The Most Annoying Sports Metaphors and Idioms

Welcome to an idioms list for a very special kind of idiom. It's the sports idiom and we can all agree that they are just the worst. These sports metaphors and idioms are pretty annoying when used in casual, everyday conversation, and especially in a business setting. Carol really hit it out of the park, huh? Why not just say she did a great job? That sounds like a perfectly fine way to put that!

What is an idiom? The dictionary says it's "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words." You can decipher that on your own time. Basically it is a weird phrase that people say to mean something else entirely, and many of them are sports-related. You've definitely heard them. They are things like "play the field," "fumble the ball," and "down to the wire." Some you maybe didn't know were sports metaphors, but now that you do, maybe they will annoy you even more than before. You're welcome!

This isn't to say that sports aren't fun. Lots of people love them and that is really great! The thing is, they can stay out of your emails and your meetings and your elevator small talk very easily.

So, peruse this sports metaphors list and upvote the sports idioms with which you have just plain had it up to here. Plus, if there is a sport idiom that isn't listed here, but is common around your workplace and/or with your friend group and you wish it would go away forever, feel free to add it to this list and maybe someone will take notice.