An acceptable, roughly accurate approximation, as in I know you can't tell me the exact cost; just give me a ballpark figure. This term alludes to a baseball field, which is always an enclosed space. The expression is basically an extension of the somewhat earlier
in the ballpark, meaning within a reasonable range, and
out of the ballpark, beyond a reasonable range. [Slang; late 1960s]
ballpark figure
| Idioms: ballpark figure |
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 | figure (Idiom) |
| ball (Idiom) |
| in round numbers (Idiom) |
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 | Idioms. The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
