Transcript of AE 690 - Expression: On the Ball

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Our coordinators are really there on the ball. They're always emailing us with opportunities to have work experience, to be involved in our desired field.

Sounds silly, but when you're in a kitchen, it's quick like this all the time and you've got to be very sharp and on the ball.

Clients really appreciate someone who's on the ball and takes the initiative.

G'day, guys, and welcome to Aussie English. My objective here is to teach you guys the English spoken Down Under. So, whether you want to speak like a fair dinkum Aussie or you just want to understand what the flipping hell we're on about when we're having a yarn, you've come to the right place. So, sit back, grab a cuppa and enjoy Aussie English.

G'day, you mob! Welcome to this episode of Aussie English, the number one podcast for anyone and everyone wanting to learn Australian English history, culture, news and current affairs. Man, there's been a lot going on. There has been a lot going on at home, on the news. There's been, far out! There's been a lot of Covid stuff going on recently in Australia with things getting a little less full on in terms of restrictions.

I think we're almost able to go back to the gym. Can you believe it? Can you believe it? I mean, I signed up to the gym nearby two weeks before they locked it down and we could no longer go in. But fortunately, the gym decided to freeze our memberships, obviously, so that we didn't have to pay for the time, that we couldn't use the gym, and they'll be open soon. So, I'm looking forward to getting back into it and trying to lose my Covid belly, my Covid belly.

Aside from that, what else have we got on the news? We've got the Black Lives Matter stuff that has come over to Australia as well, with indigenous groups wanting to reduce the numbers of indigenous deaths in custody. So, that's been all over the news, there's been loads of people protesting in the streets of all the big cities like Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, even Adelaide. I think, you know, there was one that was almost 20000 people.

But fortunately, as far as I know, there's only been one case of Covid found in all of those protests. So, hopefully that hasn't caused things to spread too much. And hopefully we get to talk a bit more about indigenous issues in the future. The government, hopefully the government will do more to help indigenous people have opportunities and get a better role at the dice in terms of living in Australia.

So, anyway, let's get into today's episode. So, today's expression is 'to be on the ball', 'to be on the ball'. I wonder if you've heard this one before. Are you guys generally on the ball? Do you know people who are on the ball? Before we get into that, I thought we could do a little joke, right?

We always do these jokes that are puns related to the expression, at least where possible. So, here's the joke: why was Cinderella thrown off the basketball team?

Cinderella, so she's the main character in a folk tale embodying an element of unjust oppression and triumph and reward, right? So, she goes to the ball, but she has to leave early because the spell might wear off and her dress might disappear, et cetera, right? I hope you know Cinderella.

But the joke is, why was Cinderella thrown off the basketball team?

Because she ran away from the ball.

Did you get it? So, the ball can be like an event where people dance and there's music, everyone dresses up, they kit themselves out, they wear their suits and their beautiful dresses, that is a ball, you know, one of those events.

But in the case of basketball, a ball is the, I guess, inflated rubber object that is used to play the game, right? The basket ball. So, why was Cinderella thrown off the basketball team? Because she ran away from the ball.

Alright, so the expression is 'on the ball'. Let's define the different words in this expression to be on something.

If you're 'on something', you could be literally above and resting on something, right? So, my feet at the moment are on the floor. My desk is on the floor in my room. The computer is on the desk. I'm on my chair to be on something.

To be on the ball, though, in this sense, on is more like having the thing that's mentioned as a target, aim or focus, right? So, if you're at the beach, you might keep your eyes on your kids. They're resting on your kids, you're watching your kids. They are targeted, aimed, focussed on your kids. So, that's to be on something.

And obviously, a 'ball' is an object that is used to play sports. You know, a football, a basketball, a golf ball, a tennis ball, but it can also be a spherical kind of object, right? So, I could go to the beach, I could pick up some sand and I could compact it into a ball, I could make it form the shape of a ball.

