|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427
addict
|
OP
addict
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 427 |
Where does this expression come from? I know what it means, something like being in control of a situation, making the relevant decisions and so on, especially when that means other people or groups follow your lead. But I am curious as to its origin. Any takers? 
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
Maybe pool or snooker? When people with actual skill play (in stark contrast to myself  ), don't they usually say which ball they're going to hit into which pocket? I thought that was "calling the shots". Hopefully someone better than me at snooker or pool can clarify that.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
Having studied under a shipmate who could talk a mean game of pool I am in a position to maintain that a good player, once given a shot and a reasonably workable table, can control the game by leaving the ball in an advatageous postion for himself or, failing that, in a disadvantageous position for his opponent. He can gain a certain psychological advantage by calling his shots (and making them, of course) as he proceeds to clear the table of his balls.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 13,858 |
I thought that at least in some games of pool, sinking a ball without having announced that you intended to sink it meant you could not add it to your score.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
sinking a ball without having announced that you intended to sink it
I've mostly only played that rule for the eight ball. In the version wherein you have the low or high balls depending on the rack-breaking shot and must sink the eight ball (neither high nor low) to consumate your win (early sinking or the eight ball was an automatic loss) sinking the eight ball in any other than the pocket named also constituted a loss.
It just occurred to me that one who assigns the targets to individual gunners would also be said to "call the shots".
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,156 |
I thought that at least in some games of pool, sinking a ball without having announced that you intended to sink it meant you could not add it to your score.As I alluded to above, my friends and I are all aware of this fact, but if we actually followed that rule, no game would ever be finished! I think pool as it is actually played by the masses is somewhat more lenient than what you see on TV.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
indeed, in some variations of pocket billiards you *must call all of your shots. cf. The Hustler, the classic pool movie starring Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason. they played 'straight pool', wherein after 14 (of 15) balls have been sunk they are re-racked and the 15th ball is shot in such a way as to either break up the rack (usually with the cue ball) or to leave the cue hidden behind the rack (called a safe shot or safety). in the latter instance you have to call 'safety'. The Billiard Congress of America (BCA) calls this game "14.1 Continuous" -joe (i am not a shark) cool http://www.bca-pool.com/play/rules/rls_141.shtmlp.s. - what you see on TV these days (at least on ESPN) is almost exclusively 9-ball. (see the link for official BCA rules) amazingly, in 9-ball you *don't have to call your shots. but. if you can't run the table off the break (which implies not only being able to call your shot, but being able to plan how you're going to run out after the break!) more than half the time, you won't win on TV.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
I cannot remember from what corner of my brain this factoid's slumber is roused, but I rather thought calling the shot referred to the officer commanding or sighting a battery of guns.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866
old hand
|
|
old hand
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 866 |
Calling the shots is what the Gunner's Mate does (did) so that the gun or battery (be it ship borne or land based) could eventually hit its target. The impact point of each round was relayed back to the Gunnery Officer, changes were made to the inclination and/or azimuth (direction) of the gun/s - and whammo.
It was originally used for land based battles, with the observations made on the high ground and signalled back to the gun/s. Subsequently adapted for sea battles, +/- air or satellite support to call the shots. Nowadays controlled by radar, laser and/or video. Often wire guided as well.
stales
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
|
|
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
the Word Detective wades in (this is from one of his long issues that includes this towards the end, so I'll just shoot the whole thing in here): Dear Word Detective: I am trying to find the origin of the phrase "call the shots" to use it in a sermon which asks the question "Who is calling the shots, you or God?" I have searched many web sites with no luck. -- Jim Mol, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Flint, Michigan.
Well, there's your problem. Haven't you heard? The web is over. Yeah, they all got fired and now they have to give back their Porsches and take jobs at Burger King, boo hoo. Anyway, there's been nobody home on the internet for quite a while. If you don't believe me, check out some of those news web sites. They've still got George Bush being President.
To "call the shots" means, of course, to be in control, to make the decisions, to run the show and to be the one truly in charge, especially as opposed to being merely a nominal leader or figurehead. Speaking of President Bush the Younger, and I report this solely to illustrate that definition, a recent poll indicates that around half of all Americans believe that someone other than Mr. Bush is actually "calling the shots" and running the government. Whether that perception is cynical or optimistic is, of course, best left as an exercise for the reader.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "calling the shots" seems to be a surprisingly recent phrase, having first appeared in print in the late 1960s, although it was probably in use as oral slang for years or even decades before someone thought to use it in print. An earlier phrase, "to call one's shots," meaning to announce exactly what one is going to do, apparently was current by the 1930s.
The real question, of course, is what all this shooting is about, and in the case of both "call the shots" and "call one's shots" the answer seems to be target shooting. In "calling one's shots," a target shooter (think Annie Oakley or the like) would announce in advance exactly where the target would be hit as a measure of his or her prowess. If someone else were "calling the shots," however, the shooter would be taking orders and hitting targets at that person's direction.
Note: Since the above column ran in newspapers I have been innundated with mail helpfully letting me know that "calling the shots" comes from the game of billiards or pool, wherein the player announces his shots in advance ("Eight ball in the side pocket" and so forth). Prior to researching the phrase, I, too, had assumed that it came from billiards, but the earliest citations I could find clearly refer to target shooting. That "calling the shots" occurs in billiards is clearly true. That it originated there is not. http://www.word-detective.com/052301.html
|
|
|
|
Forums16
Topics13,913
Posts229,580
Members9,187
| |
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
|
|
|
0 members (),
668
guests, and
0
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
|
