Re: Casey Jones
Posted by Barney on March 30, 2002 In Reply to: Casey Jones posted by R.
Berg on March 30, 2002
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Has anyne heard the term
"balls out"? It is often used in business settings when a company
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : decides to change to a new
software system. To go "balls out" means to install it and use it
without
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : worrying about the way we've
always done it.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Does the term come from the
way the pendulum swings all the way out?
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Um. Well. Ahhh. No.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : To go "balls out" means to throw
caution to the winds and charge full-steam ahead. Without wanting
to be too blunt as to the phrase's provenance, it's something which
we males could do both figuratively *and* literally (though I can't
think of any printable occasions when I'd do the latter), whereas
the fairer sex is limited to doing it figuratively.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : I believe that this expression
originated with the early steam engines whose governors were a pair
of spinning balls, which described a larger and larger circle as
the demanded speed, and hence their rotational speed, increased
to control the steam valve and hence the flow of steam from boiler
to pistons.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : Ahahahahah. I can actually call to
mind the device you describe - a pair of balls, each mounted at
the hinge point that joins two rods of metal, right? So when the
rods are spun around their vertical axis, the centrifugal force
given to the balls causes them to pull out, thus making the hinges
bend? Extremely plausible and actually I really and sincerely hope
you're right on this, because it'll be pricelessly funny if you
are.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : Tho I can't give you a definitive source,
I can confirm that "balls out" does come from the days of steam
engines and their governing devices, just as Mr Barney says. Mr
Fallen and Mr Bob too from the look of it can console themselves
in knowing that their alternative belief is far more popular than
the correct one. And to know this sort of detail about steam engines,
you'd have to be kinda geeky about them too.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : This is a difficult question. Is any
documentation forthcoming to support either possibility? The dictionaries
seem to prefer a derivation from the anatomical balls, but the mechanical-balls
story seems believable too. Apparently the expression is only known
from WW II times or so. Does anybody have an example of an early
(or even late) straight-faced use of an adverb "balls out" referring
to that gadget with the balls?
: : : : : : : : : : : : My references don't have this phrase, but
my husband says the device was called a flyball governor and it
used to be common in discussions of feedback loops. (When it spins
faster, it makes the engine slow down.) That might help in searching.
: : : : : : : : : : : It's said that "balls to the wall" has the
same origin as "balls out." I don't have an authoritative source
for this.
: : : : : : : : : : I'd have thought that "balls to the wall" was
far more likely to be of anatomical derivation than "balls out"
- (mind you, I also thought the latter was anatomical). Sheer speculation,
but I had imagined that "balls to the wall" referred to the effect
of accelerative G-Forces squashing a pilot or race car driver back
into his seat. Interestingly enough, I expect there's little doubt
that the similar-seeming but presumably unrelated phrase "to nail
someone's balls to the wall" is of anatomical provenance.
: : : : : : : : : : I see the erudite jury's still out on "balls
out". Despite my earlier belief, the steam engine solution felt
like hot favourite as soon as I saw the post - though you'd think
there would be numerous 18th and certainly 19th century references
if this were the case. I wonder if it'll turn out to be a mini 9
yards?
: : : : : : : : : People, people. The steam engine explanation
is clearly one of those "polite" fabrications somebody invented
so as not to offend someone. It doesn't make the slightest bit of
sense: the phrase is about recklessness, about being oblivious to
harm and proceeding without the usual protect-yourself conventions.
The flyball governor is a governor, for goshsakes. It's function
is to protect the machine by slowing it down, to keep it under control
and prevent reckless, ungoverned damage. Here's my theory: This
is very much a 9-yardism: John Q. Reckless talks to his pals about
going balls out, investing his life savings in pork belly futures,
when his sainted mother walks into the billiard room. He covers
his verbal impropriety by inventing this steam engine story, and
mom repeats it to her friends at the Canasta game, who perpetuate
it because they also buy into cement mixers, kilts, machine gun
belts, or whatever a friend of a friend "knows." Yours cautiously....
: : : : : : : : Governors do not make engines slow down as their
rotation speed increases - irrespective of the recollections of
anybody - rather they represent the engine speed' and can be adjusted
to limit it to a safe maximum. To adjust a governor to maximum 'ball
out", is to set it to deliver the maximum possible power/speed that
the engineer/'adjuster of the governor' believes the engine can
deliver this side of some sort of mechanical failure that may destroy
it.
: : : : : : : : Now while one may respect the erudition of some
of the contributors to this forum it is plainly obvious that none
feel any embarrassment whatever at parading their complete ignorance
of scientific or technical matters but would feel mortified if they
misquoted the words of some long dead second rate poet - strange
old world don't you think?
: : : : : : : You're working very hard to make this phrase technical
and scientific, but it's not convincing. Let's line up the last
thousand people to use the phrase "balls out" and compare what percentage
are conversant with antique steam engine technology versus what
percentage are conversant with testicles. That's current usage and
meaning, one might object, but surely the origin of the phrase comes
from those days of yore when flyball governors were everywhere,
and testicles had not yet been invented. Let's look at it again:
if a governor exists to adjust an engine speed to "limit it to a
safe maximum," that's hardly the meaning one intends to communicate
with the phrase. The reason a golf cart has a governor is to prevent
it from going over 15 miles per hour. It can be adjusted, of course,
for a course. If it lacked a governor, some reckless, testosterone-poisoned
operators would drive much too fast for conditions, even on hillsides,
so their clubs would bounce, and their balls would fall out.
