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Whole New "Word" Game

Paulette C. Jordan

Winners never quit and quitters never win.
—Author unknown

"Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."
—Vince Lombardi, American football coach

The winners in life think constantly in terms of I can, I will, and I am. Losers, on the other hand, concentrate their waking thought on what they should have or would have done, or what they can’t do.
—Dennis Waitley

It’s a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don’t quit when you’re tired—you quit when the gorilla is tired.
—Robert Strauss, Swimmer

If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.
—Author unknown

First there are those who are winners, and know they are winners. Then there are the losers who know they are losers. Then there are those who are not winners, but don’t know it. They’re the ones for me. They never quit trying.
—"Bear" Bryant, American football coach

Sports Idioms

Ball of fire
a very active and energetic person
She’s a ball of fire; she seems to succeed no matter what.

Fun and games
characterized by playing around; doing worthless things
He is all fun and games, but he seems to get the job done on time.

Gear up
to prepare for something
We were so geared up for the game that we scored ten goals.

Catch it
to get into trouble and receive punishment
We’re going to catch it if she comes back to the office early.

Horse around
to waste time; to be careless
During the meeting the boss shouted, "Stop horsing around and get to work."

Play ball
to cooperate with someone
As soon as both sides sign the contract, then we can play ball.

All balled up
troubled; confused; in a mess
The orientation was so hurried that afterwards the staff members were all balled up.

At this stage of the game
currently
At this stage of the game, we knew we had no chance of winning the bid.

Sporting chance
a reasonably good possibility
We thought we had a sporting chance when the other company withdrew its bid.

Have the ball in someone’s court
to have to make a response
They’ve rejected our proposal, so the ball’s in their court now.

Whole new ball game
a new set of circumstances
We found our way around Washington DC, without getting lost, but New York City is a whole new ball game.

Ball park figure
an estimate
At this time all we need is a ball park figure. Exactness comes later.

Bench
to withdraw someone; to stop someone from participating
The director of the play benched the lead actress because she was always late for rehearsals.

Major league
a high level of performance
You’re in the major leagues now—no more wearing jeans to the office.

On the ball
knowledgeable; competent; attentive
If we were on the ball; the bills wouldn’t have been paid late.

The following three sayings are used to console or encourage someone who is disappointed:

You win a few, you lose a few.

You can’t win them all.

That’s the way the ball bounces.

Baseball idioms

Be a hit
to please someone or something
The award ceremony went well. It was a hit in Washington.

Throw a curve ball
to surprise someone with an unexpected act or event
Jim really threw us a curve ball by making that last-minute change.

Off base
unrealistic; inexact; wrong
His cost estimate was off base. I will have to ask someone else.

Out of left field
not relevant; unexpected
His silly solutions to the problem were out of left field.

Boxing idioms

Pull one’s punches
to hold back in one’s criticism
My English teacher doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to discipline.

Throw in the towel
to quit; to give up
When they found out he was receiving bribes, the Senator knew it was time to throw in the towel.

Bowling idiom

Bowl over
to surprise or overwhelm
When I heard the news that I got the new job, it bowled me over.

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