Baseball Idioms: Bat Around

bat around—phrasal verb, to discuss, to debate different things.

This baseball idiom goes back to the late 1800s. It uses the idea of batting balls around a field to mean "a back-and-forth discussion."

Examples:

The teachers batted around different plans for the school party.

Our company has been batting around ideas for new products.

Let's bat around some of the suggestions on how to decorate the office.

Baseball Idioms

With the World Series beginning, it's a great time to learn some of the many colorful English idioms that come from baseball, a sport that is commonly called "America's pastime." Check out our website to see more.