US sports idioms: productive mastery

American English is saturated with sports metaphors to a degree that surprises learners. A single half-hour cable news segment about a Senate negotiation will produce ballpark figure, out of left field, Hail Mary, full-court press, on the ropes, and swing for the fences — and the audience doesn’t think of it as figurative. The metaphors have fossilized into the working vocabulary of business, journalism, politics, and casual conversation. If you don’t know the origin sport, the meaning still mostly works, but the register is invisible — and at C1, register is the entire point.

The cultural density of sports metaphor in American English has no real counterpart in Russian. Russian has athletic vocabulary (олимпийское спокойствие, в ударе, в финале), but the volume and breadth are different — Russian business and journalism use perhaps 5-10 active sports idioms; American counterparts use 50+. The implication for Russian-speakers: idiom recognition is essential just to follow a typical US business meeting or news broadcast, and idiom production is what separates B2-fluent communication from C1-native communication.

A second cultural difference worth noting: the four sports covered here (baseball, football, basketball, boxing) all have a structural feature that makes them rich sources of metaphor — discrete, scorable moments embedded in continuous play. A baseball at-bat is a discrete decision under uncertainty; a football play is a discrete coordinated effort with measurable yards gained; a basketball shot is a discrete attempt with binary outcome; a boxing round is a discrete unit of sustained exchange. These structures map onto business decisions, strategic moves, and prolonged competition with unusual fidelity. Soccer / football has less penetration into American business idiom precisely because its play is more continuous and less easily discretized — score an own goal and level playing field are the rare exceptions.

At B2 you learned to recognize the core sports idioms. At C1 the task is different: produce them in the right context, with the right register, and notice when a Russian-speaker calque or over-literal interpretation gives you away. Knock it out of the park sounds great in a Slack message celebrating a launch; it sounds bizarre in a condolence note. Hail Mary is appropriate for a desperate last-minute attempt; it’s wrong for a routine effort. Pull punches is correct in journalism criticizing a politician; it’s odd in a five-year-old’s birthday card.

This lesson covers ~30 high-frequency sports idioms grouped by source sport, with cultural origin notes, register tags, and productive-vs-recognition guidance. Cultural literacy matters at C1: knowing that ballpark figure comes from baseball (a rough estimate of fans in the park) and that Hail Mary comes from football (a desperate long pass with a prayer attached) lets you stretch and extend the metaphors naturally instead of using them as fixed strings.

Baseball idioms — the deepest layer

Baseball is the oldest of the four major US sports and contributes the largest share of business and political idioms. Touch base, out of left field, ballpark figure, swing for the fences — all baseball. Even Russian-speakers who don’t know the sport instinctively recognize many of these from American media. The challenge at C1 is productive use with origin awareness.

Origin notes. A ballpark is a baseball stadium; estimating crowd size from inside the park gives you a ballpark figure. Left field is the part of the outfield farthest from a right-handed batter — unexpected balls come from there. The fences are the outfield boundary; hitting over them means a home run, so swing for the fences is going for maximum reward (and high risk). A wheelhouse is a baseball batter’s strike zone where they hit best — your strengths. Strikes are missed swings; three strikes and the batter is out — the source of three strikes and you’re out in casual speech and “three-strikes” sentencing laws. Hardball refers to the standard major-league baseball — heavier and faster than softball — so play hardball means competing at the highest, most aggressive level. Curveball is a pitch that breaks unexpectedly mid-flight; metaphorically, an unexpected problem.

Register notes. Touch base, cover all the bases, step up to the plate, play hardball, and ballpark figure are core business register — appropriate from Slack to investor decks. Out of left field, swing for the fences, and curveball are slightly more casual but still business-safe. Three strikes feels casual or legalistic — avoid in formal academic writing. Batting average used metaphorically (e.g., her hiring batting average) is journalism-friendly but slightly stretched in formal business writing.

Cultural literacy note. Baseball is the most heavily idiomatized of US sports because of its 150-year cultural centrality, slow-paced strategic structure, and the era of widespread radio coverage in the 1930s-1950s that fixed the vocabulary in mass consciousness. Even Americans who don’t follow baseball today produce these idioms automatically — they’re part of the substrate of business English. For C1 learners, baseball idioms are the highest-ROI sports cluster: 14 idioms here are all useful in everyday business communication.

