Posted by Robert on March 19, 2003
In Reply to: You need punctuation. posted by Bob on March 18, 2003
: : : : : WHAT's UP??????? LIsten, i know this awesome site gives a definition, but what does it mean to YOU!!??
: : : : BALLS To The WALL ---- i'm writing a paper. how does the saying make you
feel, what do u think when u hear it, images, stereotypes, any reaction your brain
has - send it to me!!!!!
: : : : : Thanks,
: : : : : Monica ------ Chri7951@students.rowan.edu
: : : : The expression calls up an image of a basketball player who can't stop and runs into the wall. It's a macho phrase. White female, 50s, East Coast.
: : : Someone in a street fight who's got the odds so severely stacked against him that he's backed hard against a wall - "we've got him balls to the wall on this deal". Presumably if things go as expected, the unfortunate's balls will shortly be nailed to the aforementioned wall. White male, 41, London UK.
: : Go to the link below for very different suggestions from our Archive!!
: I wasn't sure if you needed the information urgently, so I counted the exclamation points. You had, I believe, 23, so I was still in a quandry. If you had used 30 or nore, I would have known it was important. Use only 6 or 7, and it would have been clearly trivial. So here I am, undecided.
I had always heard that the phrase had originated from fighter pilots. The "balls" were the knobs atop the airplane's throttle control. If the balls were pushed forward, to the "wall" of the cockpit, the plane would be going at full-throttle, or "balls-to-the-wall". I always understood the phrase to indicate one being "wide-open" or "recklessly eager" as opposed to "at a disadvantage", but I guess the phrase could have different meanings in different areas.