mine-run

[James A. Landau]

> >Last Week - Justice R.B. Ginsburg , "so long as the rule, like the mine run
>  >of procedural rules, generally serves the state interest."
>  >
>  >4/19/01 Newsday, "Brian Daubach strokes a three-run homer during Boston's
>  >mine-run eighth inning."
>  >
>  >3/11/01 News & Record, "They do tend to make ordinary, mine-run
politicians
>  >look a little dingy by comparison."
>  >
>  >07/18/94 American Lawyer Newspapers Group, "In the 'mine run' of cases it
>  >may not be so very difficult because more or less similar cases have
blazed
>  >trails."
>  >
>  >Sometimes this seems to mean vast majority - others just run-of-the-mill
>  >ordinary - and the baseball one is, well - what exactly does this phrase
>  >mean, and where did it come from?

Except for the baseball quote, they all mean not "vast majority" but "just
run-of-the-mill ordinary".  In fact, "run of the mill" and "mine run" are not
just synonyms but also probably formed in the same way, one referring to the
"run" of a mill and one to that of a mine.

The baseball quote is an obvious typo, since if there were a three-run homer
it was obviously not a "mine run" or "run of the mill" inning.

          - Jim Landau

P.S.  You really ought to look up Robert E. Lee's celebrated victory over the
Union
Army at the Battle of Mine Run, December 2, 1863.