In everyday language, the replacement is not necessarily better, just a replacement in a situation where the original person cannot fill the role.
In baseball, where this expression comes from, a pinch hitter is taking the place of another hitter because he is better suited for that particular situation. Before the Designated Hitter rule, it was common to send in a pinch hitter for the pitcher if you really needed a hit, because pitchers tend to be poor hitters. (Baseball does not have free substitution, so if you do this you must bring in a new pitcher in the next inning. This used to make for interesting strategies, which are now gone in favor of more hitting.) You might also send in a pinch hitter for any other weak hitter in a situation where a hit is critical.
After it was borrowed into everyday language the connotation changed. The person being replaced is not necessarily weaker, just unavailable.
I know nothing about baseball. In business situations I have only heard the term used to describe an emergency, unplanned replacement. If someone was supposed to lead a meeting and they get sick, the pinch hitter who takes their place could be their boss, coworker, or assistant. Might be better, might be worse.
I didn't say it doesn't exist. Even in the US where baseball is the "national pastime" more than half the country probably couldn't tell you what a "pinch hitter" is in baseball.
Chiefly British, Australian, and New Zealand. on the back foot: (originally Boxing) in a defensive position or stance; (hence figurative) at a disadvantage; on the defensive. Often in to put (also get, catch, etc.) (a person) on the back foot and variants: to gain an advantage over (a competitor or opponent); to get the better of (a person or group).
I've never heard an American say that and I lived there for two decades, but I won't claim it never happens. Maybe some areas have more familiarity with cricket. Or maybe they just picked up the saying contextually without recognizing its origin. You're more likely to hear these cross-species idioms adopted in more international settings (like NYC or Chicago or LA).
I have heard it used here, and I've even used it myself. But I (and the others I mentioned) definitely got odd looks when using it. And although we all knew the meaning in the context we were using it and even understood that the term originated from cricket, I honestly didn't understand how the wicket could be "sticky" until I learned that they weren't referring to those standy-uppy-thingies.
I'm born and raised in the US (southern California), and I have never heard this term. I'm also not really into baseball, and also not in the corporate world, which is where it sounds like it's used the most. Not saying it's not common, just that it's nowhere near "universal"
I mean that’s far from the only place it’s common. I’ve never had any experience in the corporate world but if I used this term everyone I know would understand it.
In my experience it's used where you need people to perform in a time-sensitive context. The corporate world is full of that. Other professions: it depends.
Currently in a lunch room full of Americans. The ones over 45 all know it, the ones in their 30s are saying they’ve heard of it but would never use it, and there’s 3 or 4 very confused people in their 20s who have never heard it before
In every day use, it generally means neutral to worse. Like, "I'm just pinch hitting for Barbara while she's putting out a fire in purchasing" would mean I'm a temporary replacement, and implies things probably won't go as smoothly as when Barbara is dealing with this, because I don't have her knowledge of the context.
Which is of course is different from its typical usage in baseball. I mean, there are definitely times when the pinch hitter is an emergency replacement (injury, ejection, etc) but otherwise, it's almost exclusively strategic -- the assumption is the hitter stepping in is better suited to success than the one being replaced.
It means they are situationally better. Some people who might be worse overall are great at specific tasks and when that specific skill is needed, you have them pinch hit for the original person.
Or they are just a replacement for somebody who can't continue for whatever reason
That second option is what I'm getting at, and I'd argue it's more often used in that scenario (and the dictionary backs that up).
Unless your argument is "he is better because the other guy is dead or in hospital", then the second option has nothing to do with "better", at least not in the way that OP intended "better", in my opinion.
"We're bringing in Steve to do the report instead of Charles."
"Why? Charles is a better speaker."
"Yeah, but Charles is sick with the flu, so Steve is better than nobody."
The focus for "pinch hit" is more that they're temporary and available (and possibly better). It also tends to mean that it's somewhat unplanned/last-minute decision.
