word choice - "Touch base" vs "Touch bases"?


My friend is adamant that "touch base" is the one and only correct usage, although he admits to hearing "touch bases" in regular use. Which was the original phrase, where did it come from, and do you think either/or is okay today?



Answer



"Touch base" is the significantly more common usage and is listed in phrase dictionaries. The general impression is that it comes from the sport of baseball:



In baseball, a player who is touching a base is not in danger of being put out. Another explanation is that a player briefly touches each of the bases when he runs around after hitting a home run; therefore "touching base" is briefly checking in (this is more similar to the meaning in the above example).



The above quote is unsourced from Wikipedia, so it isn't terribly authoritative.


I would use "touch base" as it is the clear winner in terms of usage and definition. "Touch bases" isn't going to be misunderstood but it appears to be the derivation.


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