a ballpark figure
Meaning: A rough estimate.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Give me a ballpark figure for the repairs.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: From baseball: a "ballpark" is the stadium, so a figure "in the ballpark" is roughly in the right area. The phrase is American, from the 1960s.
Equivalents in other languages
- Polish: pi razy oko — literally: pi times the eye
More idioms — Daily Life
- make someone's life hell — To make someone very unhappy for a long time.
- sweep something under the rug — To hide a problem instead of dealing with it.
- play for time — To delay deliberately in the hope of improving one's position.
- even Homer nods — Even the most skilled people sometimes make mistakes.
- borrow trouble — To worry about problems that may never happen.
- act like one owns the place — To behave with arrogant disregard for others.
More English idioms
- a bird-brain — A silly or scatterbrained person.
- toss one's cookies — To vomit.
- put on a brave face — To look cheerful or confident while feeling otherwise.
- throw up one's hands — To show that one gives up, in despair or frustration.
- push up daisies — To be dead and buried.
- lose one's head — To stop thinking clearly because of panic, anger or passion.
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