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<DIV>Hi, people: Speaking of sports-related sprachgefühl, I thought I'd add my two sense.</DIV>
<DIV>The following idioms/expressions are from my db of field-specific idioms. They represent some, but perhaps not all, of the possibilities of expressing sports superiority, and some are indeed not true idioms. I wrote before about the difficulty in classifying a particular idiom (non-literal) from a simpe expression or saying (literal). All that can be said is that idioms are a special type of expression/saying (a technical and immaterial difference to native-English speakers). The purpose here is to simply demonstrate the varieties of grammar and stylistics that American English speakers use to express `athletic prowess', with the current thread geared toward sprachgefühl, and athleticism/sports being the field used to illustrate the concept. <BR>The change in prepositions, noun numbers, auxilliaries are examples of the difficulty of mastering (sprachgefühl), English or, any language for that matter (e.g. <I>have an instinct
<U>for</I></U>...something; <I>play <U>by</U> instinct; play</I> golf <I><U>with</I></U> (or <I>by</I>) <I>his instinct<U>s</U> || quick <U>on</U> the draw</I>/<I>quickest <U>to</U> the draw/sometimes `quickest <U>on</U> the draw' || He <U>could</U> (<U>can</U> do something) <U>with one hand (arm) </U>tied behind his back.; He <U>could</U> (<U>can</U> </I>do something<I>) <U>with both hands </U>tied behind his back.<BR></DIV></I>
<DIV>I broke my list down into four categories:<BR><B><U><FONT size=4><BR>SKILLS (based on experience)</DIV>
<DIV>Natural ABILITY (genetic)<BR>PERFORMANCE & ACHEIVEMENT (demonstrated)<BR>Instinctive Athletic MOTIVATION/DESIRE<BR>ENTERTAINMENT Value (Popularity-Based)</B></U></FONT><FONT size=3> </FONT><B><U><FONT size=4><BR><BR>1) Skills (based on experience)<BR></DIV></B></U></FONT>
<DIV>(<I>have</I>) (good) ball <I>sense/skill</I><BR><BR><I>have</I> (<I>get/develop</I>) <I>a feel for</I> (something -- eg. kicking a soccer ball early in life.)</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>He <I>has</I> kicking field goals (<I>it</I>/something) <I>down to a science</I>. <BR><BR><I>Look ma, No hands!</DIV></I>
<DIV><BR>He really <I>stays on the ball</I>. <BR><BR>He <I>plays</I> (<I>works/calculates</I>) (all) <I>the angles</I>.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><I>Practice makes perfect.</I> <BR><BR>His <I>eye is trained</I> (<I>for</I> something) <I>(to</I> do something).</DIV>
<DIV>He <I>has a trained eye</I> (for something) (to do something).</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR><B><U><FONT size=4>2) Natural ability (genetics)</B></U></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>He’s <I>athletically inclined</I>.<BR><BR>He’s <I>a diamond in the rough</I>.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>He <I>has a <U>nice </U>touch</I> (on the green/bunting/at the net, etc.).</DIV>
<DIV>(he has) a <I><U>soft</U> touch</DIV></I>
<DIV>(he has) <I>a <U>light </U>touch</DIV></I>
<DIV>(he has) <I>a/the <U>golden touch</I></U> </DIV>
<DIV>(he has) <I>a (<U>good</U>) touch</I> </DIV>
<DIV>(he has) <I>the <U>magic</U> touch</I> <BR></DIV>
<DIV>He still <I>has his touch</I>.</DIV>
<DIV>He still <I>has the (old) touch</I>.</DIV>
<DIV>He’s <I>not lost his touch</I>. <BR><BR>He’s <I>light-handed</I>.<BR></DIV>
<DIV><I>He plays by instinct</I>. <BR>He <I>goes with his instinct</I>.</DIV>
<DIV>He <I>plays by his instinct/instincts<BR></DIV></I>
<DIV>He <I>plays by his guts</I>. <BR><BR>He <I>has razor-sharp eyesight</I>.<BR><BR>He <I>has reflexes like a cat</I>. (<I>cat-like reflexes</I>) <BR><BR>It’s his <I>strong suit</I>. <BR><BR><I>a born athlete <BR>born to be an athlete</DIV>
<DIV>a natural athlete</DIV>
<DIV>a born winner</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>He takes to sports. <BR>He takes to</I> swimming (tennis, etc.) <I>like a duck takes to water</I>.<BR><BR>He’s <I>quick on the draw</I>.</DIV>
<DIV>He’s <I>quickest to the draw</I>. <BR><BR>He’s <I>the go-to guy (gal).</DIV></I>
