Re: Out
OF left field, too
Posted by R. Berg on October
23, 2002 In Reply to: Re: Out IN left field
posted by ESC on October 23, 2002
: : I've had another request
from North America for something that's a bit beyond my knowledge. I guess the
expression has to do with Baseball, but I'd love to know the details. The writer
comes from Canada, but his name sounds French - perhaps he's not interested in
Baseball! Help again please.
: : Quote:
: : "Here's one that I have not
been able to uncover... "Out of left field" as in "something came out of left
field". I'm curious to know the origin of this saying"
: For more discussion
search under "field" in the archives. The way I've heard it: "He's out in left
field."
: WAY OUT IN LEFT FIELD - Out of touch, eccentric, odd; also, misguided.
This term alludes to the left field of baseball, and there is some disagreement
concerning its origin. Some writers suggest it comes from the remoteness of left
field, but only in very asymmetrical ballparks is left field more distant than
right field. Others suggest it alludes to the 'wrongness' of left as opposed to
the 'rightness' of right. A correspondent of William Safire's in the "New York
Times" said it was an insulting remark made to those who bought left-field seats
in New York's Yankee Stadium during the years that Babe Ruth played right field,
putting them far away from this outstanding player. Perhaps the most likely theory
is that it alludes to inmates of the Neuropsychiatric Institute, a mental hospital,
which was located behind left field in Chicago's old West Side Park. Hence being
told you are 'out in left field' would mean you were accused of being as peculiar
as a mental patient. In any event, the term has been used figuratively for various
kinds of eccentricity and misguidedness since the first half of the 20th century.
John Ciardi also cited a synonym, 'out in left pickle,' maintaining that 'pickle'
was baseball slang for the outfield. Perhaps it once was, but it is no longer
current." "Southpaws & Sunday Punches and other Sporting Expressions" by Christine
Ammer (Penguin Books, New York, 1993).
I've heard "out of left field" as a rough
equivalent of "off the wall." If a remark "comes out of left field," it's a non
sequitur.
- Re: Out OF left field TheFallen
10/23/02 (7)
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