Hit the floor running?

Reader question:

When a recruiter says they’re looking for someone who “can hit the floor running”, what does it mean?

My comments:

Among job seekers, some are experienced while others are new to the job, or trade.

He (or she) who can hit the floor running is, yes, you probably guessed it, someone who is experienced, someone who can go right to work instead of having go through a lot of training on the job.

Question is, why “hit the floor running”?

“Hit the floor running” is actually a variation of the American expression, “hit the ground running”, which, probably, originates in a horse race.

In a horse race, you see, the ground would be the race ground. After the starting signal, especially after the horses’ hooves hit the ground, they’d be galloping off right away.

Plausible, isn’t it? Still, there are other theories pointing to different origins, all plausible to some degree. The Phrase Finder (Phrases.org.uk), for example, names “hobos jumping from freight trains, troops being dropped by parachute etc.”

These literal uses all make sense. The figurative sense, a usage where no actual ground or running is involved, dates back to October 1940, in The Hayward Daily Review, according to the same Phrase Finder:

“It sometimes seems to me that the young idea nowadays wants to hit the ground running and to tell the old editors how to run things.”

I prefer the race ground origin, though, as you can easily identify horses (or dogs for that matter) hitting the ground running with another racing expression, “out of the gate”. One particular horse, say, is able to gain a head start right out of the gate. And it cannot do that without hitting the ground running, can it?

Anyways, to be able to hit the ground, or floor running suggests that you’re well prepared and ready. In our example, for a job seeker to hit the floor running, i.e. to be able to do what’s required of them immediately, means that they’re experienced rather than someone without any prior work experience, thus requiring training and supervision.

All right, media examples:

1. KENNY MILLER and the rest of the Rangers squad are back at Auchenhowie preparing for Queen of the South after a brief break from training.

Several Light Blues players have been away representing their countries and with the match against Livingston postponed until next Tuesday, the rest of the squad were given time off to recharge their batteries for the assault on the Championship.

Speaking to RangersTV this week as preparations for the Doonhamers at Ibrox ramped up, Miller said that the win over Falkirk was the perfect way to round off a great opening to the season.

He said: “It’s always nice to finish off with a win before any kind of international break or any time off. It means you can go away and enjoy it rather than sitting back and being itching for the next game so you can put a poor result right.

The Gers have won their opening nine games in the League this season and will be looking to make that ten in a row this weekend against Queen of the South.

Miller has been impressed with the way the new squad has gelled together and that the team are winning in a way that pleases the fans. He said: “I think we are doing now what everybody feels that we should be doing.

“When a new manager comes in, it can go either way but the lads have really responded to the manager’s methods, his instructions and the way that he wants us to play.

“We’ve signed some really good players and the lads have all hit the ground running and it’s been helped by the fact that we won our first few games.”

- Hit The Ground Running, Rangers.co.uk, October 13, 2017.

2. If Carmelo Anthony’s status with the Knicks was being clocked by Facebook, it would either read “it’s complicated” or “open relationship.”

The All-Star forward had a sit down with team president Phil Jackson recently during which the two discussed the team's future.

“The ball is in their court,” Anthony said when asked about the topics covered, via the New York Post. “They have an opportunity, we have an opportunity to do something this offseason. We got to do something. It’s there. Everybody has money this summer. It’s an even playing field. We got to hit the ground running.’’

- Carmelo Anthony calls on Knicks to ‘hit the ground running’ in offseason, SportingNews.com, March 14, 2016.

3. Editor’s note: During the half-century that Ione Quinby Griggs wrote an advice column for The Milwaukee Journal’s Green Sheet section, it became something of a tradition for readers — and, sometimes, colleagues at The Journal — to send in letters with made-up problems for Griggs to solve. It’s unclear how often Griggs knew she was dealing with a hoax, although some who worked with her believe that, more often than not, she played along knowingly.