Both in real life and in baseball, if I'm bringing in someone to pinch hit, it is not (yet*) a full replacement. In other words, for this specific task/time period, John's out, Jill's in. It could be because John can't and it's a necessary change; it could be because John shouldn't and it's a strategic change.
In theory, though, if John was known to be bad he wouldn't have gotten the assignment in the first place. That's different than baseball, where you can only pinch hit for someone who was already in the game. They come out and you go in. I don't think there are too many business meetings where one person starts a presentation and gets substituted partway through due to incompetence.
The phrase comes from another idiom: "in a pinch", aka a problematic situation. So a pinch hitter is one who hits when he is needed - it's neutral, but GENERALLY a pinch hitter will be worse than a normal hitter because they are a backup, not a normal hitter.
In baseball, the usual reason for a pinch hitter is because they are better. The classic situation is that you have a pitcher who is great at pitching (which is why he's in the game) but not very good at batting. Good pitchers are less common than good batters and can make a greater personal difference on the overall game so you accept the trade off. But toward the end of the game if your team is behind and your pitcher is coming up to bat, you might send in another player with higher batting skills as a pinch hitter to increase your odds of getting a good result. This is especially true if there are runners on the bases. You don't want to waste the opportunity of getting them to home plate so you put in a better batter. (But your pitcher is now gone from the game so that's the downside and you would only do it "in a pinch" where it might make the difference between winning and losing.) There are other less common scenarios but that was always the classic one. With modern rules where pitchers often don't have to bat, it's a lot less common.
A pinch is a circumstance where it's critical or an emergency. "This will do in a pinch" "We're in a pinch". Something will make due in a 'tight' circumstance, where your options are limited.
So a pinch hitter is a hitter that will do in a circumstance where you need another option because the regular option isn't available.
Better. The pinch hitter is someone you bring in to bat in place of another batter at a critical point. The idea is that they have a better chance of scoring than the person they replace.
The colloquial usage is derived from baseball. It’s an extremely transparent metaphor. If someone said something about bringing in a “punch hitter” and it was a neutral substitution, I would question why they even used the phrase instead of just saying “substitution” or “swap.”
Many people don't know anything about baseball. The colloquial meaning has expanded, and it's usually used for anyone brought in for a special reason - usually an emergency. But the special reason can be that they're better for a specific task.
People who are baseball fans are more likely to use the word in a way that stays truer to its original meaning.
The reason you would use "pinch hitter" instead of "substitute" is because the expanded definition still carries some of then original meaning: it's usually someone stepping in to fill a need at a crucial or critical moment. But they don't necessarily have to be better than the original person.
"Substitute" can be used in far more cases, and has a far broader meaning.
TL;DR Any use of "pinch hitter' in a strictly baseball-accurate sense still fits under the broader colloquial definition, but the colloquial definition has expanded to also include any last-minute or unexpected substitution in a crucial situation.
I don't know anything about baseball other than that there are nine innings, four bases, two teams, a bat, and a ball. I'm familiar with the term "pinch hit" from fandom, where a "pinch hitter" is just somebody filling in a fanwork in an exchange for somebody who, for whatever reason, couldn't or didn't submit theirs.
Yes, that's the standard general usage outside baseball. It's too general for baseball, where it usually has a more specific common meaning (or context) related to the immediate situation in the game where a better hitter is needed to increase the odds of success.
Typically that is why you use a pinch hitter, but that isn't always the case. It could also be because the regular batter got hurt, or it's a preseason game and you want different people to get some at bats etc. And similarly, the non-baseball idiom tells you that there was a substitute, but it doesn't really tell you why.
(colloquial) A person who substitutes for another to perform one or more tasks. I’ll be sending a pinch hitter to do the presentation because I have the flu.
Sure, but none of these definitively answer my question. Obviously, I know the general meaning, but I was asking about the usual implication. The dictionary descriptions seem to indicate a neutral qualification for someone who does the pinch-hitting, but the show I saw the term in used it to describe someone who would do a better job. So I asked.
