I'll call the shots
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- Lexiterian
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I'll call the shots
Does anyone know where the phase "I'll call the shots" come from? It sounds military to me, something a Sargent would yell out. Just curious.
~EB-)
~EB-)
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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- Lexiterian
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- Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 10:48 am
- Location: Cambridge, Mass
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It must be military, billiards would just be another use for it. It could be hunting related, in Germany a Jaeger (professional hunter) takes you out and tells you what game you can shoot, this is how they manage their wild life herd. i.e. which doe or buck you are allowed to shoot.
EBERNTSON
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
Fear less, hope more;
eat less, chew more;
whine less, breathe more;
talk less, say more,
and all good things will be yours.
--R. Burns
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 4426
- Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
- Location: Land of the Flat Water
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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- Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
- Location: Land of the Flat Water
Appreciate the article. Quite technical, but an
interesting use of the term. The small planes
needed to have someone in charge, or
'call the shots'. Today, of course, everything
would probably be computer-run, but back
then brain-power was the "in charge"
manner of "calling the shots".
interesting use of the term. The small planes
needed to have someone in charge, or
'call the shots'. Today, of course, everything
would probably be computer-run, but back
then brain-power was the "in charge"
manner of "calling the shots".
-----please, draw me a sheep-----
I've found another possible source for the expression:
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/ ... p?id=h-547
They suggest the phrase was used during the Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War by rafters bringing rafts of logs down from the hills to the mills on the coast. To keep the raft in midstream, the pilot would "call the shots" for each bend in the river, and the oars men would work the oars to move the raft in the required direction. The use of quotation marks around "call the shots" makes it appear to be a technical term used at the time, which would move the origin of the phrase back to at least the second half of the 19th Century.
I note that modern kayakers and river rafters refer to rapids as "chutes" and running rapids is called "shooting the rapids." I wonder if there is any connection with the similarity of "chute," "shoot" and "shot."
It would be nice if someone could find a primary source using the phrase instead of the secondary source at the link above.
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/ ... p?id=h-547
They suggest the phrase was used during the Reconstruction of the South following the Civil War by rafters bringing rafts of logs down from the hills to the mills on the coast. To keep the raft in midstream, the pilot would "call the shots" for each bend in the river, and the oars men would work the oars to move the raft in the required direction. The use of quotation marks around "call the shots" makes it appear to be a technical term used at the time, which would move the origin of the phrase back to at least the second half of the 19th Century.
I note that modern kayakers and river rafters refer to rapids as "chutes" and running rapids is called "shooting the rapids." I wonder if there is any connection with the similarity of "chute," "shoot" and "shot."
It would be nice if someone could find a primary source using the phrase instead of the secondary source at the link above.
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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You surely are doing some investigation of the term, and
I really appreciate reading what you are "digging" up.
This raft business is certainly far more complicated
than any of Huckleberry Finn fame.
Calling the shot: Bow white or bow injun.
I've never even heard of the New Georgia Encyc. I sent
a memo to a friend who lives outside Atlanta to see if
he ever heard of it. He loves verbage, phrases and the
like, and this should really interest him.
None of the sites I go to have any more than you have
found.
I really appreciate reading what you are "digging" up.
This raft business is certainly far more complicated
than any of Huckleberry Finn fame.
Calling the shot: Bow white or bow injun.
I've never even heard of the New Georgia Encyc. I sent
a memo to a friend who lives outside Atlanta to see if
he ever heard of it. He loves verbage, phrases and the
like, and this should really interest him.
None of the sites I go to have any more than you have
found.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 4426
- Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
- Location: Land of the Flat Water
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 4426
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- Location: Land of the Flat Water
Unfair or not, you are a spammer, but it also shows
that the administration of this site really does not
care, they are more interested in stopping the
posts of those who care about the site, and who
enjoy the site, than they are about spammer like you.
So spam away, fair or not.
that the administration of this site really does not
care, they are more interested in stopping the
posts of those who care about the site, and who
enjoy the site, than they are about spammer like you.
So spam away, fair or not.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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Then "cleanse" the spam out of your signature!hey, that would be unfair..
I take a hard line on real spam and malware. The only way we'll ever stop spammers and those who spread malware is to have public hangings on the Mall in Washington, DC, with Death Squads targetting those beyond the reach of our court system. Since that will probably never happen, spam and malware will continue to plague us. Nevertheless, I and many others will be more than happy to supply the rope.
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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The people who run this site run the Agora as a labor of love; otherwise it would be as full of advertisements as yourDictionary.com was after they left. This is not their day job, so to speak, but they do take care of the most egregious items quickly (porn posted on the site, for instance).Unfair or not, you are a spammer, but it also shows
that the administration of this site really does not
care, they are more interested in stopping the
posts of those who care about the site, and who
enjoy the site, than they are about spammer like you.
So spam away, fair or not.
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
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- Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2009 6:16 pm
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