Give us the play by play here

Guest   Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:10 pm GMT
What's that mean
Guest   Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:55 pm GMT
"The play by play" means the details of what happened. It refers to the "plays" of a football game.
Skippy   Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:06 pm GMT
It's describing something event by event, typically as it's happening, such as announcers at a sports event.
Guest   Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:48 pm GMT
thanks. Is it comment to say "I'll give you the play by play" meaning I'll instantly update you?
Uriel   Sat Aug 09, 2008 1:59 am GMT
No, it wouldn't. "Play by play" specifically means to give someone a highly detailed account of some event in sequential order, as in: "I went to pick her up at her house. She was upstairs when I got there, and she took at least ten minutes to answer the door. I had to knock three times. I could swear I had heard another voice in there, but she said it was just the radio. In the car she wouldn't even look at me, just kept checking her makeup and dabbing on more lipgloss. We got to the restaurant at about 8:30, and she just picked at her appetizer. Didn't talk much or anything. About halfway through the main course, she excused herself to the bathroom, but I don't think it was because she had to go -- I saw her fish her cell phone out of her purse just as she turned the corner. She didn't come back for twenty minutes. Her fish was stone cold by then. Didn't matter, because she obviously wasn't interested in eating it anyway. When I dropped her off later she just gave me a tight little smile and a peck on the cheek. I just knew it, then."

The Cliff Notes version (no play-by-play): "I think she's seeing someone else, dude. Just got a weird vibe at dinner last night."

Another term for play-by-play is blow-by-blow, which is taken from boxing commentary.
Guest   Sat Aug 09, 2008 11:29 pm GMT
Thank you