OT-HAVE a catch / PLAY catch?
I've always said "play catch" but realized after I moved to New York that lots of people say "have a catch."
From the Midwest, I thought the difference might be regional, "having a catch" a phrase used by people in the East—or at least by writers influenced by Eastern usage. For instance, there's a national report—often meaning reported by writers in the Northeast—about Ken Griffey Sr. and Jr. having a catch before the Field of Dreams game.
Do you say "have a catch" or "play catch"? Has anyone else noticed a regional difference?
August 12th, 2022 at 2:42 PM ^
Mine mine mine and I got it repeatedly
August 12th, 2022 at 7:21 AM ^
Play catch. Georgia born and raised.
August 12th, 2022 at 7:38 AM ^
username checks out
August 12th, 2022 at 7:22 AM ^
"have a catch" sounds like a very British thing to say. Pretty sure we won an entire freaking war so that we wouldn't have to talk like them.
August 12th, 2022 at 7:30 AM ^
Laughing.
It DOES have a British feel, doesn't it? But folks in the NYC area are pretty damn definite that people "have" a catch.
After years in New York, it still sounds weird to me. So weird that it almost feels as if they really say "play catch" and are making up this "have a catch" thing to fool rubes from elsewhere.
August 12th, 2022 at 8:45 AM ^
Yeah. It sounds a little like “have a go” at something. A bit too twee for America.
August 12th, 2022 at 12:58 PM ^
Are you having a laugh...? Is he having a laugh??
August 12th, 2022 at 7:32 AM ^
The first time I heard “have a catch” was when I first saw the movie. I remember wondering how all the people involved in the making of the movie could screw something like that up. It still sounds strange to me but I was born and raised in Michigan.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:18 AM ^
As I suggested above, "have a catch" in movies suggests to me that movies are often written by people who grew up around that usage, i.e., New York and maybe the Northeast generally.
August 12th, 2022 at 7:35 AM ^
you play catch with a ball and glove....
"have a catch" means you've landed a significant other that's high above your grade, out of your league....
August 12th, 2022 at 7:41 AM ^
Among the most OT posts I’ve ever seen. Perhaps we’re in the dog days of off season, but they are practicing…
August 12th, 2022 at 7:52 AM ^
Your lawn must be immaculate. Do you use a landscaping service, or do it yourself?
August 12th, 2022 at 7:57 AM ^
Username checks out...
August 12th, 2022 at 8:13 AM ^
OT is relevant due to the MLB “Field of Dreams” game just played in Iowa.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:00 AM ^
Give it time, young man. 😁 Weird OT is everywhere on this board. Fun times.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:21 AM ^
Grampy, I gave you an upvote to eliminate your -1, and because I figured it was off topic when I posted.
But we're going on 70+ comments, indicating more than a few people here think its topic enough to weigh in on.
[EDIT: over 100]
Also, the comments do blend two things common on MGoBlog: sports and differences between regions.
August 12th, 2022 at 7:54 AM ^
Never heard 'have a catch' - I grew up in Michigan, and have lived in CA, SC, and VA. Nowhere have I ever heard the phrase 'have a catch' said in reference to playing catch. And honestly, I don't remember hearing that line in the movie, but it's probably been 20 years since I've sat down and watched the whole thing.
August 12th, 2022 at 8:31 AM ^
Not quite sure how the most emotional scene of the movie could be overlooked. I guess I may have missed the line a time or 2 because I couldn't hear it over my sobbing.
August 12th, 2022 at 7:56 AM ^
I guess I'm only reinforcing the narrative because my father was from NYC and we would always "have a catch" and, to me, this is the only way I would say it. However, this is not a hill I'm willing to die on like the "soda" (the correct phrasing) vs. "pop".
August 12th, 2022 at 8:00 AM ^
soda is the clear bubbly stuff you use to water down scotch..... pop is a carbonated soft drink.
GEEZ....
August 12th, 2022 at 8:27 AM ^
Sodapop Curtis from the movie The Outsiders would like a word with both of you
August 12th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
This is exactly where I am too. From NYC, I'd lean more "have a catch" vs "play catch", but don't have a strong feeling either way. I'm in the midwest now, and have told my sons they're out of the will if they start saying "pop" or "tennis shoes" vs. "soda" and "sneakers".
August 12th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
Thank you!
August 12th, 2022 at 10:23 AM ^
Kinda my point: to New Yorkers, "have a catch" is not only correct but obviously right, while to much—most?—of the rest of the country—"play catch" is not only correct but obviously right.
And I'm still curious how it developed that way.
August 12th, 2022 at 12:47 PM ^
I'm a "soda" guy, but will also substitute "soft drinks". I will never say "pop" in that way.
But I also grew up in Georgia where everything was a Coke and "pepsi" is a bad word.
That said, water fountain, drinking fountain, or bubbler?
August 12th, 2022 at 8:05 AM ^
Play catch. That's all I've ever said. Something about saying "have a catch" just doesn't make sense to me.
