"<to be> in the tank for <someone>"

[Wilson Gray]

FWIW, sounds like boxing to me. A fighter who goes into the tank for
someone has agreed to throw the fight, with the meaning perhaps
influenced by "be in bed with."

-Wilson

On 1/1/06, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "<to be> in the tank for <someone>"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I see Mark has already posted his query to the Usenet newsgroup
> alt.usage.english, where it's generated a lot of discussion. Richard
> Maurer and Mark Brader found a number of exx. on newsgroups for sports
> and politics. The earliest using the full "in the tank for" expression
> is from from Nov 8 1994:
>
>     It is clear the networks and Newsweek went in the tank
>     for Democrats to try to save them
>
> And there's this from George H.W. Bush's speech accepting the
> presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, Aug 20,
> 1992:
>
>     http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/shownomination.php?convid=5
>     After all, my opponent's campaign is being backed by practically
>     every trial lawyer who ever wore a tasselled loafer. He's not in the
>     ring with them; he's in the tank.
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>