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rigid silos
take their anger out on
May 10, 2005 07:03
19 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

throw long

English Social Sciences Idioms / Maxims / Sayings Corruption
They threw the case long and gave him freedom through their lies.

This is about corrupt prosecutors/judges/etc.
Responses
4 +5 Judges were bold/desperate and lost badly (American football term)
5 +1 deliberately lose
3 see explanation
3 reject outright
2 -1 baseball term?
Change log

May 16, 2005 13:44: Robert Donahue (X) changed "Field" from "Other" to "Law/Patents" , "Field (specific)" from "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters" to "Idioms / Maxims / Sayings" , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "Corruption"

Aug 5, 2005 13:29: Robert Donahue (X) changed "Field" from "Law/Patents" to "Social Sciences"

Discussion

Tony M May 10, 2005:
OK, so you're confirming that this 'they' is indeed the 'everybody' you mentioned before; wasn't too clear... So my point stands. And now we know it's from a computer game, the field is open for informal, idiomatic language...
Non-ProZ.com May 10, 2005:
I already wrote that all were involved: the judge, the prosecutor and the jury.
Tony M May 10, 2005:
It might also help to know who 'they' are --- if it really is ALL of the participants, then the ideas of 'threw out the case' (by the judges) or 'lost the case' (by the lawyers/witnesses) simply don't wash...
Non-ProZ.com May 10, 2005:
->Dusty: It's from a computer game.
Tony M May 10, 2005:
It would possibly help if we knew who was writing this, and for what readership?
Robert Donahue (X) May 10, 2005:
That could very well be. Perhaps the Author was trying to be cute and combining the concept of "throwing out" the case with "throwing long" as in the risk they took by doing it. Just a theory.
Non-ProZ.com May 10, 2005:
Maybe the author added 'long' to indicate that the judge/prosecutor/jury were risking much deliberately throwing this case out (as in the 'sports idiom theory')? I'm even beginning to suspect that the author made a mistake, and now we're trying to understand what he or she wrote ;)
Robert Donahue (X) May 10, 2005:
You throw OUT a case for many reasons, usually a lack of evidence. Once again though, the expression to "They threw the case long" makes no sense in that context.
Non-ProZ.com May 10, 2005:
Then maybe they suspended the proceedings in some way, due to some procedural issues, lack of evidence or sth, releasing the criminal until all doubts are gone, perhaps hoping for eventual limitation of his crimes.
Robert Donahue (X) May 10, 2005:
Wait a second...if they "threw the case" that would make sense. That would mean they deliberately lost/screwed it up to get the defendant off. You need to drop the "long" though.
Robert Donahue (X) May 10, 2005:
I'm with Dusty on this. American English? Really? It simply doesn't make sense.
Tony M May 10, 2005:
But "throw long" is just not normal English (well BE, at any rate) It is SUCH an odd expression, it MUST have some idiomatic meaning, as in the link I suggested below...
Non-ProZ.com May 10, 2005:
It is definitely American English. In this case all the participants are believed to have lied. The judge, the prosecutor, even the jury. They are all believed to be corrupt, and thus deliberately clearing the criminal from all charges. I think the "Balasubramaniam/juvera" version is the best one here...
Robert Donahue (X) May 10, 2005:
Reading all of the answers, I am a little baffled (not the first time). Could you provide a little bit more text please or some additional context? UK English? American? It would help out a lot and get you the proper answer.

Responses

+5
4 hrs
Selected

Judges were bold/desperate and lost badly (American football term)

This could be tied in with the American football expression "to throw long" although to be fair it exists in rugby too.

In American style football the ball can be advanced by running and throwing. A conservative team, or a team in the lead will often run and throw short passes. This takes a lot of time off of the game clock. The losing team however, especially a team down by one score in the waning moments of the game, will throw long strikes down the field. This could lead to a large gain in yards/possible score or it could just as easily lead to a turnover.

In a nutshell, the Judges made some sort of desperation move and it backfired badly.



