SallyCat
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I keep hearing some version of the phrase "he was out over his skis," which I am led to believe means that the person got ahead of himself, or was "out of his league."
I understand the concept of striving beyond one's ability, or exceeding one's logistical capability. But I'm not sure that getting out over your skis actually works as a metaphor, and I knew that TSD was the place to go for guidance. As the season comes to a close, I turn to the literary discernment and technical expertise of this wise group. Also, I've put my skis away for the season and am having a very slow night at work.
So.
Does the phrase mean that you lean so far forward that you fall over? Ok, but that's pretty hard to do in an "over the skis" sort of way. Modern alpine bindings would seem to prevent users from getting too far "over" the front of their skis. Usually falling forward looks more like a last-chance, desperate pizza wedge that goes terribly wrong. And the skier isn't really "over" their skis, except insofar as they might fall on them as a last act in a slow, novice-in-rental-boots sort of recreational tragedy.
Even the big-mountain cool guys don't really get "out over" their skis when they fall. For example there's that move where they huck a big jump and then land on their backsides and start sliding. Then they somehow manage to stand up and keep skiing and everyone cheers even though we all saw the a**-slide.
Then there's the more aggressive tomahawk fall, during which the skier is temporarily over his skis, but just as often under them, beside them, and then wondering where they've gone.
Is it a reference to ski-jumping, perhaps? This seems to have the most relevance because jumpers do seem to lean over their skis. But then, where is the hubris-fueled mistake? One can overshoot a landing area, but surely that's down as much to speed as anything else, and anyway if your feet are restrained by bindings there's only so far forward you can go.
Alas.
Just as I believe that Terri Gross will never stop confusing "hilarious" with "hysterical," I'm sure people will keep using the phrase "out over his skis" and I'll just have to let it slide, like ... something ....argh, writer's block!
I understand the concept of striving beyond one's ability, or exceeding one's logistical capability. But I'm not sure that getting out over your skis actually works as a metaphor, and I knew that TSD was the place to go for guidance. As the season comes to a close, I turn to the literary discernment and technical expertise of this wise group. Also, I've put my skis away for the season and am having a very slow night at work.
So.
Does the phrase mean that you lean so far forward that you fall over? Ok, but that's pretty hard to do in an "over the skis" sort of way. Modern alpine bindings would seem to prevent users from getting too far "over" the front of their skis. Usually falling forward looks more like a last-chance, desperate pizza wedge that goes terribly wrong. And the skier isn't really "over" their skis, except insofar as they might fall on them as a last act in a slow, novice-in-rental-boots sort of recreational tragedy.
Even the big-mountain cool guys don't really get "out over" their skis when they fall. For example there's that move where they huck a big jump and then land on their backsides and start sliding. Then they somehow manage to stand up and keep skiing and everyone cheers even though we all saw the a**-slide.
Then there's the more aggressive tomahawk fall, during which the skier is temporarily over his skis, but just as often under them, beside them, and then wondering where they've gone.
Is it a reference to ski-jumping, perhaps? This seems to have the most relevance because jumpers do seem to lean over their skis. But then, where is the hubris-fueled mistake? One can overshoot a landing area, but surely that's down as much to speed as anything else, and anyway if your feet are restrained by bindings there's only so far forward you can go.
Alas.
Just as I believe that Terri Gross will never stop confusing "hilarious" with "hysterical," I'm sure people will keep using the phrase "out over his skis" and I'll just have to let it slide, like ... something ....argh, writer's block!