Football idioms — drama and urgency

American football idioms cluster around decisive moments, desperate attempts, and second-guessing. The vocabulary is dramatic — Hail Mary, full-court press, kicked off, end zone. Football idioms appear heavily in political reporting (the campaign launched a full-court press) and crisis business writing (the merger was a Hail Mary).

Origin notes. A Hail Mary is a long-distance forward pass thrown in desperation as time expires, named after the Catholic prayer. The original use was attributed to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach in 1975 after he completed a desperate game-winning pass against the Minnesota Vikings and reportedly said he closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary. The phrase entered general American English by the early 1980s and is now the canonical idiom for a desperate last attempt with low success probability. Monday morning quarterback refers to fans who critique Sunday’s game on Monday with hindsight they didn’t have during the play — the metaphor for any after-the-fact critic. Full-court press is technically basketball (defensive pressure across the entire court) but the idiomatic register reads as football-flavored intensity. Moving the goalposts literally means shifting the scoring target during the game — unfair by definition. Punt is when a team gives up on scoring this possession and kicks the ball away to improve field position; metaphorically, deferring a decision rather than addressing it now. Audible is when the quarterback changes the play at the line of scrimmage by calling out new instructions; metaphorically, a last-minute change of plan.

Register notes. Hail Mary and Monday morning quarterback are journalism-strong but business-safe. Punt, audible, game plan, kicked off are everyday business register. Fumble and moving the goalposts are slightly accusatory — use with care. Take a knee is mildly stretched outside sports contexts and has political connotations from the 2016-onward kneeling protests — avoid in politically sensitive business contexts. End zone in business contexts implies you’re about to score (close the deal) — used optimistically; do not over-use because it sounds slightly hyperbolic if the deal is still uncertain.

Cultural literacy note. American football is the dominant US spectator sport since the late 1970s, displacing baseball in cultural prestige. Football idioms emphasize drama, urgency, and crisis — appropriate to the sport’s brief, high-stakes plays separated by long pauses. The vocabulary of football fits political and business reporting because the underlying cultural rhythm matches: long preparation, decisive bursts of action, post-game analysis.

Basketball idioms — speed and finesse

Basketball contributes a smaller cluster but a high-density one. The metaphors emphasize decisive certainty, individual brilliance, and team coordination.

Origin notes. A slam dunk is the highest-percentage shot in basketball — dunking the ball directly into the hoop, almost impossible to miss. The phrase generalized to mean near-certain success in business and political contexts. A no-look pass is when a player passes without looking at the receiver, signaling court-wide awareness and confidence; metaphorically, an anticipatory move that displays sophisticated read of the situation. MVP (most valuable player) is the postseason award; it generalized to “top performer” in any context — sports, business, and casual celebration. In the zone refers to peak athletic flow state, where the basket appears larger and shots feel easy; the metaphor now describes any state of intense focused performance. Ball is in your court originally meant the literal ball was on the opponent’s side and waiting to be played; metaphorically, the responsibility for next action.

Register notes. Slam dunk is universal business register — Slack, decks, investor calls, journalism. MVP and ball is in your court are everyday business. No-look pass is slightly elevated — appropriate for journalism or thoughtful internal commentary but rarer in everyday Slack. In the zone is casual-leaning but business-safe.

Cultural literacy note. Basketball’s idiom contribution is smaller than baseball or football but uniformly high-frequency. NBA culture’s globalization (1990s-onward, Michael Jordan and after) anchored these idioms in international business English as well — non-US speakers often recognize slam dunk and MVP from movies and global advertising. The basketball vocabulary fits confident, decisive certainty rather than the drama of football or the strategic complexity of baseball.

Boxing idioms — endurance and counter-attack

Boxing idioms cluster around endurance under pressure, surrender, and tactical restraint. The vocabulary is older than the other sports and carries a slightly tougher, more masculine register — appropriate for journalism and crisis-mode business writing.

