Originally from baseball — the home plate umpire's job of calling each pitch a ball or a strike without favouring either team.
Originally from baseball — the home plate umpire's job of calling each pitch a ball or a strike without favouring either team. In broader US usage it means to judge fairly, call things as you see them, and not let bias sway your decisions. Politicians, journalists, and judges get praised (or challenged) for whether they really call balls and strikes. It's the American shorthand for impartiality with accountability.
The senator promised he'd call balls and strikes on the legislation regardless of which party introduced it.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(US, _, naval aviation) When landing on a US aircraft carrier: to sight the lights from the multi-colored optical landing system that shows a pilot to be on the correct approach path or how to correct the approach path.
(baseball) To throw a curveball.
(baseball, slang) A hard-hit batted ball hit straight at a fielder in the air for an out.
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(baseball) To act as a home plate umpire.
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(by extension) To act impartially.
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