Then at least make your question interesting by being more specific:
Tell us the show and episode number, quote the scene or provide a link to the scene, and ask why the usage seems to differ from the dictionary definition.
Then we can start by seeing if your interpretation of the scene is even correct.
I could've done it, but I don't see how it's necessary. By the people's opinions on the implication of the term, I will get all my answers if it's that straightforward, but you can already see from the other comments that it's not.
There is no difference of meaning. A pinch hitter can be better, and that can be implied from context, but by itself in a vacuum the colloquial use of "pinch hitter" does not necessarily imply they are better. It absolutely is that straightforward, and the comments bear that out.
In everyday language, the replacement is not necessarily better, just a replacement in a situation where the original person cannot fill the role.
In baseball, where this expression comes from, a pinch hitter is taking the place of another hitter because he is better suited for that particular situation. Before the Designated Hitter rule, it was common to send in a pinch hitter for the pitcher if you really needed a hit, because pitchers tend to be poor hitters. (Baseball does not have free substitution, so if you do this you must bring in a new pitcher in the next inning. This used to make for interesting strategies, which are now gone in favor of more hitting.) You might also send in a pinch hitter for any other weak hitter in a situation where a hit is critical.
After it was borrowed into everyday language the connotation changed. The person being replaced is not necessarily weaker, just unavailable.
I know nothing about baseball. In business situations I have only heard the term used to describe an emergency, unplanned replacement. If someone was supposed to lead a meeting and they get sick, the pinch hitter who takes their place could be their boss, coworker, or assistant. Might be better, might be worse.
I'd just like to mention that the phrase isn't used in British English. It would confuse many Brits.
I’m Aussie I’ve never heard of it.
Seems like a phrase likely used in American English but not in other varieties
It’s useful for OP to know which contexts this would be understood and which it wouldn’t
It's a baseball metaphor. In general, baseball metaphors are common in American English and absent from most other dialects.
Yes, because it comes from baseball, and America and Canada are the only core Anglosphere nations where baseball is popular.
In contrast, if there are any rugby- or cricket-based idioms, I doubt they are popular in the US.
Cambridge correctly notes this usage as a US meaning:
Scrum
Australia does have a pro baseball league
I didn't say it doesn't exist. Even in the US where baseball is the "national pastime" more than half the country probably couldn't tell you what a "pinch hitter" is in baseball.
on the back foot
...isn't that a fencing metaphor? I thought it was a fencing expression!
Or boxing. Any type of combat sport where consistently being on the defensive and reacting instead of attacking is a disadvantage.
Hmmm! Well, I know it's pretty commonly used in cricket, not sure about fencing
I don't think it has relevance in fencing. But it is relevant in many sports.
OED has it as coming from boxing:
Boxing! That makes sense.
Very common in baseball too (or really any sport where you hit a ball by swinging)
I've heard Americans use "sticky wicket", so there's at least some crossover
I've never heard an American say that and I lived there for two decades, but I won't claim it never happens. Maybe some areas have more familiarity with cricket. Or maybe they just picked up the saying contextually without recognizing its origin. You're more likely to hear these cross-species idioms adopted in more international settings (like NYC or Chicago or LA).
Cambridge seems to classify it as a Britishism:
I have heard it used here, and I've even used it myself. But I (and the others I mentioned) definitely got odd looks when using it. And although we all knew the meaning in the context we were using it and even understood that the term originated from cricket, I honestly didn't understand how the wicket could be "sticky" until I learned that they weren't referring to those standy-uppy-thingies.
I’m British and I’ve lived in the US for over a decade, and I have never heard this term. OP should probably just avoid using this term.
No, it’s definitely universal in the USA. Frankly I’m shocked you don’t know it if you’ve been here a decade
I'm born and raised in the US (southern California), and I have never heard this term. I'm also not really into baseball, and also not in the corporate world, which is where it sounds like it's used the most. Not saying it's not common, just that it's nowhere near "universal"
Yeah, I corrected myself on that below. It’s extremely common, but I’ll admit not quite “universal”
I guarantee you it’s not universal. Almost as if “the US is a big place” or something.