Origin notes. Pulling punches literally means slowing the punch on impact to reduce damage — a fighter not giving full effort. The phrase carries an implication of restraint, often unwelcome: a critic who doesn’t pull punches is admired for honesty. Throwing in the towel is the trainer’s signal of surrender, ending the fight to protect the fighter from further damage. Down for the count refers to the ten-second count over a knocked-down fighter — if they don’t rise before ten, they lose. On the ropes is a fighter pinned against the boundary of the ring, near collapse and unable to maneuver. Below the belt is an illegal strike to the groin; metaphorically, an unfair attack on personal vulnerabilities. Heavyweight is the top weight class (200+ pounds); metaphorically, a top-tier competitor. Go the distance means lasting all rounds without being knocked out — endurance over time. Roll with the punches refers to a defensive technique: moving with the impact of a blow to reduce damage.

Register notes. Boxing idioms skew slightly more masculine and journalistic than the other sports. Pull punches, on the ropes, heavyweight, and throw in the towel are journalism-perfect and business-safe. Below the belt and no holds barred are casual-leaning. Down for the count is dramatic — appropriate for sports columns and breathless business journalism but slightly heavy for a sober quarterly review.

Cultural literacy note. Boxing was the dominant US combat sport from the 1920s through the 1980s — the era of Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson. Its cultural prestige has declined since the rise of mixed martial arts (MMA / UFC) in the 2000s, but the boxing vocabulary fossilized into idiom usage and remains stable. Boxing idioms feel slightly older than basketball idioms — they fit reporting on long-running conflicts, prolonged negotiations, and endurance battles rather than quick decisive moments.

Productive use vs recognition

Not all 50+ idioms in this lesson deserve active production. A C1 student should aim for selective fluency: pick 8-12 idioms that fit your role and use them deliberately. Recognition is broad; production is narrow.

Recognition-only (understand when others use them, don’t produce):

• No-look pass, take a knee, audible, go the distance — slightly stretched or culturally specific. Recognition is enough.
• Below the belt, no holds barred, down for the count — dramatic register, narrow use cases.
• Three strikes — too casual and legalistic for most contexts.

Safe productive set (use comfortably in business and journalism contexts):

• Baseball: ballpark figure, in the ballpark, touch base, cover all the bases, step up to the plate, out of left field, curveball, play hardball.
• Football: Hail Mary, Monday morning quarterback, game plan, kicked off, on the sidelines, punt, moving the goalposts.
• Basketball: slam dunk, MVP, ball is in your court, in the zone, full-court press.
• Boxing: pull punches, throw in the towel, on the ropes, roll with the punches, heavyweight.

This is roughly 20 idioms. That’s plenty for native-sounding business and journalistic English. Don’t try to stack ten in a single email — the result reads as parody. One or two per message, three or four per meeting is the natural rate.

Cross-sport extensions and metaphor mixing

A subtle C1 skill: when you build a sustained metaphor in a paragraph or speech, stay in one sport. Native writers and speakers extend the metaphor by adding more idioms from the same source sport, not by jumping between sports.

Good extension (all baseball): We swung for the fences with the new architecture. Some of it landed in the bleachers, some struck out. But the team kept stepping up to the plate, and now we have a real shot at the playoffs.

Bad mixing (cross-sport): We swung for the fences with the new architecture. Some of it was a Hail Mary, some hit a wall. But the team kept stepping up and now we’re on the ropes.

The second version uses swung for the fences (baseball), Hail Mary (football), hit a wall (running / generic), stepping up (baseball — plate), and on the ropes (boxing). Five idioms across four sports — the listener’s mental imagery cannot resolve, and the sentence reads as performative idiom-stacking rather than confident communication.

The C1 rule: commit to one sport per extended metaphor, and let the extended frame carry rhetorical weight. If you need to switch sports, switch via plain language — drop the metaphor entirely for a sentence, then introduce the new one in a different paragraph.

A related rule: sport-internal coherence. Football idioms work together (end zone, Hail Mary, audible, fumble, kicked off). Boxing idioms work together (on the ropes, throw in the towel, pull punches, heavyweight). Sport-internal extension reads as native; sport-mixing reads as collected vocabulary deployed without internal logic.

A useful drill: read a sustained op-ed or executive speech, identify the sport metaphors, and check whether the writer stayed in one sport or jumped between sports. The best writers stay in one. The skilled speakers in earnings calls often stay in one. The B2 speakers stacking idioms invariably jump between sports.

Idiom register matrix

A single idiom can shift register depending on context. The table below shows the dominant register tier for each major idiom in this lesson.

