In Your Wheelhouse
I’d never heard the phrase in your wheelhouse (= in your area of expertise) until a few days ago. Now I’ve heard it twice: once on Ugly Betty, once on Glee. Maybe someone used in the LA Times six months ago, when those scripts were being written.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:17 am
It’s actually a fairly common phrase, Seth. Baseball fans will encounter it a dozen times a season. In that context it means a pitch is located where the batter is most likely to connect for a base hit. And I hear it occasionally in the business world, usually when project assignments are being made in accordance with experience, skills and temperament. Perhaps the phrase has not penetrated the realm of academia.
November 20th, 2009 at 7:42 am
I believe you’ve just encountered the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon. (http://thankswiki.blogspot.com/2009/03/entry-baader-meinhof-phenomenon.html)
November 20th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Seth: Maybe it was used on some TV show six months ago. But my guess is that you’ve heard the expression before but did not register it. Once it stuck in your mind, you were primed to notice it when it came up again.
That said, yes, I knew what the expression was and I’ve seen it in print, on occasion, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard it spoken.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:30 am
i’ve heard the term used a lot in sports, especially baseball. some hitters have certain pitches and zones that are right “in their wheel house.” Like maybe an inside fastball.
November 20th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I noticed it in Glee (I even re-wound to catch it). I hadn’t heard it either, but some people I know edit a very good experimental writing webmag called Wheelhouse (which is the first time I’d ever heard the word0
November 20th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
The baseball usage explains what happened — I pay no attention to baseball these days (except on Wii Sports). And it was baseball season when those scripts were written.