Make high-percentage passes, and understand what a high-percentage pass is. Of course, this concept should be fundamental to any offense, but until Roger came along, I for one had never really thought in those terms. Interestingly enough, at first we were reluctant to throw long off this offense (since longer passes are lower percentage), until I pointed out to everyone that the probability of completing 10 95% passes in a row is smaller than that of completing one 65% pass.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/smut/history/koonceO.html

THE PRESIDENT: Please be seated. Let me say, first of all, I'm delighted to be here at Boomer Esiason's podium. (Laughter.) When he was up here talking about president, it was all I could do to avoid screaming, "Throw long, throw long!" (Laughter.)
http://www.clintonfoundation.org/legacy/070500-speech-by-pre... ***Boomer Esiason was a famous Quarterback, a.k.a. the guy throwing the ball.***

Third, do not be bold...Kerry does not need to throw long. All the available polling shows that Kerry is clearly in this race, if not ahead by a nose. That means that voters are ready to get rid of the incumbent, and are waiting to be reassured that Kerry can do the job.
http://interestingtimes.typepad.com/interesting_times/2004/0...

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Note added at 7 hrs 6 mins (2005-05-10 14:10:02 GMT)
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You can \"throw a case\" out of court for lack of evidence.

You can \"throw a case\" as in to deliberately lose.

You can \"throw long\" in a case meaning to take a big risk.

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Note added at 7 hrs 7 mins (2005-05-10 14:11:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You can \"throw a case\" out of court for lack of evidence.

You can \"throw a case\" as in to deliberately lose.

You can \"throw long\" in a case meaning to take a big risk.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Balasubramaniam L. : Oh, you read it as a failed move on the part of the lawyers? I wonder....//Another reason why titles should be made editable!
2 hrs
Whoops, that should read lawyers. As in the lawyers took a long shot legal defense (possibly lying) and won. I misread that totally, good looking out! ;-)
agree Tony M : Nice one, Robert! /// Yes, it seems to me the sense of 'deliberately allowing the case to be lost' is probably what it meants. Remember the film 'Sleepers'? Chilling!
2 hrs
Thanks Dusty, but now I'm not so sure myself. I would like to know who in particular was doing the throwing! Judges? Prosecutors? Defense? The sports analogy can be tailored to fit, but I just want to be sure.
agree RHELLER : I think a deliberate loss is appropriate here - and the writer just doesn't write well (long does not make sense) - Rita's take on it :-)
2 hrs
Thank you Rita. I think that way now too. It's pretty oddly written. : )
agree Can Altinbay : Nice suggestion + comments.
4 hrs
Thanks Can
agree Aleksey Khudyakov
1 day 7 hrs
Thanks Aleksey
agree gtreyger (X)
30 days
Thanks Gennadiy
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks, that would be it :) (I mean, the comments ;)"
1 hr

see explanation

The sentence is not too clear, 'long' is quite confusing. Depending on the context it might be either:
1. they threw the case(out) long time ago...where 'threw' means what balasubramaniam mentioned...
or,
2...made the case a long-running dispute

Considering 'freedom'..option 1 is more suitable.
Peer comment(s):
agree Balasubramaniam L.
4 hrs
Thanks Balasubramaniam..as I understand ..the context does not refer to sport....(corrupt) prosecutor is mentioned
disagree Tony M : As Robert says, it's an idiomatic expression with a specific meaning, from Am. football
4 hrs
and why do you think it won't work here?
Something went wrong...
11 mins

reject outright

The expressiong "the court threw the case out" means rejected it outright, refused to consider it (due to insufficient evidence, etc.)

So probably that is what this means, rejected the case outright. The adverb "long" has been added to increase the irony in the senetence.

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Note added at 3 hrs 55 mins (2005-05-10 10:59:20 GMT)
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juvera\'s suggestion makes it better: deliberately reject, or knowingly reject or wilfully reject.