Rule of thumb: if your context is a quarterly earnings call, lean on the business strategic tier. If it’s a Slack chat with engineers, the business everyday and casual conversational tiers fit. Avoid the juvenile tier in any professional context and the literary / dramatic tier in routine communication — it sounds overblown.

Sports idioms in real US contexts

To anchor the productive set, here are six short transcripts showing how natives actually deploy sports idioms in 2026 American business and journalism. Notice the density: 1-2 idioms per sentence, never stacked, integrated with plain language.

Earnings call excerpt (CFO speaking):

Q3 was a mixed quarter. North American revenue grew 12% — a real win on the consumer side. But enterprise was on the ropes for most of the period before the Acme deal closed late in September. We’re not yet in the end zone on enterprise, but the team has stepped up to the plate, and the pipeline looks strong heading into Q4.

Idioms used: on the ropes, in the end zone, stepped up to the plate. Three idioms in five sentences — typical for executive earnings speech. Notice the idioms describe distinct states: difficulty (on the ropes), success-in-sight (end zone), and active response (stepped up to the plate). No overlap, no stacking.

Tech journalism excerpt (TechCrunch profile):

Founder Maria Chen joined the board in 2023 to do what most observers considered impossible: turn around a company that had been losing market share for four consecutive years. By any measure, she has knocked it out of the park. Revenue is up 40% year-over-year, and the company has set its sights on the European market for 2026. Critics called the original turnaround plan a Hail Mary; today, it looks like a master class in disciplined execution.

Idioms used: knocked it out of the park, set its sights on, Hail Mary. Three idioms in four sentences — denser than the earnings call because journalism tolerates more idiomatic flair. Each idiom does specific work: celebrating the outcome (knocked it out of the park), describing strategic ambition (set its sights on), and reframing the historical perception (Hail Mary).

Engineer Slack message (post-incident):

Team — the deploy went sideways tonight. I called an audible at 11pm and rolled back to the previous version. We’re not in the end zone yet on root cause, but the immediate bleeding stopped. Big thanks to the on-call crew who stepped up. We’ll do a blameless post-mortem Thursday.

Idioms used: called an audible, in the end zone, stepped up. Three idioms in a short Slack message — about the right density for engineer culture. Notice went sideways (plain language) is more common than fumbled in this register — the idiom should not over-claim the level of disaster.

Political reporting excerpt (NYT):

The administration is mounting a full-court press on the new tariff package. Cabinet officials fanned out across cable news this weekend, and the President is set to address Congress Tuesday. Critics on both sides of the aisle are already calling foul, and observers say the timing — three weeks before the midterm filing deadline — was a curveball even for senior Republicans.

Idioms used: full-court press, curveball. Two idioms in three sentences — slightly less dense than tech journalism but consistent with serious political reporting register. The idioms carry structural information (full-court press = coordinated multi-channel campaign; curveball = unexpected from inside the coalition).

Casual conversation between coworkers:

Person A: How did the demo go?

Person B: Honestly? It was a Hail Mary. We barely had the build working at 9am. But the customer loved it — total slam dunk on the AI features. Now the ball is in their court for procurement.

Idioms used: Hail Mary, slam dunk, ball is in your court. Three idioms in a four-sentence reply — high density for spoken speech but acceptable in informal coworker chat. The idioms map exactly to the chronological structure: difficult start (Hail Mary), successful middle (slam dunk), next-step responsibility (ball is in their court).

Op-ed excerpt (WSJ):

For a decade, the industry has been Monday morning quarterbacking the 2015 decision to abandon hardware manufacturing. The critics may have a point. But pulling punches on the historical critique misses what’s harder to do today: building a new manufacturing base from scratch, with new partners, new economics, and new policy constraints. That’s the field we’re actually playing on.

Idioms used: Monday morning quarterbacking, pulling punches, the field we’re playing on. Three idioms — fits op-ed register. The closing metaphor extension (the field we’re playing on) is a C1 move — taking the sports frame established by the previous idioms and deliberately continuing it for rhetorical coherence.

What these transcripts reveal: native idiom usage is disciplined, distinct, and chronologically ordered. Each idiom does specific work that plain language couldn’t do as compactly. The idioms don’t overlap (no two idioms in the same paragraph saying the same thing). And the density is consistent: 1-3 idioms per paragraph, never more. C1 production fluency means matching this discipline.

