
IdiomDaily Life
English
a ballpark figure
Meaning: A rough estimate.
Example: “Give me a ballpark figure for the repairs.”
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 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.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
Keep exploring