"on the radar" as "aware of surrondings"

[Baker, John]

        My reading of this use of "on the radar" is that it means
"high-profile; those to which others pay attention."


John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf
Of Herb Stahlke
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 9:32 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: "on the radar" as "aware of surrondings"

In an online discussion of techniques for teaching writing, one
participant wrote about using guided writing tasks as preparation for
statewide testing.  She wrote that "Schools that are on the radar are
doing this weekly."  I searched several pages of googits and could
find no usage of "on the radar" with this meaning.  It looks as if for
her "on the radar" means "actively scanning the environment" rather
than "showing up on a scan."

Herb

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