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Calque-translation of Russian sports idioms. Russian забить гол в свои ворота doesn’t translate to score a goal in your own gate — say shoot yourself in the foot or score an own goal (soccer, more British). Russian в нокаут → to knockout is wrong word order; say knocked out (V3) or a knockout (noun). Russian подача in tennis doesn’t map to serve idiomatically in business English. Russian выйти на финишную прямую doesn’t translate as come out to the finishing straight; use be in the home stretch (US horse-racing) or on the home stretch.
2. Over-literal interpretation of Hail Mary. Russian-speakers sometimes read Hail Mary as religious and avoid it for fear of offense. It’s a fully secular business idiom in 2026 American usage — appropriate for a board meeting describing a desperate funding round. Don’t avoid it. The opposite mistake — using it for routine ambition rather than desperate last attempts — also fails. Hail Mary requires actual desperation context.
3. Confusing full-court press with high pressure. Full-court press means coordinated, all-fronts pressure, not just intensity. We’re under high pressure (correct generic) vs the lobby is mounting a full-court press (specific, multi-channel campaign). Don’t use full-court press for individual-level stress. The phrase requires a multi-channel coordinated effort to fit.
4. Wrong preposition with ball is in your court. Russians sometimes say the ball is on your side (calque from мяч на твоей стороне). Correct English: the ball is in your court — fixed article and preposition.
5. Mistranslating swing for the fences. Russians sometimes translate as swing the fence or break the fence. The fixed phrase is swing for the fences (plural, for, not the). The meaning is ambitious attempt with high reward, not actually breaking something.
6. Mixing throw in the towel with throw the towel. The fixed phrase has in — throw in the towel. Russians sometimes drop the in (throw the towel) or add an article (throw in a towel). Memorize the exact form.
7. Using batting average in too-formal contexts. Batting average metaphorically is journalism-friendly but slightly stretched in formal business writing. Her track record is the safer formal equivalent. Batting average fits a profile piece, sports column, or casual Slack — not an executive summary.
8. Confusing touch base with meet. Touch base is brief check-in contact, not a full meeting. Russians sometimes use it for any meeting (let’s touch base for 90 minutes) — wrong scale. Touch base implies 5-15 minutes of catch-up. For longer meetings use let’s meet, let’s sync, let’s catch up (slightly longer).
9. Misreading moving the goalposts as positive ambition. The idiom is always critical — accusing someone of unfair shifting of success criteria. We’re moving the goalposts on the new product is rarely positive; the natural reading is “we’re being unfair to ourselves” or “leadership keeps changing the target.” For positive expansion of ambition, say raising the bar or expanding the scope.

Productive practice plan for the next two weeks

To convert this lesson’s recognition into active production, work with a small starter set for two weeks before adding more.

Week 1 — baseball cluster (4 idioms): ballpark figure, touch base, out of left field, step up to the plate. Deploy each at least once in real communication — Slack, email, or conversation. Notice when natives use them around you.

Week 2 — add football and basketball (4 idioms): Hail Mary, game plan, slam dunk, ball is in your court. Use deliberately. Notice the register fit — slam dunk in a Slack celebration, Hail Mary in a strategic discussion of risky bets, game plan in routine planning, ball is in your court in negotiation handoffs.

Week 3-4 — add boxing and selective extension (4 more): on the ropes, throw in the towel, pull punches, roll with the punches. By the end of week 4 you have 12 actively produced sports idioms — strong cluster for C1 fluency.

Week 5+ — fill in selective additions: swing for the fences, play hardball, in the zone, MVP, full-court press, Monday morning quarterback, moving the goalposts. Add 2-3 per week. By month 3 you have ~20 actively produced sports idioms.

The trap to avoid: trying to use all 50 idioms in this lesson at once. The result is parodic. The progression is recognition first, then deliberate production of a small set, then gradual expansion. Skip any step and the production sounds artificial.

Reading practice for tracking native usage: read 2-3 NYT business articles, 1-2 NPR sports columns, and 1 earnings call transcript per week for the duration of your sports-idiom practice. Mark every sports idiom you encounter and tag whether it appears sincerely (peak/fresh usage) or with irony (declining). This passive observation reinforces your active production — you internalize what currently works and what is fading.

