"on the radar" as "aware of surrondings"

[Tom Zurinskas]

I've never seen the phrase "on the radar" before used as such.  I'd say it's an extension of "under the radar" which is something going on unnoticed.


Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL7+
see truespel.com phonetic spelling




> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: "Baker, John"
> 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
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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