Take this “letter,” published in a March 25, 1961 column, from a husband who claims to have found the secret to marital bliss courtesy the use of an “electric cane” — sounds like a cattle prod — on his television-obsessed wife. Robert W. Wells, The Journal writer who chronicled the history of the newspaper in a 1981 book, says the letter was sent in by Journal Sports Editor Oliver Kuechle; in response, Wells wrote, Griggs played it straight. Judge for yourself.

Thanks to Journal Sentinel columnist Jim Stingl, who tracked down what has long been his favorite Griggs column.

A wife who becomes a television addict, unable to take care of her family properly, may need changing, but will this husband get good results permanently by using an electric cane? Read this letter:

Mrs. Griggs: My wife has been suffering from an ailment known as televisionitis. She has watched those 40-year-old movies and other programs daily until the wee hours.

I was born and raised on a farm. All of my life, Sundays included, I have risen at 4 a.m. Today, I have my own business and still get up at that time, working 13 hours daily, six days a week. So, to have a wife get out of bed like a patient just emerging from the recovery room, staggering in circles with a vacant look in her eyes, doesn’t set well with me.

I tried every way to change her so I wouldn't need to keep an eye on her to be sure she didn't start boiling potatoes for breakfast instead of eggs. I put a timing device on the television set that cut off the current at 10 p.m. Did she retire at a decent time and get her rest? No, she took up reading love stories in magazines! She reminded me of a lovesick teenager instead of a woman 35 years old.

She was strictly a birdbrain about such things. Otherwise, she was OK.

I made up my mind I’d cure her if it was the last thing I did, but it wasn’t until I visited the stockyards that I discovered a workable gadget. I saw a man driving a herd of cattle to a pen, and the stubborn ones he would touch lightly on the hind quarters with a cane. They would start moving immediately. I asked about it, and the man said it was an electric cane powered by batteries, that it was the only humane way he had found to make the cattle move.

I got the manufacturer's address and ordered a cane. The morning after it arrived, I put the cane under the bed covers and pressed the button.

The results were amazing. My wife emitted an earsplitting scream and jumped out of bed. The bed clothes flew upward, and she hit the floor running. She was like a firefighter on the way to a six-alarm fire.

Of course, there were some harsh words spoken. Also, she used some Swedish cuss words. (She has Swedish blood in her.) As I'm Irish, I didn't get the full import, but could guess she was mad.

The next morning, she still didn’t get up under her own power, so she got the cane treatment again. The third morning, she was out of bed before I could use the cane.

Everything is running smoothly at our house now. I’ve always attended 5 a.m. Mass on Sunday, but she would wait until the last Mass. Believe it or not, she is now up and ready to go without being asked. I guess this proves that the cane is better than the divorce court. At 10 p.m., she turns off the television and comes marching to bed like a lamb.

My theory is we are going to live with television, but we don’t have to put up with its unpleasant problems. Also, we must train the weaker sex so they will take care of their obligations.

I would like to advise all young men to place the electric cane first on the list of household appliances, and start training the wife immediately after the honeymoon. Women are more easily trained when young!

— R.

R.: If you are telling the truth, you mean “cowed,” not trained, don’t you?

Wives aren’t cattle, so even if you succeeded in getting your wife to bed at 10 p.m. and up again at 4 a.m., it isn’t likely you have made her love you more or made her happy. You may have started inner rebellion that will someday explode and make you wish you had never heard of an electric cane.

My advice is to get at the root of her vicarious absorbance in fictitious loves instead of using cattle-driving tactics. A woman who lives a good love life with her husband doesn’t have to depend heavily on love stories.

Cut your long working hours, give your wife some personal attention and outings. Why in the world get up at 4 a.m. if you have your own business? I advise all bridegrooms to pay no attention to your advice.

— I.Q.G.

- Hoax, or horrible husband: Letter writer urges using ‘electric cane’, JSOnline.com, July 07, 2016.

About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.