Reader’s question: She was well known for jumping the gun. Could you explain “jump the gun”?

My comments:

She who jumps the gun does things before she is supposed to. For example, she may speak out of turn - before it’s her turn to speak– and be annoying to others.

“Jump the gun” is originally a sports term. In the 100- or 200-meter dash, for example, you’ll hear the chairperson (who indeed sometimes stands on a chair) call “On your marks”. That’s when the athletes are supposed to line up behind the starting line, getting ready to run. Then the chairperson shouts “Set!” That’s when the runners get into their starting “set” (posture). They’re ready to sprint any second now. Sure enough, within a second or two, sometimes less, the chairperson fires the “gun”, a sound signal upon which the athletes launch their sprint.

If you jump the gun, that means you are spotted springing up before hearing the sound from the gun. That is a foul. A second such offense usually gets you expelled from a race.

In short, jumping the gun is against the law in sport, either on the track or in the swimming pool.

Therefore, metaphorically speaking, she (using the example from the top) who jumps the gun does something before she’s supposed to.

And that, according to commonly accepted social etiquette, is inappropriate.

To say the least.

Related stories:

Right on cue

Lower 48 states

Pick up steam

Personal chemistry

Put it on the back burner

Butt-brush effect

Make the cut

Poker face

Win hands down

Out on the street

Fly-by-night

Apple polisher

Might-have-beens

Think the world of

Ante up

Sit on the fence

On top of the world

Button your lip

One for the books

Pass the buck

Raw deal

Fire sale

Spill the beans

Sacred cow

Cheek to jowl

Peaches and cream

Know-it-all

A long shot

Miss the boat

Go to Zhang Xin's column

本文僅代表作者本人觀點(diǎn)，與本網(wǎng)立場(chǎng)無(wú)關(guān)。歡迎大家討論學(xué)術(shù)問(wèn)題，尊重他人，禁止人身攻擊和發(fā)布一切違反國(guó)家現(xiàn)行法律法規(guī)的內(nèi)容。

Zhang Xin 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.