In the swim?

[Sam Clements]

It goes back to the mid-1800's in English, meaning  to be in the group, or in the middle of things, such as in a school(swim) of fish.

I can remember using it in the 1960's.

Sam Clements
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Ray Villegas 
  To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
  Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2003 9:56 PM
  Subject: In the swim?


  Recently a friend of mine from West Asia used a book to help him feel more at home while speaking English here in the United States. The book he is using is "Dictionary of 1000 Russian 1000 English Idioms" by T.V. Parkhavovich. One of the idioms used was "I'm in the swim" meaning that one knows something that is happening because someone has kept him/her up to date on things. I told him that in the Southwest we use "In the loop" or "In the circle" but I have never heard "Be in the swim." He said that in Russia they use this expression a lot. 
  Q: Does anyone have references on Standard English spoken around the world and how standard is standard? Has anyone heard of this expression before?
   
  Ray Rocky
  Arizona State University
  Tempe, Arizona






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