So, what is 'on the ball' mean? It means to be alert to new ideas, methods and trends. For example, maintaining contact with customers keeps me on the ball. But it could also be that you are indicating competence of someone, their alertness or their intelligence. If they're on the ball, they are very competent, alert, intelligent.

So, where did this originate from? The phrase 'on the ball' originates from probably the sporting arena. However, it's referring to your eyes instead of your feet or hands. So, it's a contraction of the original phrase, 'keep your eye on the ball', which is usually pretty good advice, pretty sound advice for anyone playing a ball game, at least if they're wanting to win and give the competition a run for their money, right? So, to be on the ball. Keep your eyes on the ball. Stay on the ball.

So, let's go through some examples of how I would use this expression 'on the ball'.

So, example number one: imagine you are an air traffic controller. So, you show up to work every day and the lives of thousands of people rest in your hands. You have to guide planes through local air traffic, i.e. planes and helicopters, everything like that that's in the air, so that they can travel through this local area and land or take off safely, right? From airports.

In order to make sure that everyone takes off, lands and travels via plane or helicopter safely, you have to make sure that you're always on the ball. You have to pay attention, you have to stay alert, you have to be vigilant, you have to be intelligent, you have to focus on what you're doing and stay on the ball. And if you're not on the ball that day, there could be a huge accident where two planes say collide and hundreds of people die. And in those circumstances, you definitely weren't on the ball and you could actually say you dropped the ball. So, that's a good expression. That's sort of the opposite. If you drop the ball, it's kind of like you fail at something, you don't manage to do something that was otherwise seen as easy, right? You have an accident or, yeah, you fail at something. You drop the ball.

Example number two: imagine you're a wedding planner, right? You're a person who organises and plans people's weddings. So, you get hired to organise the location, the music, the food, the flowers, where all the guests will sit, when they'll arrive, when different events will take place. You know, the reception and the ceremony and when the big day finally comes for the couple that you've been hired to plan the wedding of. In order for things to run really smoothly and for nothing to go wrong, you have to be on the ball. You have to be attentive, you have to pay attention to your work, you have to remain diligent, you have to plan thoroughly. You have to be on the ball, and if you're not. You drop the ball.

Example number three: imagine you are a rugby player for the Melbourne Storm, right? That is the local Melbourne rugby team. So, you've got a big game coming up, and you're one of the team's most important players during the game. For some reason or another, you get distracted. Maybe you start feeling sick or maybe someone in the in the crowd screams your name and you take your eyes off the ball and the other team takes control.

And ultimately, as a result of this, the opposition end up winning because you weren't on the ball, both figuratively and literally. You weren't attentive, you weren't playing well. But also you weren't, literally, keeping your eyes on the ball, and as a result, you dropped the ball again, both literally and figuratively, and the other team won the match.

So there you go, guys, the expression 'to be on the ball', it can be that you are alert to new ideas, methods and trends, right? You're very attentive. You are up to date with things, but it can also be that it is indicating competence, alertness or intelligence.

And remember, if you do the opposite of this, you fail at something or you show that you aren't competent, you drop the ball.

Coordinators are really there on the ball. They're always emailing us with opportunities to have work experience to be involved in our desired field.

Sounds silly, but when you're in a kitchen quick like this all the time and you've got to be very sharp and on the ball.

Clients really appreciate someone who's on the ball and takes initiative.

Alright. So, as usual, let's go through a little listen and repeat exercise, guys, where we can work on your pronunciation. And remember, if you want access to my Australian Pronunciation course, you can find that via www.aussieenglish.com.au and it's a great step by step course to learn all of the different sounds in English, to differentiate between the difficult minimal pairs, those sounds that are tricky and sounds similar and to reduce your accent. So, go and cheque that out if you're interested in reducing your accent and speaking more like a native speaker. Anyway, let's get into the pronunciation exercise.

To.

To be.

To be on.

To be on the.

To be on the ball.

To be on the ball.

