Sports-Idioms - 05/09/2018 General Notes: *bear the minimum VS. exceed expectations = the first refers to doing just the minimal work required while the latter refers to going beyond one's expectations. *great on paper = when someone/something seems great initially / has a great record. New - Sports-Idioms: *the/a front-runner = the most likely to win. Very commonly used in elections. *par for the course = what is normal/expected (taken out of golf) - "Tim walked into the office 20 minutes late today. That doesn’t surprise me. That’s par for the course with Tim". *out of left field = the opposite of the one above; something extremely unexpected/surprising ("it came out of nowhere" is similar but a bit more strong in meaning"); "Did you hear that Tim had a heart attack? He’s only 35. Seemed like a healthy guy, too. That came way out of left field". *three strikes and you're out = taken out of baseball - "you're at two strikes now, be careful". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ *the ball is in your court = the decision / next move is yours to take. *out of someone's league = usually used in dating instances, when someone is better than the other. *drop the ball = fail at something. *strike out = similar to the one above, but more common in dating instances. *hit a home run/knock it out of the park = to succeed tremendously.