Dusty\'s is also an interesting point of view. The lawyers tricked the court to acquit their client by playing a long one (the baseball analogy of the opposing team throwing the ball long to allow the batter to get back on the crease (or am I mixing up cricket and baseball here!).
Peer comment(s):
disagree Tony M : No, this is a special idiom here, and I don't believe it means that at all; I've a feeling this is a US baseball term, isn't it? /// Not true! Only the other day, I agreed with one of your answers // Now I'M the one to suspect a typo ;-)
21 mins
Thanks, you seem to disagree with everything I say :-(...//You are a brick Dusty!
agree juvera : I would like to add the word "deliberately" rejected it, they new exactly what they were doing. The expression is a mixture of "throw" in the legal sense and "long" in the sport sense, and it fits the circumstances, so why wouldn't the writer use it?
2 hrs
Thanks.
Something went wrong...
-1
39 mins

baseball term?

I don't know the actual meaning of the phrase, though I assume it is something along the lines of throwing a ball a long way to give the batter more time to run --- i.e. perhaps leaving a lot of leeway.

But I did come up with this link that seems to use the term in this sort of figurative way, at least confirming my hunch that this is indeed a specific idiom:

Bringing Big Tobacco Down to Size

... ''The President said he was in a hole and had to 'throw long,''' Kessler recounts. ... five votes to four, by the conservative Supreme Court. ...

www.businessweek.com/2001/01_06/b3718090.htm

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Note added at 7 hrs 0 min (2005-05-10 14:04:40 GMT)
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It also (and possibly more relevantly) seem to be an expression used on the Stock Exchange etc.

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Note added at 7 hrs 48 mins (2005-05-10 14:52:41 GMT)
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I\'m certainly not being \'dogmatic\' here, as B. suggests; I have freely admitted my own lack of specific knowledge here.

All I am saying is that instead of trying to shoe-horn the odd-sounding English into meaning what we think it must mean, or assuming an error on the part of the author, we should maybe just check out some other possibilities. It\'s all a question of \'feeling\'

\"Think laterally, and don\'t assume a typo\"

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Note added at 7 hrs 51 mins (2005-05-10 14:55:26 GMT)
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How I wish one could edit the header field!

Then maybe people would take more care to read the body text, instead of getting hung up on an irrelevant slip in the header.

I should have said \"SPORTS term?\"

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Note added at 7 hrs 56 mins (2005-05-10 15:00:02 GMT)
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Asker\'s added context now makes it clear that this is NOt some formal, legal document, and hence \'hip\' slangy jargon is quite on the cards; also, as I noted above, since the \'they\' clearly refers to all the participants, and not JUST the judges, for example, the interpretation of \'throw out the case\' is unworkable. \'Deliberately lose the case\' seems an increasingly likely possibility
Peer comment(s):
neutral Robert Donahue (X) : American football term actually. It's nearly impossible to explain in this little bubble. :-(
3 hrs
Cheers, Robert! Thanks for the explanation
disagree Mihaela Brooks : The context refers to a criminal case
6 hrs
Thanks, Mihaela! Who said it didn't? But I believe this is a highly idiomatic usage here of a special expression
neutral Balasubramaniam L. : Now who is being dogmatic? :)
7 hrs
Not dogmatic, I've given a low confidence rating and admitted that I don't know for sure... Please see added note above
neutral RHELLER : football, dusty, and I don't mean soccer :-))
7 hrs
Yes, thanks, Rita, Robert has made that point; I just knew it was some Yankee jargon ;-)) Interestingly enough, it IS actually used in MANY sports, including both baseball AND 'proper' football (sorry, 'soccer')
Something went wrong...
+1
13 hrs

deliberately lose

It looks like a bad blend of two idioms: "to throw a case" means to deliberatley lose to your opponent, while appearing to try to win. "To throw long" in American football is to throw the ball a long distance towards the goal, which has a higher risk ... it is often the only move possible in some desperate situations. I think the author was not quite in control of his words, and would use "to deliberately lose".
Peer comment(s):
neutral Robert Donahue (X) : I agree with you (since this is exactly what I wrote in my answer and in the asker notes several hours before). ;-)
2 hrs
agree Refugio
1 day 21 hrs
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