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Touch base

Posted by Smokey Stover on July 31, 2007

In Reply to: Touch base posted by Steve Seelig on July 31, 2007

: Where does the phrase "let's touch base" come from

............
I was unable to discover anything resembling a first use or first appearance in print for this well-known cliché,but it appears to me, and apparently most other interested parties, to come from baseball, where touching the base is a vital part of the game. It means let's talk, let's get together, let's communicate, let's have a palaver. I like the definition in the Urban Dictionary, even though it's provided by someone emphatically not a lexicographer. _________
To make contact; to cover all the possibilities. Comes from baseball where the runners need to touch the base to make a run legal. Mostly used by asshat salesmen and contractors when they want to talk to you over the phone to see if you're interested in something they have for sale, usually around dinner time.

"I'm just calling to Touch Base to see if you need our crappy product/service.""No, fuck. Leave me alone" __________

You might hear something like this from a boss or project leader: "Have you touched base with so-and-so and such-and-such?" This question shows the baseball analogy clearly, since having touched all the bases is necessary before scoring a valid home-run. And the baseball analogy points to an American origin and a terminus ante quem non.
SS

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