To be on the ball.

To be on the ball.

To be on the ball.

And now we're going to conjugate through the phrase 'I used to be on the ball', 'You used to be on the ball'. And remember, with 'used to' this is like a period of time, an extended period of time in the past, but it's no longer the case, ok?

When we say 'I used to do something' or 'I used to be something', right? I used to live in France, I don't anymore. I used to be a small child, I'm not anymore, ok? So, let's go through it.

I used to be on the ball.

You used to be on the ball.

He used to be on the ball.

She used to be on the ball.

We used to be on the ball.

They used to be on the ball.

It used to be on the ball.

Good work, and I might add there, guys, you might notice that "used to", it has an S sound instead of a Z sound, right? Because if you say ' used' with a Z sound, that is the verb 'to use' something, right? I used a screwdriver to fix my car. I used it. But when we use it as this auxiliary verb 'I used to', it's an S sound, ok? So, there are two different pronunciations of the word U S E D, 'used' and 'used'.

Anyway, let's finish up with the fact here guys. So, balls, they are not just spherical objects used in sports like golf, basketball and tennis. As we talked about at the start of this episode, Cinderella in the story went to a ball, ok? A formal social gathering for dancing music in Australia. You may come across something called a Bachelor and Spinsters Ball, which can be shortened to B&S, B&S Balls.

These are quite famous in rural parts of Australia, so they are a unique aspect of Australian culture. They're events that are hosted in rural Australia usually and are run for young people, i.e. spinsters, that is single women and bachelors, that is single men. And they usually 18 or older.

Traditionally, both men and women dress up, they try to look a million bucks, right? They frock up, they try and dress up. The blokes might slap on a tie and shirt. And the women might doll themselves up in a dress with some lippy, some lipstick, Aussie slang, there for you. And activities at the ball, at the B&S Ball are likely to include music and dancing and maybe even alive shows, right?

You might have live bands playing the music and they usually start at night and run until the early hours of the following morning. Needless to say, it's a bit of a bogan event where young people end up overindulging in things like alcohol, they get drunk, get wasted, and they end up hooking up with friends and strangers alike. Two alcoholic favourites that you will see at B&S balls are Jim Beam and Bundaberg Rum.

It's also not unusual for B&S Balls to be run by ute enthusiasts who run them following a ute muster. And remember, a ute is Aussie slang for a utility vehicle, usually a two door car with two seats in it and a big tray on the back for carrying cargo, for carrying things, right? Maybe a surfboard that you chuck in the back of your ute.

So, a ute muster is an event where ute owners go together to show off their cars and to hang out. And then in the evening, everyone gets shitfaced and parties during the B&S Ball. Shit face there is a an informal slang term, guys, for getting very drunk, ok? If you get really drunk and you want to use an informal term for that, you can say that you are shitfaced.

Most people sleep in their cars, in tents or in swags, which are single person tents, though they may wake up next to a stranger the next day. Future B&S Balls are in jeopardy today due to the rising insurance costs that are taking a toll on them. And because so many rural adolescents are now moving out of the sticks, out of the bush and into cities. One of the most popular events that you might see if you're in Australia is the Deniliquin Ute Muster, nicknamed the Deni Ute Muster, which is a ute muster and B&S Ball rolled into one.

So, there you go, guys. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Stay tuned, there'll be more coming up soon in the world of Aussie English, things are about to be taken to the next level, about to go up a notch. But it's always a pleasure chatting to you and I hope you have a beautiful week. See ya!

G'day, mate! Thanks for listening to the Aussie English podcast. If you'd like to boost your English whilst also supporting the podcast and allowing me to continue to bring you awesome content, please consider joining the Aussie English Academy at www.aussieenglish.com.au. You'll get unlimited access to the Premium Podcast as well as all of my advanced English courses, and you'll also be able to join three weekly speaking calls with a real English teacher. Thanks so much, mate, and I'll see you soon.