A specific recommendation for accelerating the recognition-to-production transition: write mirror exercises. For each transcript you read with 5+ sports idioms, write your own paragraph on a topic from your work using the same idioms in the same positions. The structural pattern transfers across topics; only the content changes. After 10-15 mirror exercises across the four sports, the production pattern feels owned rather than borrowed.

A final note on accent and pronunciation in idiom delivery: many sports idioms have characteristic prosodic patterns that natives produce automatically. Hail Mary is typically said with light stress on both words (HAIL MA-ry); out of left field has stress on left (out-of-LEFT-field); step up to the plate stresses up (step-UP-to-the-plate). Russian-speakers often stress the wrong syllable, which makes the idiom feel slightly off even when the words are correct. Listen to native speakers using these idioms (NPR, podcasts, earnings calls) and shadow the prosody, not just the words.

A useful resource for hearing sports idioms in native business contexts: the All-In podcast, Pivot podcast (Kara Swisher / Scott Galloway), CNBC earnings call replays, and ESPN’s Around the Horn (sports commentary that informs business journalism vocabulary). Spending 2-3 hours per week listening to native business speakers using these idioms naturally accelerates production fluency more than any structured study. The pattern recognition happens beneath conscious awareness.

By month 3, the goal is that sports idioms appear in your spontaneous communication without effort. By month 6, they appear at appropriate density (1-3 per Slack message, 3-6 per meeting) calibrated to context. By year 1, native English speakers reviewing your writing should not be able to identify which idioms came from this lesson versus which you’ve absorbed through years of exposure — the production has merged into your overall idiomatic vocabulary.

A final benchmark: when someone asks you what sport a given idiom comes from and you can answer instantly (because you’ve thought about origins as part of this practice), you’ve achieved the cultural literacy layer that distinguishes C1 from B2. Most native speakers couldn’t pass this test for half the idioms — but as a C1 learner, the origin awareness lets you stretch and extend idioms in ways that feel native rather than rigid.

Self-test technique: at the end of each week, write a short Slack-style message celebrating a recent win and another describing a difficulty. Force yourself to use the week’s target idioms naturally. Read aloud. If the idioms feel forced, you haven’t earned them yet — repeat the week’s practice. If they feel natural, advance.

An advanced practice technique: shadow native speech. Find an earnings call transcript or business interview from 2025-2026 with rich sports-idiom usage. Read it aloud once, then again with your own example replacing the speaker’s. The cognitive work of mapping your own situation onto the native pattern accelerates production fluency more than memorization. After 4-6 weeks of weekly shadowing, the idioms appear in your spontaneous speech without effort. This is the path B2-to-C1 transition follows; without active production practice, recognition stays at B2 even after years of exposure.

Concrete examples for week 1 deployment: in a Slack to your team, write let me give you a ballpark figure on the timeline instead of let me give you an approximate timeline. In a meeting, say can we touch base Tuesday about pricing instead of can we have a short meeting Tuesday about pricing. When something unexpected happens, say that one came out of left field instead of that was unexpected. These are tiny substitutions that compound over weeks into native-feeling register.

Summary

• Baseball provides the deepest cluster — ballpark figure, touch base, out of left field, swing for the fences, play hardball, step up to the plate, three strikes, in your wheelhouse. Core business and journalism register.
• Football provides drama — Hail Mary, Monday morning quarterback, full-court press, fumble, end zone, kicked off, on the sidelines, punt, moving the goalposts, audible, game plan. Especially common in political and crisis-mode business writing.
• Basketball provides finesse and certainty — slam dunk, no-look pass, MVP, in the zone, ball is in your court. Small cluster, high frequency.
• Boxing provides endurance and counter-attack vocabulary — pull punches, throw in the towel, on the ropes, down for the count, roll with the punches, heavyweight. Journalism-friendly, slightly older register.
• Productive set: ~20 idioms used selectively (1-2 per message, 3-4 per meeting). Stacking ten in a sentence sounds like parody.
• Register matters: business strategic tier for executive contexts; business everyday for Slack and standups; avoid juvenile and literary tiers in routine communication.
• Stay in one sport within an extended metaphor — mixing sports breaks the listener’s imagery.
• Practice plan: start with 4 idioms in week 1, build to 12 by week 4, ~20 by month 3.

Next lesson: US military idioms — bite the bullet, in the trenches, lock and load, AWOL, FUBAR. The vocabulary of decisive action and chaos.