Ok maybe “universal” was a little strong. I should have said “extremely common.” Either way, advising OP not to use it is super unnecessary.
It's pretty common in the corporate world, but not everyone operates in that world.
I mean that’s far from the only place it’s common. I’ve never had any experience in the corporate world but if I used this term everyone I know would understand it.
In my experience it's used where you need people to perform in a time-sensitive context. The corporate world is full of that. Other professions: it depends.
It's also common where people are baseball fans.
Exactly. So if a term has a very specific meaning, and there are big groups n of people who never use it, it’s probably not advisable to use it.
Ask any of your American friends/colleagues what it means if "Bob is pinch hitting for Sally while she's out on vacation." They'll know it.
Currently in a lunch room full of Americans. The ones over 45 all know it, the ones in their 30s are saying they’ve heard of it but would never use it, and there’s 3 or 4 very confused people in their 20s who have never heard it before
Fuck them kids. They dunno shit.
Interesting test, thanks.
I'd say that cuts in favor of using it.
Just a temporary replacement. Neither good nor bad.
More of a neutral replacement. Could be better suited or they want to save the better person for later.
In every day use, it generally means neutral to worse. Like, "I'm just pinch hitting for Barbara while she's putting out a fire in purchasing" would mean I'm a temporary replacement, and implies things probably won't go as smoothly as when Barbara is dealing with this, because I don't have her knowledge of the context.
Which is of course is different from its typical usage in baseball. I mean, there are definitely times when the pinch hitter is an emergency replacement (injury, ejection, etc) but otherwise, it's almost exclusively strategic -- the assumption is the hitter stepping in is better suited to success than the one being replaced.
It means they are a better replacement for that specific situation or the person getting replaced is sick or injured and unable to continue
So it means they're better unless it doesn't mean they're better?
It means they are situationally better. Some people who might be worse overall are great at specific tasks and when that specific skill is needed, you have them pinch hit for the original person.
Or they are just a replacement for somebody who can't continue for whatever reason
That second option is what I'm getting at, and I'd argue it's more often used in that scenario (and the dictionary backs that up).
Unless your argument is "he is better because the other guy is dead or in hospital", then the second option has nothing to do with "better", at least not in the way that OP intended "better", in my opinion.
"We're bringing in Steve to do the report instead of Charles."
"Why? Charles is a better speaker."
"Yeah, but Charles is sick with the flu, so Steve is better than nobody."
It means this is the right decision right now.
The focus for "pinch hit" is more that they're temporary and available (and possibly better). It also tends to mean that it's somewhat unplanned/last-minute decision.
Both in real life and in baseball, if I'm bringing in someone to pinch hit, it is not (yet*) a full replacement. In other words, for this specific task/time period, John's out, Jill's in. It could be because John can't and it's a necessary change; it could be because John shouldn't and it's a strategic change.
*also, in both, that may change
In theory, though, if John was known to be bad he wouldn't have gotten the assignment in the first place. That's different than baseball, where you can only pinch hit for someone who was already in the game. They come out and you go in. I don't think there are too many business meetings where one person starts a presentation and gets substituted partway through due to incompetence.
Why would you pitch hit for someone better than you?
Depends on the situation, but in baseball you would save a good hitter to be a pinch hitter.
Because the usual person is unavailable. That's typically how it's used outside of baseball.
It's a rare circumstance where you've replaced someone with someone better suited to the task and you'd characterize it as pinch hitting.
The phrase comes from another idiom: "in a pinch", aka a problematic situation. So a pinch hitter is one who hits when he is needed - it's neutral, but GENERALLY a pinch hitter will be worse than a normal hitter because they are a backup, not a normal hitter.