<DIV><I>the go-to person</I> <BR><BR><I>You can't beat a man at his own game.</DIV></I>
<DIV></DIV><B><U><FONT size=4>
<DIV>3) Performance &Acheivement (demonstrated)<BR><BR></B></U></FONT><I><FONT size=3>(an) all-American </FONT></DIV>
<DIV>an all-star</I> (center/first baseman, etc.) </DIV>
<DIV>He's <I>all-pro</I>.</DIV>
<DIV><I>an all-pro</I> football player (/basketball player, etc.) <BR><BR><I>No one can touch him. </DIV>
<DIV>You can't touch him.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>He plays in a league of his own.</DIV>
<DIV>He's in his own league. <BR>He plays in a different league.</DIV></I>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>a (very) <I>hard act to follow</DIV>
<DIV>a tough act to follow</DIV>
<DIV>a difficult act to follow</DIV></I>
<DIV><BR><I>a heavy hitter</DIV>
<DIV>a long-ball hitter</I> <BR><BR>He’s <I>the odds-on favorite.</I> <BR>He <I>won against all odds</I>. <BR><BR><BR>He <I>can run circles around</I> (someone).</DIV>
<DIV>He’s <I>a triple threat</I>.</DIV>
<DIV><I>at the peak of</I> (one's <I>game/performance</I>)</DIV>
<DIV><I>at/reach one's peak</DIV></I>
<DIV><I>He can do it</I> (do something) <I>blindfolded</I>. <BR><BR><I>It ain't braggin' if you kin do it.</DIV>
<DIV>have (win/maintain/claim/retain) bragging rights</DIV></I>
<DIV><I>He knows how to get it (things) done.</I><BR><BR><I>He can (do something) standing on his head.</I><BR><BR>He <I>took top honors</I>. <BR><BR>Pro-bowlers are <I>the best of the best.</I> <BR><BR>They <I>brought in the heavy hitters.<BR></I><BR><I>He could (do something) with one hand (arm) tied behind his back.<BR>He could (do something) with both hands tied behind his back.</DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV>with one arm tied behind one's back;</DIV>
<DIV>could do something with one hand tied behind one's back;</DIV></I>
<DIV>He <I>could (can) (do something) with his eyes closed.</I> </DIV>
<DIV>He <I>can (do something) with the best of them.</DIV></I>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR><B><U><FONT size=4>4) Instinctive Motivation/Desire</DIV></B></U></FONT>
<DIV><I>go/went for the jugular</DIV>
<DIV>have a taste for the jugular</DIV>
<DIV>have an instinct for the jugular</I> <BR></DIV>
<DIV>He <I>has a killer instinct</I>.<BR><BR>He <I>plays with reckless abandon</I>. </DIV>
<DIV><BR><B><U><FONT size=4>5) Entertainment Value</B></U></FONT> <BR><BR>He’s <I>larger than life</I>.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>He <I>can bring the crowd to its feet</I>.<BR></DIV>
<DIV>He <I>draws a crowd</I>.</DIV>
<DIV>He <I>can (really) draw a crowd</I>. </DIV>
<DIV><I>know how to draw a crowd</I><BR>He’s <I>a crowd pleaser</I>. <BR>He <I>pleases the crowd</I>. <BR>He <I>plays to the crowd</I>. <BR><BR>He <I>can silence a crowd with his play</I>.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hi, Rudy, et al.<BR>--- On <B>Mon, 2/23/09, rtroike@email.arizona.edu <I><rtroike@email.arizona.edu></I></B> wrote:<BR></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"><BR>From: rtroike@email.arizona.edu <rtroike@email.arizona.edu><BR>Subject: [Lexicog] Re: Sprachgefühl<BR>To: lexicographylist@yahoogroups.com<BR>Date: Monday, February 23, 2009, 1:15 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV id=yiv1555487805>
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<DIV><BR>Howdy, all,<BR><BR>My understanding of 'Sprachgefühl' (although it may have traditionally<BR>been applied philologically to puristic or artistic aspects) has always been<BR>that it is essentially what Chomsky originally had in mind in invoking<BR>'linguistic intuition' as the source of judgments of grammaticality,<BR>including such issues as whether 'bnick' or 'tlot' is a possible word of<BR>English. But as suggested in other posts, it can certainly extend to other<BR>areas of contextual, stylistic, gender (in the sociological sense), age, and<BR>regional appropriateness ('felicity', to use Austin's term).<BR><BR>Rudy<BR><BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></td></tr></table><br>
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