on the ball
- 1Alert, attentive, and quick to respond to what is happening around you.
Our project manager stays on the ball, flagging risks long before they become problems.
She was on the ball during the interview, answering every follow-up without hesitation.
Note
An idiom that behaves like an adjective. It usually follows be, stay or get, and it can be graded: someone can be more on the ball, or not on the ball at all. It describes readiness in the moment, like catching the right question while the caller is still on the line, rather than cleverness in general.
- 2In possession of and actively controlling the ball during play.
The midfielder on the ball slowed the tempo to let his teammates push forward.
Once she was on the ball near the box, the whole defense collapsed toward her.
Note
Football commentary uses the phrase for what a side does in possession, as opposed to what it does without the ball. Kevin Darlin's BBC report of 2010 praises West Brom's "excellent work on the ball" but blames "lapses at the back" for the defeat. It often follows a noun (work on the ball, the player on the ball), which sets it apart from the "alert" idiom, usually found after be.
- 3Playing as a midfielder in Australian rules football, following the ball around the ground.
Starting on the ball, the young recruit gathered possessions all over the field.
Veterans are often rested forward before being sent back on the ball late in the game.
Note
In Australian rules football the phrase names a role rather than a moment. A player on the ball belongs to the midfield group of rovers, ruck-rovers and center players, who follow the play around the ground instead of holding a fixed post forward or back. Such a player can be on the ball all quarter without touching it, which the possession sense would never allow.
Practice
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