[Ads-l] Idiom: right off the bat

Thu Jul 6 05:10:28 UTC 2023

Thanks for your excellent efforts, JL and sg. Your help is greatly
appreciated. Here are the details for the citation located by sg in
the British Newspaper Archive.

Date: June 8, 1861
Newspaper: Sussex Agricultural Express
Newspaper Location: Sussex, England
Article: Cricket Matches
Quote Page 5, Column 3 and 4
Database: British Newspaper Archive

[Begin excerpt]
Ellis followed, and he proved that he is not gone back in his play,
making some excellent batting, and was eventually beautifully caught
by Knight right off the bat—a catch which made up for a slight faux
pas which he had just previously made, when, instead of putting a man
out he retained the ball in his hand.
[End excerpt]

The phrase "right off the bat" appeared in an odd extended theological
metaphor. The essay discussed baseball. Apparently, a clergyman is
supposed to hit the soul of a sinner hard with a figurative bat, so
the devil will not catch the fast moving soul.

Year: 1869
Book Title: Letters of Peregrine Pickle
Author: George P. Upton
Publisher: The Western News Company, Chicago, Illinois
Chapter: Muscular Christianity
Quote Page 38
https://books.google.com/books?id=EydFAAAAYAAJ&q=%22off+the+bat%22#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpt]
The Devil is not only a hard hitter with the bat, but he is a quick
fielder, and he will pick a soul right off the bat of one of these
soft muscle men while S. M. is wasting his strength on the air. He has
another advantage over our clergymen. Most of them are confined to one
base. The Devil plays on all the bases at once, and he can take the
hottest kind of a ball without winking. Our ministers ought to get so
they can do the same thing.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Wed, Jul 5, 2023 at 10:07 AM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
>
> The poor snippet
> Ctje Bussey Cyprtgg. Surrey of jflatl, anti Coimtp 9lD\)rrttgcr<https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000654/18610608/057/0005>
>
> ... Ellis followed, and proved that lie is not gone buck in his play, making some excellent batting, ami was eventually beautifully caught bv Knight right off tbo bat—a catch which made up for a slight favxjMis which be had just previously mode, when, instead ...
>
> Published: Saturday 08 June 1861
> Newspaper: Sussex Agricultural Express<https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?newspaperTitle=Sussex%20Agricultural%20Express>
> County: Sussex, England
> may mean
> I was misinformed
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, July 5, 2023 9:18 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: Re: Idiom: right off the bat
>
> I've just checked British Library Newspapers ("45,923,019 documents").
>
> Literal exx. in cricket begin in 1880.
>
> The earliest figurative ex. I see is in a slangy 1905 article reprinted
> from the Indianapolis News to show (once again) how Americans are ruining
> the language. (Nottingham Evening Post, May 10, p. 2.)
>
> JL
>
> On Wed, Jul 5, 2023 at 8:28 AM Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
>
> > Right off hand, top of my head, I'd guess cricket before baseball.
> > British Newspaper Archive might help were I subscribed.
> > sg
> > ________________________________
> > 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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> >
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> >
>
>
> --
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>
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