new ballgame
3
6.1
- noun
- Informal
:
una nueva situación
- When the new manager was hired, it was a whole new ballgame for the team, requiring everyone to adapt to different expectations.
- a whole new ballgame
Examples
-
If he performs well this week, it's a whole new ballgame for Week 12.
Blog text (23) -
Add Robinson to the backfield rotation and it's a new ballgame for the offense, and a new headache for opposing defensive coordinators to scheme.
Blog text (16) -
As the sun goes down, it's a whole new ballgame.
-
It's a brand new ballgame.
-
That means a whole new ballgame.
-
But with Richard, this is a whole new ballgame.
Fiction book (1998) -
It's a new ballgame every day.
Academic text (2009) -
When they get real information, it's a whole new ballgame.
Blog text (21) -
We have a brand new ballgame here.
Blog text (21) -
It's gonna be a whole new ballgame, so brace yourselves, people.
Synonyms
1
8.8
A different matter from what was discussed
1
7.7
A situation very different from the one just mentioned
How Different
Surface Forms
Morphology
The constituents 'new' (different) and 'ballgame' (literally a sporting contest) give a learner an approximate sense of 'a different situation', so some meaning is recoverable. However, the specific conventionalized sense — 'a completely different situation or one needing a different approach' — is a metaphorical, idiomatic extension of 'ballgame' and not fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
New ballgame comes from baseball: when a new ballgame starts the score and the teams' plans change, so everything feels different. So it now means 'a completely different situation' that needs a new approach.