai.

I'd say Amerian sports are fairly well-known across the world.

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I'd say Amerian sports are fairly well-known across the world.

We live in a global village now and just about every sport, of every kind, is broadcast to just about everyone. So "fairly well-known" is about right. That doesn't equate to well-known or popular. Just try asking anyone in England about American sports or an American sports club and see the blank expression; ask that same person about football (proper football, not the American cross between rugby and British Bulldog) and you'll see the difference.

I'd have to disagree.
As is by now well-known I know nothing about sport, be it British or American. Most of my friends, however, do know about sport and while it's true that they know more about football (aka Soccer to the Americans) they are generally also knowledgeable about American football and baseball, at least as knowledgeable as they are about non-football British sports.
They can name US football or baseball players, explain the rules of the games, even, for American football read the referees signals.

And even I knew what an "audible" is.

On occasion I have dozed off in front of the TV and woken up at dead of night to find US football or baseball on the screen. There is usually a UK and a US presenter; the former seems to work as a translator for the jargon spoken by the latter. I suspect that the US presenter is mostly unaware that he is using jargon.

quote: There is usually a UK and a US presenter

Interesting. We would refer to the announcer or, in a typical team of two, the play-by-play announcer and the color commentator.

I never knew what "calling an audible" meant, or that "hung out to dry" had its origins in American football until I read this thread. I think many women neither get, nor use, as much of the sports jargon as men in this country. There is a book on business communication called Hardball for Women by Pat Heim, in which the author discusses the tendency of American males to couch their professional thoughts and conversations in sports jargon. She advises women to speak, or at least understand, this language if they want to get ahead, and also to interpret things in the same athletic sense as their male counterparts. For instance, she says, women usually believe that "teamwork" means arriving at consensus through collaborative discussion and negotiation, whereas most men believe "teamwork" to mean obeying the boss absolutely and without thought or question, as they did when their high school athletic coaches told them to do 10 laps or 50 push-ups. When women try to discuss things collaboratively with their male bosses in an attempt to be team players, they are often seen as being completely the opposite.

Pretty discouraging, I'd say.

Wordmatic

quote:

I think many women neither get, nor use, as much of the sports jargon as men in this country.

I'd agree, though I do know my basketball jargon. When I get on the train and try to get a good seat, I always tell my husband that I have to set a pick (which isn't all that easy for a 5'2" tall woman around 6' tall, husky men!).

On the other hand, I'd definitely define teamwork the woman way. I'd call the other definition hierarchy or something.

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For instance, she says, women usually believe that "teamwork" means arriving at consensus through collaborative discussion and negotiation, whereas most men believe "teamwork" to mean obeying the boss absolutely and without thought or question

Neither is a full definition of teamwork; both are definitions of working and leadership styles.

My definition of a team, which I used in my book on the subject, is "...“A team is a group of people who co-operate to achieve a common objective under the leadership of one who may or may not, be a member of that team.”..."

Leadership style, which may range from autocratic (as implied in your second example) to democratic (your first example) is only a part of team operation. A very autocratic leader will set out clear goals and explain the procedures for achieving those goals, which he or she will closely monitor, intervening as soon as there appears to be any deviation, leaving the team little scope for initiative. A very democratic leader will simply set out the goals and standards and then leave the team to get on with achieving them.

Both leadership styles have their advantages and disadvantages and I am not sure that there is any overall gender bias (although it would be an interesting project to find out).

quote: I never knew ... that "hung out to dry" had its origins in American football.

According to American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, "This expression alludes to hanging wet laundry on a clothesline." I'm skeptical.

We use "hung out to dry" commonly over here, so I doubt any connection with American football. I can't say I've ever thought about it, but I'd have assumed it came from wet laundry.

quote:

Neither is a full definition of teamwork; both are definitions of working and leadership styles.

I agree with your assessment of leadership styles and working groups, but Heim was simply reporting what women and men had told her were their beliefs about what the word means.

In my business courses, I did do some research on male and female leadership styles. Most women tend to lead more democratically, and most men, more autocratically, in the studies I looked at, but some companies are now rewarding gender-neutral styles that encompass the best of both worlds. Ironically, women who lead in more of a masculine style are often slapped down for doing so, as are men who adopt a more inclusive style of leadership, and then seen as lacking backbone in older-style organizations! It's a no-win, and I say the answer is to marry rich or retire young! ;-)

Wordmatic

I was merely looking for a phrase that is used in sports that meant something similar to "hospital pass". "Hung out to dry" is not originally a sporting phrase, but it is frequently used in American sports to describe a situation where a player is put in a vulnerable or bad situation by someone else. Another example is from auto racing. If you are in a car race in a drafting line, and the other cars duck into or form another drafting lineup when you cannot, or if other cars do not join you when you try to form another drafting lineup, then you have been hung out to dry.

It is not quite the same concept as a hospital pass, since the person doing you in may not be in trouble themselves, but it is similar.

quote: is the term 'hospital pass' used in the USA?

I've never heard it. But interestingly, it doesn't seem to be strongly a UK item: in google-news, only four of ten hits were from the UK. (The others were Australia (3), New Zealand (2) and South Africa.)

Edit: I'm betting this comes out of Australia. The oldest example I find, while from a US paper, appears to be an Australian speaking: ... said: "In footy (which is what Australians call The game), a ball hit as high as Reggie hits it means an automatic hospital pass for a teammate. ... Dallas Morning News, Nov 4, 1988 (subscription service)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: wordnerd,

It's certainly a lot older than 1988. We used it at school more than twenty years earlier. I'd suspect it originated in rugby as a tackle from the opposition is more likely to land a player in hospital literally. It could well have originated in Australia.

