[Kim Seong-kon] Gambling and sports idioms in American English

Recently, several Korean newspaper columnists have complained that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks on the Korea-U.S. relationship were inappropriate. They were especially unpleasant because they thought Biden had compared the Korea-U.S. relationship to gambling. When he was in Korea recently, Biden reportedly said, “The United States never says anything it does not do. It’s never been a good bet to bet against America ... and America will continue to place its bet on South Korea.” One might think that it is appropriate for a diplomat to use such expressions. 

When we talk about English expressions, however, we should take into account that English, especially American English, is full of gambling, sports and business terms and idioms. For example, Americans frequently say, “You bet!” which means “Definitely!” Americans also say, “Want to bet?” in everyday conversation. You can also frequently hear such expressions as “Bet your bottom dollars,” “Take it or leave it” or “Double or nothing.” Other gambling terms and phrases include “Put your cards on the table,” which means “Make your thoughts and ideas clear.” And “Let’s roll the dice,” meaning “Let’s take a chance and see what happens.” When someone is lucky and gets exactly what he wants, Americans say, “He hit the jackpot.”

There are some expressions that stem from poker, such as “poker face,” “I’ll pass,” “deal (cut) me in” and “I’m out.” In addition, “Call a spade a spade” means “Describe something as it really is,” and “He’s a wild card” refers to someone whose influence is unpredictable. There seems to be an endless number of expressions derived from gambling in English: “Show your card” (reveal your plans), “Play your last card” (make a final effort), “It’s your card now” (it’s your turn to decide) and others.

In English there are a lot of phrases and pieces of jargon that originate from sports as well. Movie titles such as “Sudden Death,” “The Man from Left Field” and “Face-off” are from baseball and ice hockey. The title of the famous television drama “Saved by the Bell” is from boxing. Other expressions, which come from boxing, include “down and out,” “low blow” and “hit below the belt.” We say, “He is a down and out man,” which means he is a penniless failure. We also say, “It’s a low blow,” meaning it is cowardly and not fair.

Meanwhile, phrases such as “Take a shot” and “Give it your best shot” are from basketball. Words like “work out,” “benchwarmer” and “rain check” are also from sports. “Rain check” originally referred to a refund of admission money at a later date, should an outdoor event be cancelled by rain. Later, the term was used in department stores as an assurance of a deferred extension of a sale, that is, an assurance that a customer could take advantage of the sale price later if the item on sale was sold out. These days, the term is widely used to indicate a promise to accept an offer at a later date.

It is also noteworthy how often Americans use expressions stemming from business transactions. The most outstanding one is “None of your business!” or “Mind your own business.” Other intriguing expressions from business include “A deal is a deal,” “That’s not a big deal” and “It’s a deal.”

Interestingly, the term “deal” is also used in gambling. Since business has been so important in the U.K. and the U.S., both the British and Americans use the word “pay” even when they are showing respect or visiting someone; for example, “pay respect,” “pay a visit” and “pay attention.” They also say “I don’t buy it” when they mean to say “I don’t believe it.” If something is suspicious and unreliable, they say “Nobody’s going to buy it.” The expressions “I’m not interested” and “That’s interesting” are also funny, especially when we think about the usage of “interest” in the term “bank interest.”

More than a dozen years ago, when our President Kim Dae-jung visited the States, U.S. President George W. Bush addressed Kim as “This guy.” The expression may be inappropriate if used in a formal summit meeting, but if used in an informal occasion it will be quite all right. In English, you address even your parents as “You guys.” You can frequently hear American students say “He’s a nice guy” when referring to their teacher. “This guy” may be inappropriate in its Korean equivalent. In English, however, it can be used in informal situations.

Another similar misunderstanding occurred when former U.S. President Bush, after the summit meeting, described our former President Roh Moo-hyun as “an easy man to talk to.” Korean newspapers took it as an affront to their president. Once again, it turned out to be a typical misunderstanding because “he’s an easy man to talk to” was meant as a compliment. In fact, Bush used the exact same expression on a later occasion when referring to ex-Chinese General Secretary Hu Jintao.

Due to cultural differences, indeed, it is not easy for a foreigner to fully grasp the underlying nuances of English words. Besides, what is really important is how to cope with the current crisis at issue, not arguing over what Biden said.

By Kim Seong-kon 

Kim Seong-kon is a professor of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.