That was strike one. (2025)

Hi all,

When I was reading a piece of news on Yahoo, there is a sentence that beats me.

According to NBC Miami, 18-year-old Penelope Soto was in court for charges relating to possession of Xanax, a prescription drug. Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat was in the process of setting her bond. He asked Soto about the value of her jewelry. Soto laughed. That was strike one.

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Full context <Giggling teen flips judge the bird, judge not amused>

What does the sentence "the was strike one" mean? I did a Google search and the results showed photos of pistols, which did not seem to match the context.

Thanks in advance.

fivejedjon said:

I think it's a term from baseball. 'Strike' one refers to a foul ball. The player has only three chance. 'Strike three', the third foul ball, is penalised. The writer is suggesting that Soto is heading for trouble. Two more such actions, and she will suffer the consequences.

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Who would have thought.

Stevenst: In the light of the posts written by Beryl and Fivejedjon, you can consider my explanation as nothing to go by. My apologies, but it seemed reasonable to me.

Thank you all for answering my question. I think I have understood how "strike one" is figuratively used in the news article. What a good phrase!

And dreamlike, I think your explanation does make sense, too. It is a reasonable and logical answer.

fivejedjon said:

I think it's a term from baseball. 'Strike' one refers to a foul ball.

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In baseball, a strike and a foul ball are not the same thing although some foul balls can count as a strike. A foul ball is (basically) one that is hit by the batter but doesn't go where it's supposed to go. A foul ball counts as a strike unless the batter already has two strikes. A thrown ball counts as a strike if the batter swings and misses or if the pitch is good (in the strike zone) but the batter doesn't swing.

I agree with Myridon. Fivejedjon's explanation is, however, correct except for the little misunderstanding about strikes vs. foul balls. The writer is definitely suggesting that Soto is headed for trouble - if she makes two more mistakes, she will regret it.

I would also infer from the example that she did, in fact, make two more mistakes, and that these mistakes are explained later on in the article.

Beryl from Northallerton said:

[I can't define 'strike' and I can't define 'out']

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strike = chance to get a hit
out = you've used up your chances and have to go back to the dugout (bench) now

Does it mean the same here? "Strike one" below means "our confrontation once"?

Thanks in advance
--------------
...stop cussing. You're not good at it.
Give me 10 for the bus, then, man.
Go home.
That's strike one, Spoon. Strike one!

-I, Robot

NewAmerica said:

Does it mean the same here? "Strike one" below means "our confrontation once"?

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I would refer you to reply #4 in this thread:

The writer is suggesting that [Spoon] is heading for trouble. Two more such actions, and [he] will suffer the consequences.
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I'm hoping I didn't make any comment related to baseball, and that my response will therefore not be deleted.

gramman said:

The writer is suggesting that [Spoon] is heading for trouble. Two more such actions, and [he] will suffer the consequences.
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Crystal clear! Thanks for datamining.​