idioms - What does it mean to "bounce a(n) __ off" someone?


I recently tried to use the expression "bounce an opportunity off someone" in writing, but using it seemed awkward to me. The expression "bounce an idea off someone" felt much more comfortable, but it didn't convey what I meant to get across. I believe the expression means something like "I want to conversationally determine what someone's thoughts are about a particular idea", but I'm not even sure if that interpretation is correct.



  1. What does it mean to bounce an idea off someone? Does the expression have a known origin?

  2. Can I only bounce "ideas" off someone? Can it extend to other concepts (such as "opportunities")?

  3. Is there a better way to idiomatically express the phrase "bounce an opportunity off someone", in the sense of "I want to conversationally gauge someone's level of interest in a particular opportunity"?



Answer



Bouncing an idea off a person means requesting that the person give a somewhat immediate response or gut reaction to the idea. Metaphorically speaking, the response bounces back to you right away.


It is rare to find the actual origin of a new word or a new sense of a word. I checked various standard references but found no known origin for this metaphor. The earliest use I found in print is the book U.S. International Business and Governments by Jack N. Behrman (McGraw-Hill, 1971):



The existence of these associations … permits government officials to know that, at almost any critical time, they can find an audience against which to bounce an idea or a new policy.¹



The quotation above shows that it is possible to bounce things other than ideas off someone. I think there is nothing wrong with “bouncing an opportunity” off someone. Alternately, you could “bounce an idea for an opportunity” off them, or “bounce a business proposal off them” if that is an appropriate restatement.


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