In baseball, the usual reason for a pinch hitter is because they are better. The classic situation is that you have a pitcher who is great at pitching (which is why he's in the game) but not very good at batting. Good pitchers are less common than good batters and can make a greater personal difference on the overall game so you accept the trade off. But toward the end of the game if your team is behind and your pitcher is coming up to bat, you might send in another player with higher batting skills as a pinch hitter to increase your odds of getting a good result. This is especially true if there are runners on the bases. You don't want to waste the opportunity of getting them to home plate so you put in a better batter. (But your pitcher is now gone from the game so that's the downside and you would only do it "in a pinch" where it might make the difference between winning and losing.) There are other less common scenarios but that was always the classic one. With modern rules where pitchers often don't have to bat, it's a lot less common.
A pinch hitter is a specialized replacement, often replaced as soon as their task is complete
I'm American, never heard it. I would assume it means worse if I ever did hear it.
A pinch is a circumstance where it's critical or an emergency. "This will do in a pinch" "We're in a pinch". Something will make due in a 'tight' circumstance, where your options are limited.
So a pinch hitter is a hitter that will do in a circumstance where you need another option because the regular option isn't available.
Better. The pinch hitter is someone you bring in to bat in place of another batter at a critical point. The idea is that they have a better chance of scoring than the person they replace.
That's true of baseball, but not necessarily true of its colloquial usage.
The colloquial usage is derived from baseball. It’s an extremely transparent metaphor. If someone said something about bringing in a “punch hitter” and it was a neutral substitution, I would question why they even used the phrase instead of just saying “substitution” or “swap.”
Many people don't know anything about baseball. The colloquial meaning has expanded, and it's usually used for anyone brought in for a special reason - usually an emergency. But the special reason can be that they're better for a specific task.
People who are baseball fans are more likely to use the word in a way that stays truer to its original meaning.
The reason you would use "pinch hitter" instead of "substitute" is because the expanded definition still carries some of then original meaning: it's usually someone stepping in to fill a need at a crucial or critical moment. But they don't necessarily have to be better than the original person.
"Substitute" can be used in far more cases, and has a far broader meaning.
TL;DR Any use of "pinch hitter' in a strictly baseball-accurate sense still fits under the broader colloquial definition, but the colloquial definition has expanded to also include any last-minute or unexpected substitution in a crucial situation.
shrugs
I don't know anything about baseball other than that there are nine innings, four bases, two teams, a bat, and a ball. I'm familiar with the term "pinch hit" from fandom, where a "pinch hitter" is just somebody filling in a fanwork in an exchange for somebody who, for whatever reason, couldn't or didn't submit theirs.
Yes, that's the standard general usage outside baseball. It's too general for baseball, where it usually has a more specific common meaning (or context) related to the immediate situation in the game where a better hitter is needed to increase the odds of success.
Typically that is why you use a pinch hitter, but that isn't always the case. It could also be because the regular batter got hurt, or it's a preseason game and you want different people to get some at bats etc. And similarly, the non-baseball idiom tells you that there was a substitute, but it doesn't really tell you why.
Another day; another question that could be definitively answered with a simple Google search and a glance at the dictionary:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/pinch-hitter
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pinch-hitter
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pinch_hitter
Sure, but none of these definitively answer my question. Obviously, I know the general meaning, but I was asking about the usual implication. The dictionary descriptions seem to indicate a neutral qualification for someone who does the pinch-hitting, but the show I saw the term in used it to describe someone who would do a better job. So I asked.
Then at least make your question interesting by being more specific:
Tell us the show and episode number, quote the scene or provide a link to the scene, and ask why the usage seems to differ from the dictionary definition.
Then we can start by seeing if your interpretation of the scene is even correct.
I could've done it, but I don't see how it's necessary. By the people's opinions on the implication of the term, I will get all my answers if it's that straightforward, but you can already see from the other comments that it's not.
Well, they didn't say it's necessary. They just said it's more interesting for us, and they're not wrong.
There is no difference of meaning. A pinch hitter can be better, and that can be implied from context, but by itself in a vacuum the colloquial use of "pinch hitter" does not necessarily imply they are better. It absolutely is that straightforward, and the comments bear that out.