At the Baseball Game

C H A P T E R 8

A T T H E B A S E B A L L G A M E

(Scene: Taro and his girlfriend Miyako sit with their friends Joe and Barbara at a professional baseball game).

Joe: What a great day for a baseball game! The weather is ideal! Not a cloud in the sky!

Taro: Joe, tell me. Did you every want to be a professional baseball player?

Joe: I dreamed of playing pro ball as long as I can remember. But when I tried out for the baseball
team in high school, the skills I had were common, strickly run-of-the-mill.

Barbara: Look! The runner from first base is trying to steal second!

Joe: The catcher threw him out by a mile! As I was saying, My abilities were nothing special. I
didn't have what it takes. I practiced and practiced, but I never improved.

Miyako: Did you know that Taro played baseball in Japan?

Joe: No fooling?

Taro: As a teenager I played in a local league. I loved baseball but I could never hit a curve ball! .
Are you a big fan of this team?

Joe: I used to be before the baseball strike, which left a bad taste in my mouth. I still enjoy seeing
a game once in a while.

Barbara: The trouble with this team is the manager. He lets his players get away with murder!

Joe: That's for certain. I'd like to see a new manager take over. One who would really take lay
down the law!

Barbara: I'm dead set against the salaries paid to some of the players. That pitcher is getting
million dollars to play ball for one year!

Joe: Man, I just polished off those two hot dogs. Are any of you hungry for more?

Barbara: I'd like to get back to my point. Is this pitcher worth the money he's getting?

Joe: Not on your life! How can anyone with a straight face say that he deserves that much
money?

Barbara: I'm glad we see eye to eye.

Taro: Who's coming in to pitch?

Joe: Stevens. He had been a fine starting pitcher but as a reliever, he's been no great shakes.

Miyako: Isn't McMillian still with this team?

Joe: They've had him on the bench since he hasn't been hitting. He hasn't seen any action in weeks.

Barbara: I think Stevens might still rise to the occasion. It's early in the season.

Joe: Can you believe in your right mind that he still has his stuff? I think he's over the hill!
     Besides, when he walked out on strike, it was like he cut off his nose to spite his face! The guy
     was making five million and he went out on strike? Every since then, I've taken a dim view of
     him and most of the other players.

Miyako: If you don't like the players, why do you still come to see games?

Joe: I just don't want to give up on something I've loved for a long time. That's it in a nutshell.
I've got a sentimental attachment to this game. It's part of my youth and I don't want to let go
of it. Come on! Let's get some more hot dogs!

EXERCISES:

Exercise 1: Select the meaning of the following idioms most appropriate to the above dialogue. An answer key is at the end of the chapter.

1. Not a cloud in the sky: (a) a bright, sunny day, (b) nighttime, (c) a rainy day

2. Run-of-the-mill: (a) produced by a mill, (b) ordinary, (c) produced by machines

3. Out by a mile (baseball jargon): (a) tagged out by a considerable distance, (b) the runner
stopped running, (c) tagged out by a wide throw.

4. What it takes: (a) something that is stolen, (b) what is required, (c) what is missing

5. Leave a bad taste in one's mouth: (a) to have eaten bad food, (b) to have bad breathe, (c) to
have a lingering bad memory.

6. Get away with murder: (a) get away with violence, (b) get away with some questionable
behavior, (c) to get away from the authorities.

7. Lay down the law: (a) to be a lawyer, (b) to know one's rights, (c) to be authoritarian

8. Dead set against: (a) to set a corpse against something, (b) to be in opposition, (c) to be
heavily in debt.

9. Polish off: (a) to shine something, (b) to eat quickly, (c) to rub off

10. To one's point: (a) to one's finger, (b) to one's pencil, (c) to one's main idea

11. Not on your life: (a) emphatically no, (b) to threathen one's life, (c) to bet one's life

12. With a straight face: (a) not homosexual, (b) a dull face, (c) a serious face

13. No great shakes: (a) not impressive, (b) not steady, (c) to rock and roll

14. On the bench: (a) lying down, (b) inactive, (c) exercising

15. Rise to the occasion: (a) sit up when called, (b) occasionally get up, (c) perform well under
pressure.

16. In one's right mind: (a) thinking carefully, (b) insane, (c) to think according to tradition

17. Over the hill: (a) lost, (b) heading for another location, (c) beyond one's time of capability

18. Cut off his nose to spit his face: (a) to do self-mutilation, (b) to deliberately injure one's
reputation in taking a viewpoint, (c) to be deceitful

19. In a nutshell: (a) in a few words, (b) in something that can be thrown away, (c) confinement

Exercise 2: Fill in the correct idiom from the above list. An answer key is at the end of this
chapter.