: : : : : : Not to mention the discomfort caused to any poor boobs
who happened to be traveling with them.
: : : : : : A flyball governor does too regulate engine speed:
see link (http://www.eagleridgetech.com/sloan_on_flyball_governor.html).
: : : : : Firstly, nobody is questioning that a governor regulates
engine speed, but I take issue with the comment "(When it spins
faster, it makes the engine slow down.)", which is patently wrong.
: : : : : Secondly, to say "You're working very hard to make this
phrase technical and scientific" is simply arrant nonsense. Whether
the actions of the steam governor were, or were not, the origin
of the oft-used phrase "balls out" is a matter of probability and
opinion until someone digs out some relevant references. In the
meantime I merely cited the governor as the probable origin.
: : : : : What the positioning - either in or out, (whatever that
may mean) - of testicles has to do with going fast or recklessly
is beyond me but I hazard that those who heard the original expression
without the benefit of the context of the steam governor may have
assumed testicles, in some mystical way, played a role but I bet
they were hazy, and varied, in their understanding of what having
them 'out' entailed.
: : : : : I would further hazard that all this talk of golf carts,
clubs, balls and boobs is a load of bollocks and unworthy of such
an erudite and longstanding contributor to this forum even if he
is an ignoramus in the world of science and technology.
: : : : My! Before anyone else dissolves into defensive apoplexy,
let me at least answer the implied question regarding the risks
of protruding testicles by pointing out that "girding up one's loins"
has been considered sensible preparation for numerous male activities
since Biblical times. This is nothing but sheer common sense...
if I were off to smite the Philistines, I'd make damn sure I was
girded. To do anything otherwise would surely be the height of both
recklessness and stupidity.
: : : : As to the provenance of the phrase, I'm surprised, if it
does indeed come from the domain of the trainspotter, that nobody
has found any usage of this phrase in any material that dates from
the golden age of steam engines. Not that that would settle the
issue for once and for all, but it'd be a step in the right direction.
: : : Historically the term 'trainspotter' applied to someone who
had an exaggerated interest in steam locomotives and spent most
of their spare time observing them and noting down their type and
identification number and not to someone who had an understanding
of science or technology, It is not uncommon for uninformed "arty
farty" types to try and denigrate those who show an interest and
understanding of the real world of science and technology by sneeringly
applying what they consider a derogatory label.
: : : As to 'girding ones loins', I fail to see where this relates
to testicles being in or out - whatever that might mean. Equally
if the only protection you thought necessary for your foray to smite
a Philistine was a girdle for you loins then I fear you are as ill
informed about close quarters battle as you are about steam engine
governors. Were I in your shoes I would be eating 'umble' pie and
praying for deliverance from my ignorance.
: : : Remember that an apoplexy is generally recognized as either
a cerebral haemorrhage or an incapacity/speechlessness caused by
extreme anger - I trust that nobody will be driven to either condition
by anything discussed on this thread.
: : Three teeny points of order here:
: : Though no scientist, I am aware of what a flyball governor
looks like. I've seen one in operation somewhere once - either in
the National Science Museum, or on film in some laboratory, possibly
as featured in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang or maybe Willy Wonka And
The Chocolate Factory - I forget which.
: : As to the Philistines, let me make this easier for you to understand
by choosing a more modern example. When going out to bat in a game
of cricket, I'd always ensure I wore a box (a UK term for a hard
protective cup for any who don't know). I'd not *only* wear a box
- I'd also always wear pads on my legs and gloves, and dependent
upon the speed of the bowler, maybe a thigh-pad too. I'm also more
than liable to take a bat. So, as you may now be able to see, my
wearing a box would be a critical part of my preparations, but not
in any way the sole part - the decision to take one course of action
to most people doesn't preclude all other actions of similar types.
I hope this helps with your miscomprehension. Please however don't
think that common sense in such a circumstance is compulsory - the
rules of cricket allow you to be as reckless and foolhardy with
your testicles as you yourself might wish.
: : As for my usage of apoplexy, you're right. I charitably and
therefore incorrectly used the term. The issue now seems clearly
psychological, and not physiological.
: May I step between the combatants in this sneering match for
a moment, just to insert a fact? Steam locomotives are irrelevant
because their engines didn't have automatic governors. Engine speed
was controlled by the hand of Casey Jones on the throttle. Flyball
governors were used in stationary engines. For some nice historical
pictures, look up "Corliss engine" on your favorite search, uh,
facilitating device.
I don't think that anyone, with the single exception of yourself
perhaps, thought that steam locomotives were equipped with governors
of the type described.
As to wearing protection when engaged in sport, what has that got
to do with 'balls out'? The verbosity of the explanation does little
to hide the fact that it renders no explanation whatever; it merely
nods, nudges and winks toward an invisibility of factual evidence.
On a lighter note you should take care not to depend on a scientific
education gained through occasional visits to the National Science
Museum or study of films such as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" or that
other classic, "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory".
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