[Ads-l] Idiom: right off the bat

[Stephen Goranson]

Right off hand, top of my head, I'd guess cricket before baseball.
British Newspaper Archive might help were I subscribed.
sg
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From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 7:45 AM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Idiom: right off the bat

1869 National Republican (June 26) (Washington, D.C.) 4: Colonel Jones was
then a victim to George Wright, who took his ball right off the bat and
sent it in to Gould before the lively Colonel could get there.

1870 Chicago Republican (Aug. 2) 4: Malone out on a foul tip to Craver,
taken right off the bat.

1870 Chicago Tribune (Sept. 6) 3: Foley took a back seat on a shart [sic]
tip by King right off the bat.

 1888 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, O.) (Aug. 5) 10: Let me hear that kid use
slang again, and I'll give it to him right off the bat. I'll wipe up the
floor with him.

JL

On Tue, Jul 4, 2023 at 6:00 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I was asked during a family gathering about the idiom "right off the
> bat". Here is an analysis from Grammarist:
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://grammarist.com/idiom/right-off-the-bat/__;!!OToaGQ!qgJEol65xjxuZUPB7r6NxOXCwEuENQpq6vPnK-HHEJ6r2lR0EuXYG4OQf1a9O-GVNQR0rjcxFh4oOIsStCKO3A$
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Right off the bat means immediately, right away or from the very
> beginning. The phrase right off the bat is assumed to have come from
> the American game of baseball. In baseball, when a batter makes
> contact with the ball with his bat, he must quickly run to first base
> before the opposing team can get that ball to first base. The term
> right off the bat was first used in the 1880s, with literal and
> figurative usage.
> [End excerpt]
>
> The OED has some citations.
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> 3. d. In baseball, the implement used to strike the ball or the act of
> using it; esp, in phrases at bat, hot (or right) off the bat, to (the)
> bat; also figurative. North American.
> . . .
> 1914   Maclean's Feb. 135/2   Get one that chums-up with your spirit
> right off the bat, natural like.
>
> 1955   New Yorker 21 May 76/3   You can tell right off the bat that
> they're wicked, because they keep eating grapes indolently.
> [End excerpt]
>
> I would be interested in seeing early literal and figurative uses. How
> did the meaning "immediately" evolve?
>
> Garson
>
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>


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