1. You want me to go over the Paterson Falls in a barrel? I wouldn't do it for a million dollars!.
Never! No! ____________________.

2. I had never seen such a day while sailing. The sun was shinning brightly, and I could see for
miles. There was________________________.

3. You want to know my opinion of the candidate? Well, here it is, as briefly as I can state it,
______________________.

4. Jessie is a remarkable liar. He can look at you _______________________ and say
anything.

5. This has been my worst season. Since my performance has been so bad, the manager has kept
me ____________________.

6. As a father, I know that discipline is essential in raising children. There are times when I must
__________________________________.

7. In the third innng of the baseball game, Guerrero tried to steal second base, but he was
________________________________.

8. Ralph had a reputation for being tough, but when he walked out and left us to deal with the
angry customers, he really _________________________________________.

9. Maryann had expected something special when she read the job description but the position
turned out to be strickly _______________________________.

10. Since Phil could not understand the workings of the computer, he began to feel sorry for
himself and told his friends that he was ___________________.

11. Marla assured me that she had___________, and that she was capable of handling the
additional responsibility the job entailed.

12. The French teacher has no control of his class. He lets the students __________________.

13. I thought the new system would be qualitatively different, but it's been__________________.

14. Even though Freddie looks rather pathetic playing ball today, we should wait for the playoffs.
He will _________________________________.

15. I know that the instructor apologized, but the entire incident has left me
with__________________________.

16. Although the committee supports the recommendations, I find nothing of merit in them. In
fact, I'm _________________________them.

17. Rita knows that Rollie likes to eat, but she was astounded that he managed to
_____________ six hamburgers in ten minutes.

18. When I hear Melanie say such things, I can't believe that she is _________________.

19. Digressions, digressions, digressions! That's all we hear! Can we please ____________
______________________ and focus on the issue before us?

Exercise 3:Use the following idioms in a spoken sentence of your own creation.

1. Not a cloud in the sky:_ ______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Run-of-the-mill:____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Out by a mile:______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

4. What it takes:______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

5. A bad taste in one's mouth:____________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

6. Get away with murder:_______________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

7. Lay down the law:___________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

8. Dead set against:____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

9. Polish off:_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

10. Get back to the point:________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

11. Not on your life:____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

12. With a straight face:_________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

13. No great shakes:____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

14. On the bench:______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

15. Rise to the occasion:________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

16. In one's right mind:__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

17. Over the hill:_______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

18. Cut off one's nose to spit one's face:_____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

19. In a nutshell:_______________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4:Examine the previous sentences and decide which of them would be more suitable for formal written expression through the use of synonyms. Rewrite those sentences using precise, appropriate synonyms.

Answers to exercise 1: (a), 2 (b), 3 (a), 4 (b), 5 (c), 6 (b), 7 (c), 8 (b), 9 (b), 10 (c), 11 (a), 12 (c),
13 (a), 14 (b), 15 (c), 16 (a), 17 (c), 18 (b), 19 (a).

Answers to exercise 2:

1. not on your life                                    10. over the hill
2. not a cloud in the sky                         11. what it takes
3. in a nutshell                                         12. get away with murder
4. with a straight face                             13. no great shakes
5. on the bench                                       14. rise to the occasion
6. lay down the law                                 15. a bad taste in my mouth
7. out by a mile                                       16. dead set against
8. cut off his nose to spite his face       17. polish off
9. run-of-the-mill                                     18. in her right mind
                                                                 19. get back to the point

© Charles Bordogna 2002