"on the radar" as "aware of surrondings"

[Jonathan Lighter]

I read it as John does, even though the connotations seem a little bit off.
JL

On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 9:44 AM, Baker, John <JMB at stradley.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Baker, John" <JMB at STRADLEY.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "on the radar" as "aware of surrondings"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>        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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