Readerquestion:
Aboxersays:“I’llgointhereanddoanumberonhim.”Whatdoesitmeanexactly?
Mycomments:
Literally,theboxerwantstogointotheringandbeathisopponentup,knockhimdownandwatchtherefereeadministeracounttoten.
Andhopefullycounthimout.
Theboxingring,theringedsquareofcanvasinwhichthematchisplayed,hasgivenusmanycolorfulexpressions.Andwe’verunthroughafewactually.Letmeexplainindetail.
Inboxing,ifaboxerisknockeddownontothefloororcanvas,therefereeintervenessothathe’snotpunchedagainwhenhe’shelpless.Therefereeaskstheotherboxertogotohiscornerbeforedoingacounttoeightorten.Usually,theflooredboxerhastocomebackonhisfeetbeforethecountofeight,inwhichcasehe’sallowedtocontinue.Atthisstage,he’sdown,butnotout,whichisanexpressionmetaphoricallyusedoutsidetheringaswell,meaningonehassufferedasetback,butthey’venotlosteverythingyet.Inotherwords,theymaystillcomeback–and,possibly,win.
Iftheboxeronthecanvasisnotabletogetbacktohisfeetbeforethecountofeight,ortenasthecasemaybe,therefereewaveshishandandtheboxerisout,outandgone.Gameover.
Hencetheexpression,downandout,meaningtotallydefeated,withnochanceofacomeback.
Anyways,the“number”in“doanumberonsomeone”referstothecounttoeightorten.There’sanothertheorythatsaysthis“number”referstothenumberofpointsawardedtodifferentpunchesthrown.Youknow,notallpunchesareequalinpower.Aroundhousepunch,forexample,ismorepowerfulthanastraightjabandisthereforeworthtwoormorepointsperpunch.
Bothexplanationsmakesense.Allweneedtoknowistorememberthat“doanumberonsomeone”literallymeansforaboxertobeatanopponentup.
Metaphorically,whentheexpressionisusedoutsidethering,i.e.outsideofboxing,itmeansyouwanttohurtorharmsomeoneinabadway,notphysicallyperhaps,butthroughdamagingtheirreputationorwhatever.
Andthat’sit.
Herearemediaexamplesof“doinganumberonsomeone”,anAmericanexpressioninorigin:
1.PresidentDonaldTrumpsoughttodistancehimselffromtheJusticeDepartmentofficialhejustnamedasactingattorneygeneralinthefaceofmountingcriticismaboutthelegalityandproprietyofhisappointment.
“Idon’tknowMattWhitaker,”Trumpsaidofthenewactingattorneygeneral,sayinghehiredhimbecausehehadworkedforsince-dismissedAttorneyGeneralJeffSessions.“Hewasalwaysextremelyhighlythoughtof,andhestillis.ButIdidn’tknowMattWhitaker.HeworkedforAttorneyGeneralSessions.”
ThePresident’scommentsareatoddswiththerelationshipTrumphasforgedwithWhitakerinrecentmonths,evenashisopinionofSessionscontinuedtosour.WhitakerhasbeenattheWhiteHousedozensoftimes,includinginmeetingswithTrump,andthetwohavespokenbyphoneonseveraloccasions,includingonthedaythatDeputyAttorneyGeneralRodRosensteinwasexpectedtobefired.
AndinanOctober11interviewonFoxNews,Trumpmadeclearhedid,infact,knowWhitakerwell.
“IcantellyouMattWhitaker’sagreatguy.IknowMattWhitaker,”hesaid.
…
ThePresident’smovetodistancehimselffromWhitakerisafamiliarrefrainTrumphasusedwhenassociatesofhishavebecomeembroiledincontroversy.
WhenfederalprosecutorstargetedhislongtimeformerattorneyMichaelCohen,TrumpinsistedCohenhandledonlya“tiny,tinyfraction”ofhislegalwork.Beforethat,heclaimedthathisindictedformercampaignchairmanPaulManafortworkedforhimfor“averyshortperiodoftime.”AndshortlybeforeoustinghischiefWhiteHousestrategistSteveBannon,whoalsohelmedhiscampaign,TrumpmaintainedBannon“cameonverylate.”
Still,thePresidentpraisedWhitakeras“veryhighlythoughtof”andsaidthatWhitakerisonlytakingheatbecause“anybodythatworksforme,theydoanumberonhim.”
“MattWhitakerisaverysmartman,heisaveryrespectedmaninthelawenforcementcommunity,topoftheline,”Trumpsaid.“He’sacting,Ithinkhe’lldoaverygoodjobandwe’llseewhathappens.”
-TrumpdownplaysWhitakertiesamidcriticism,CNN.com,November9,2018.
2.LeBronJamesmaybeolder,butifhehastogetdowninadefensivestancetocheckBulls’explosiveguardDerrickRose,he’sallin.
Thetwohavesomehistory.
