At a yoga workshop recently the teacher was telling us to be aware of our stance and whether our feet were unbalanced on the ground, with more weight on the heels than on the front of the feet, or vice versa. She told us that the English language told us the effects of posture and the distribution of weight on the feet. If you 'dig your heels in', she said, you are stubborn and obstinate - not a good thing to be, whereas if your weight is on the balls of your feet then you are lively, alert and 'on the ball'.
Well, that might be a good image to evoke to help yoga students stand correctly but the etymology is wrong. The expression 'on the ball' comes from baseball and was first used in the early 20th century. There was an earlier expression 'to put something on the ball' which meant be slick and speedy. An advertisement then encouraged sportsmen to 'always keep your eye on the ball'. The phrase arrived in Britain, and the second part of the idiom took on a life of its own.
Susan:
As I'm sure you know, "keep your eye on the ball" is still current.
Posted by: Marc Leavitt | October 10, 2012 at 07:33 PM
Susan,
A bit of additional info on the expressions you mentioned.
"Putting something on the ball" is used to encourage the "pitcher" (analogous to a "bowler" in cricket) to throw faster and/or to put spin on the ball, causing it to curve in flight. It is just my guess, but this expression may have it's roots in the practise of pitchers "doctoring the ball" by secretly applying a banned foreign substance to cause it to spin and curve more dramatically.
"Keeping your eye on the ball", while used in several ways is primarily in reference to the "batter" (a.k.a. "batsman") not taking his eyes off the ball as it comes toward him.
It is also used, mostly with children learning the game, to encourage fielders to pay attention.
As Marc commented above, both expressions are still very much in use today.
Posted by: John | October 10, 2012 at 11:09 PM
Thanks, both, for the info. Generally, my knowledge is weak in the sports arena.
Posted by: Virtual Linguist | October 15, 2012 at 06:14 PM
As is mine in the linguistics domain, which is why I follow your blog. Always informative.
Thanks.
Posted by: john | October 15, 2012 at 08:31 PM