Take it into the wheelhouse

Posted by ESC on March 15, 2004

In Reply to: Take it into the wheelhouse posted by Brian from Shawnee on March 15, 2004

: : : Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "right in my wheelhouse?"
: : : Based on context, it seems to mean that something fits comfortably into an individual's area of expertise. I assume the metaphor came to be because the wheelhouse is where one navigates a boat -- i.e., a place where one is in control. Does anyone know how the phrase developed and came to enter common usage?

: : I don't know. But I read a similar phrase and was wondering what it meant. I am guessing that it has to do with navigation.

: : TAKE IT INTO THE WHEELHOUSE - ".we're going to take it into this administration's supposed wheelhouse." From "Had Enough: A Handbook for Fighting Back" by James Carville with Jeff Nussbaum (Simon & Schuster, New York, 2003) Page 30.

: "Right in his wheelhouse" is a common expression in U.S. baseball, though I don't know how old it is, or if it originated as a sports expression.

: In baseball, it refers to the location of a pitch that makes it easy to hit for a particular batter.

Wheelhouse -- A hitter's power zone. Usually a pitch waist-high and over the heart of the plate.

Is everything about sports?

• Take it into the wheelhouse Brian from Shawnee 15/March/04