BTW, 'footy' in Australia is Australian Rules Football, a weird mix of American and Gaelic Football played in tight shorts and singlets.

From the OED Online:

• hang, v.
  To suspend or tie up (bacon, beef, etc.) in the air to mature, to dry for preservation, or (game, venison) to become ‘high’.
  
  1599 H. BUTTES Dyets drie Dinner Ivjb, Fallow Deere..fat, very well chased, hang'd untill it be tender. 1697 W. DAMPIER Voy. I. 43 The meat they string up, and hang it a drying. 1796 H. GLASSE Cookery iii. 20 If your venison be very sweet, only dry it with a cloth, and hang it where the air comes. 1863 Morn. Star 1 Jan. 5 Potter..said game is not fit to eat until it has been hung.
  
  
  
• hang v.
  trans. To suspend (a sign, colours, or the like) from a window, on a projecting pole, a rope, etc.; to display as a sign or signal. Also, to hang out to dry: to suspend (wet washing) on a clothes-line in the open so that it can dry. Hence transf. in Cricket: hang one's bat out to dry (see quots.).
  to hang out one's shingle (U.S. colloq.) to put up one's sign-board or door-plate, to establish oneself in business.
  
  1564 in Vicary's Anat. (1888) App. iii. 166 Takynge care, that they..doe neyther hange or beate oute..eny maner of beddynge or apparrell. 1600 J. PORY tr. Leo's Africa II. 129 While women are bathing themselves, they hang out a rope at the first entrance of the house, which is a signe. 1654 WHITLOCK Zootomia 79, I will..be the Physitian, and hang out an Urinall. 1712 ADDISON Spect. No. 265 6 The Whig and Tory Ladies begin already to hang out different Colours. 1884 BESANT Childr. Gibeon 2 When she was hanging out the clothes. 1893 N.E.D. s.v. Clothes sb. pl., Clothes-line, rope, a cord or wire on which to hang out washed clothes to dry. a1898 Mod. Flags and banners were hung out in honour of the royal visit. 1895 C. B. FRY in Badminton Mag. Aug. 132 He [sc. the young player on hard wickets] gets into the habit of moving his right leg, leaving his bat hanging out to dry, and playing crooked. 1925 Country Life 25 July 142/1 In playing forward..never ‘hang your bat out to dry’ by not advancing your left foot to the pitch of the ball; if you do, you have neither power nor control.
  
  
• hospital, n.
  hospital pass Rugby Football, etc., a pass to a player likely to be tackled heavily as soon as he receives it;
  1978 Times 27 Nov. 9/3 The centres were always cramped for room, but the distribution was not always quick or accurate enough and *hospital passes were not unknown. 1986 Guardian 17 Mar. 29/7 It was not exactly a hospital pass but... He made three yards before he was smothered.

The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:

hang out to dry

Abandon someone to danger, as in The squadron withdrew and just let us hang out to dry

. This expression alludes to hanging wet laundry on a clothesline. [Slang; 1960s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms © Cambridge University Press 2003:

hang someone out to dry
to not support or help someone. After losing the election, the party is going to hang him out to dry.
Etymology: based on the practice of hanging an animal that has been killed in a tree so its meat can dry

Tinman

The expression "in the ballpark" is from baseball, and is a widely used expression. The term "closer" probably originated in baseball, and is used in sales.

I have no doubt "in the ballpark" came from baseball, but I'm skeptical about closer. The OED Online attests the baseball closer from 1980 and the sales closer to 1906:

• Baseball. A reliable relief pitcher who enters a game in the final innings, typically to preserve a slim lead.
  
  1980 N.Y. Times 21 Sept. V. 4/2 Last year..he was often used as a long reliever rather than the ‘closer’ he had always been. 1990 Sports Illustr. 8 Oct. 28/2 Jeff Gray had pitched the eighth for Boston, and Morgan let him pitch the ninth, despite the fact that Boston's closer, Jeff Reardon, was ready. 2004 D. DRAVECKY & M. YORKEY Called Up xxxiv. 151 Trevorlike 95 percent of today's closersusually comes into the game with a clean slate: ninth inning, no one on base.
  
  
• orig. U.S. A person adept at bringing business transactions to a satisfactory conclusion.
  
  1906 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 10 Nov. 16/3 (advt.) A leading real estate firm wants a first-class experienced man for inside work; must be a good closer and familiar with Oakland real estate values. 1968 F. EXLEY Fan's Notes (1985) 256 In the aluminum siding racket Mr. Blue was a ‘closer’. He traveled about with two or three..Ivy League types..whose job it was to get Mr. Blue into a house so that he could get the buyer's signature on a contract, thus ‘closing’ the sale. 1992 Economist 3 Oct. 11/2 (advt.) The candidate understands how to access public and private financial markets, is flexible, a self-starter, a closer, an excellent communicator and a team player. 2004 U.S. News & World Rep. 2 Aug. 36/1 She was, says one colleague, the best ‘closer’ he'd ever seen -- someone who knew how to cut deals and get the job done.

The word, closer, meaning "One who or that which closes (in various senses of the vb.)", is attested from 1611.

Tinman

Come to think of it, the position of closer is relatively new to baseball, as is the concept of relief pitching, so I'll withdraw that suggestion.