Chick)

Bob Fitzke fitzke at VOYAGER.NET
Mon Nov 15 20:41:08 UTC 1999


> Other subject:  From where does "on the bubble" originate?

Just a hunch: A "level" is a tool used to determine if something is in the
plane "parallel" to the surface of the earth (can't figure out any other way
to describe it!) The "level" has glass tube, (sometimes several so as to be
used for checking "plumb" and 45 degree angles) with a liquid in it and a
small amount of air. If the object being checked is "level" the bubble of air
centers between two marks on the tube. "On the bubble" would mean level.
Therefore, the slightest perturbation would shift the "balance" or alter the
status quo. Applied to the athletic world, I've always taken it to mean that
a team (or someone angling for a promotion) "on the bubble" is a team that
could be picked or not, depending on what other perturbations ensue or
eventuate, as Howard might have said.

Bob



More information about the Ads-l mailing list