Jerking or yanking someone's chain

Posted by ESC on July 06, 2004

In Reply to: Right in his wheelhouse posted by ESC on July 06, 2004

: : What does that and "yank your chain" mean?
: : Thankx,
: : Vidhya.

: From a previous discussion:

: 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.

 

Yanking or jerking someone's chaing. My opinion: I believe this phrase comes from jerking a dog's chain which is very disturbing to the dog. Yanking someone's chain is doing something to purposely upset them.

("Pulling someone's coat" is alerting him or her to a problem.)