Into the long grass
A reporter on the radio discussing something the other morning mentioned ‘kicking it into the long grass.’ Although I understood the meaning, of delaying a difficult decision, I wondered about its origins.
I thought maybe it had something to do with cricket. Many British expressions use cricketing metaphors – ‘playing with a straight bat,’ ‘having a good innings,’ ‘it’s not cricket,’ ‘on a sticky wicket,’ ‘stumped,’ and so forth, but I found nothing about long grass. Perhaps it was a golfing phrase? Hitting a ball into the long grass could be problematic, I suppose. ‘Kicking’ seemed to be a little inappropriate. Cricket and golf balls are not generally kicked anywhere, unless in frustration. So, I looked it up.
It certainly comes from a sporting background and originated from the game of golf. Hitting a ball into the unmown grass or ‘rough’ makes it unplayable or lost. Kicking it there, through spite, exasperation, or some other trigger, is not considered good sportsmanship. (Should that be ‘sportspersonship??)
It is also related to rugby, where it is known as ‘kicking into touch.’ The ball is kicked out of the playing area, stopping the game and reducing tension.
One site I found suggested that it was originally a term used in politics since the mid-20th century, with the first recorded usage, presumably in Hansard, giving the date 1966, when the MP Geoffrey Rippon asked, "How long are the Royal Commissions expected to take to complete their work? In other words, how long is the ball to be kicked into the long grass?"
However, the Orkney Herald of 1948 used it in its Sports
Shorts, as follows:
Orkney
Herald (Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland) of Tuesday 27th July
1948:
MOWER
NEEDED.
At a recent Parish Cup game in Bignold Park, a linesman lost the ball in the
long grass (off the pitch), and the game was held up for some time till it was
found.