WhenRosewasnamedtheMostValuablePlayerduringthe2010-11season,thatdidn’tsitwellwithJames.SowhentheBullsandMiamiHeatmetupintheEasternConferenceFinalsthatyear,Jamesusedthatplatformtoshoweveryonethatbypassinghimfortheawardwasahugemistake.
Jamestookontheassignmentofslowingdownthepointguard.Rosescored117pointsinthefivegamesthatittookfortheHeattoadvancetotheNBAFinals.Thataveragesoutto23.4points,whichisn’tbadatall.
However,heshotmoreshotsthanhispointtotal,slingingup120attempts.Jameshoundedhim.Rosecouldn’tgarneranyseparationandwasincapableofpullingupforqualityjump-shotswiththelengthofJames.
ImanShumpert,KyrieIrvingand,partly,MatthewDellavedovawillbeprimarilyresponsibleforkeepingRoseinfrontofthem.Nonetheless,ifRoseisgettingoff,youmightseeJamescallforadefensiveswitchandthatgoesforanyoneelsewhomaycatchonfire.
“Ithinkit’sadifferenttime.It’sadifferentsituation.Ifneedbe,willIneedtoguardRoseattimes?Icandoit,”Jamessaid.“Icanguardanybodyontheirteam,onethrough15ifneedbe.Butthetime,thescore,thegame,thesituationwilldictateitself.”
WiththerostermakeupcompositionoftheCavaliers,it’spossibleJamesdoesn’tseeextendedminutesonRose.They’llneedthemajorityofhisenergyforoffensivepurposeswithKevinLoveandJRSmithoutofcommission.
Roseisslowlyreturningtoform.He’snotthesameplayerhewasfouryearsagoandtheteamisn'tthesame.Backthen,ifyoueliminatedRose'sproductivity,youhadagreatchancetowinthegame.
Rosehaspickedupsomehelpsincethen.
“Inthatparticularseriestheopportunitywasthereformetoguardhim,”Jamessaid.“ThatwasanMVPseasonobviously,andinorderforustowin,wehadtotrytodoanumberonhim.Ithinknow,todayhissupportingcastisalittlebitbetter.
“Headdedachampion,headdedanAll-StarinPau[Gasol],andJimmy[Butler]hasemergedinbeinganAll-Star,andtherestofthoseguyshavecontinuedtogetbetter.HegetsalittlebreakaswellwithAaronBrookscomingoffthebench.”
-LeBronJamesshutdownDerrickRosebefore,andiswillingtodoitagainifneedbe,January11,2019,Cleveland.com.
3.PresidentTrumpwaspreparedto“doanumber”onoutgoingSen.KellyLoeffler(R-Ga.)lastweekonstageduringthepresident’sfinalpre-runoffrallyinGeorgia,asourcefamiliarwiththeeventstoldTheWashingtonFreeBeacon’sElianaJohnson,perPolitico.
TheimplicationisthatTrumptoldLoefflerwhathesaidaboutheronstagewascontingentuponwhethershebackedtheElectoralCollegechallengechampionedbySens.TedCruz(R-Tex.)andJoshHawley(R-Mo.),amongothers.
Scoopin@playbookplus,guest-writtentodayby@elianayjohnson:
Trump“toldKellyLoefflerbeforehelandedinGeorgiaforafinalrallyonMondaythatifshedidn’tbacktheElectoralCollegechallenges,hewould‘doanumberonher,’fromthestage.”https://t.co/qdxrdmRB1N
—RyanLizza(@RyanLizza)January10,2021
Loefflerdidplantoobject,thoughit’sunclearifthedecisionwasdirectlyrelatedtoTrump’sallegedthreat.Ultimately,thepointwasmoot,sinceLoefflerlosttoherDemocraticchallengerRaphaelWarnock,andwoundupvotingtocertifyPresident-electJoeBiden’svictoryafterwards.Butthereportstillcarriessomesignificanceforanalysts,whothinkit’samicrocosmofthelargerissuesthatledtoLoeffler’sdefeat.
Intheend,it’sasymptomofthebroaderdynamicofLoeffler’sloss,onethatwasevidentfromthebeginningoftheyear.Shetriedtotransformherselfintosomethingshewasnot,alienatingmoderateswhileneverbeinggenuineenoughtowinoveraskepticalTrumpbase.
—JacobRubashkin(@JacobRubashkin)January10,2021
Johnson’sscoopalsofurthersuggeststhatTrumpwaswillingtolettheRepublicanPartylosecontroloftheSenateforpersonalgain.
-TrumpreportedlytoldKellyLoefflerhe’d‘doanumberonher’ifshedidn’tbackElectoralCollegechallenge,Yahoo.com,January11,2021.
本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。
Abouttheauthor:
ZhangXinisTraineratchinadaily.com.cn.HehasbeenwithChinaDailysince1988,whenhegraduatedfromBeijingForeignStudiesUniversity.Writehimat:zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn,orraiseaquestionforpotentialuseinafuturecolumn.
（作者：张欣编辑：丹妮）
来源：中国日报网
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