Engaging in catch involves playing it. When you say have, you're possessing something. I don't think you possess the game of catch. You're just playing it.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:27 AM ^
Your reasoning sounds good but most explanations after-the-fact do.
Like you, I too think "have a catch" sounds weird. But I could envision a way of explaining that usage as natural. Like "have at it": that's not exactly possessing something.
August 12th, 2022 at 8:11 AM ^
I had a Jamaican-accent person ask Rael and I if we were "having it easy" while lounging in chairs near the street in Kalamazoo, a few years before the famous baseball movie. It sounded so cool and laid back, 'having' something rather than 'taking' it.
"Hav[ing] a" catch (vs. playing) is not how I was raised, but I am OK with it and used it with my kids. I felt rebellious and suave. Possibly a little bit hipster, too.
August 12th, 2022 at 8:14 AM ^
From Chicago, now live in Brooklyn. I always said play catch. My 65 year old Chicago lifer father, would say have a catch. Possibly a generational thing? Not sure.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
Hmm. A Chicago use of "have a catch."
Did his parents come from the New York City area?
August 12th, 2022 at 8:20 AM ^
"Play catch" or "Toss the Ball Around".
There is something special about playing catch with your dad (or as a dad playing catch with your son). Many years ago we were visiting my parents when my dad brought out his old, dried up mit and asked my boys to play catch. Vivid memory for me, especially seeing the joy in my dads face.
I always enjoyed tossing the ball during warm-ups before practice with each of my kids.
August 12th, 2022 at 8:51 AM ^
Have a catch
Stand on line
I know him six years
Dead ass
All weird New Yorkisms I can’t abide.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:02 AM ^
What's "I know him X years"? Spent 29 years in NYC and never once heard someone use that language
August 13th, 2022 at 9:53 AM ^
I’ve heard it - 25 years in NYC and it’s very common in deep Brooklyn and deep Queens.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
I can never get over "Stand ON line".....Are you standing on top of the line? Are you New Yorkers out there ABOVE the line? Are you better than the others that are IN the line???
You're part of this line that has formed along with others with a common goal. Join the group. BE IN THE LINE.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
I mean, do you say that you're in a train /bus, or on a train / bus? (Yes I know it would be in a car, but just go with me here)
August 12th, 2022 at 1:41 PM ^
OK, that's a fair point....however, I still believe you're an integral component of the line. Therefore, you are in the line. On the line would mean the line is a separate entity from you, but you are special. You are the line.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
Again, English is weird and develops differently at different times in different places. While "have a catch" (and "stand on line") sound strange to me, I've lived in too many places to decide those usages are wrong.
Same with slang. While the newest slang sounds weird or pompous or condescending, most of the phrases we commonly use were new and sounded weird originally.
F'rinstance, no American colonists ever said "New Yorkisms."
August 12th, 2022 at 12:01 PM ^
Deadass is a great expression.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:06 AM ^
You have a cold, or have a seizure. You play catch. Figures New York will have it messed up.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:08 AM ^
We'd always yell out the tenement window to the rascals next door: "Do youse want to toss around the old horsehide?"
Do you call it a glove, a mitt or, courtesy of the McGregor Field gang from Bay City's south end, a pad?
"I left my pad at home, can I use yours?"
"Nah, man, we're using mine for 2nd base when I'm batting."
August 12th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
Tenements in Bay City?
I'm guessing you're invoking languages from old movies about old New York, especially Brooklyn.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:51 AM ^
Yup, although the youse guys was the correct way to talk to your friends in the South End. You know, the plural of you.
Interesting side note, when I worked for a small town newspaper in MN, the office was in the old house of the former owner. There was a small bedroom that was used for storage where his children used to sleep. The Minnesotans all called it the kids's room. So odd to my ears.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:14 AM ^
It was definitely “play catch” in SE Michigan in the ‘90s.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:25 AM ^
Same in the '80s. I moved South in the mid-'90s and it was "play catch" in Georgia and Mississippi as far as I remember but I was usually the one doing the asking.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:15 AM ^
mostly "wanna got toss the ball around" or "wanna go play catch"
August 12th, 2022 at 9:19 AM ^
Play Catch, or "wanna throw?" in Michigan. I've been around all levels of baseball throughout the midwest for 35 years and never ever ever have heard anyone say "have a catch" other than in movies, and it just sounds wrong.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:33 AM ^
From Michigan and I play catch.
August 12th, 2022 at 9:33 AM ^
Not directly relevant to this, but reminds me of another weird saying. I say I live ON South University (as an example). The Brits say they live IN South University. How do you live (or work) IN a street? It's like the strange reverse of IN line vs. ON line.
PS - It's play catch.
August 12th, 2022 at 10:36 AM ^
On the other hand, Brits go to university, not to the university. (Obviously, no self-respecting Brit would end up in Columbus, Ohio.)