Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Piepally t1_iwhmwf5 wrote

Reply to comment by allbright1111 in 'It's a pretty gross and offensive phrase': SA Premier under fire for 'sloppy seconds' comment by notinferno

So I dont make this mistake, is "full send" or "balls to the walls" sexual?

Im hoping balls to the walls was a dodgeball reference.

193

[deleted] t1_iwhqnp7 wrote

I looked up balls to the walls in urban dictionary because you got me curious too: “Steam engines had mechanical regulators that consisted of a pair of hinged lever arms with a ball on the end of each arm, as the engine sped up the centrifugal force caused the arms to raise up closing a valve. If you adjust the regulator so that the arms go to horizontal (with the balls pointing to the wall) without closing the valve you are not limiting the speed of the engine.”

162

avoid3d t1_iwhx2eg wrote

Heyo, you got scammed :P

Etymology. First attested in the 1960s in the context of aviation, in reference to ball-shaped grips on an aircraft's joystick and throttle. Pushing the "balls to the wall" would put the plane into a maximum-speed dive. Analogous to pedal to the metal.
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/153114/where-does-the-phrase-balls-to-the-wall-come-from

72

Voxination t1_iwiawih wrote

>Pushing the "balls to the wall" would put the plane into a maximum-speed dive. Analogous to pedal to the metal.

It's unlikely it's related to the dives because sticks are sticks, where you traditionally see the balls are the throttle, prop pitch and fuel mixture control and flap levers.

For reference; https://www.airzoo.org/virtual-cockpits look at left hand side wall for single seater and middle lower of the console on double seaters. Pushing them to their maximum limit would fiddle with aforementioned fuel-air mixture, prop pitch, flaps or throttle to allow more power to the pilot for combat maneuvers.

25

avoid3d t1_iwkbp8j wrote

I can't find any sources that align with your interpretation. I am not deeply invested in this, but I think it's an interesting exercise in believing things without actually checking whether they're true.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/02/why-we-say-balls-to-the-wall.html

1

vacri t1_iwlq2sz wrote

>but I think it's an interesting exercise in believing things without actually checking whether they're true.

The person you're replying to has provided over a dozen pictures of actual cockpits...

2

avoid3d t1_iwlram1 wrote

What does that have to do with anything? We're discussing the origin of a phrase here...

0

vacri t1_iwlskjf wrote

... because you're pooh-poohing their explanation of that origin backed up with visual evidence, rather than a Slate article.

3

avoid3d t1_iwlt5bh wrote

I'm not arguing that the throttle or mixture / propeller controlls don't also have balls, which is what their picture's demonstrate though...

I'm arguing that the origin of the phrase comes from military aviation, where diving in order to gain speed involved moving the control column towards the firewall (one ball) and also the throttle towards the firewall (the other ball), and this lead to the phrase "balls to the wall":

https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-phrase-balls-to-the-wall-originate

> Another control is the joystick—pushing it forward sends a plane into a dive.So, literally pushing the balls to the (fire)wall would put a plane intoa maximum-speed dive, and figuratively going balls to the wall is doingsomething all-out, with maximum effort.

*edit formatting*

1

dnattig t1_iwi6d5x wrote

Joystick?

10

avoid3d t1_iwkbhnl wrote

Another word for the control column of an aircraft.

> A joystick, also known as the control column, is the principal control device in the cockpit of many civilian and military aircraft, either as a centre stick or side-stick.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joystick

0

dnattig t1_iwlp3yg wrote

I know what a joystick is, but:

  1. No one in aviation calls it a joystick unless they're referring to a video game, and

  2. The english.stackexchange article you referenced didn't mention anything about pushing the yoke forward, only the engine controls. Which would make sense, because in a go-around situation you would push the throttle and mixture controls in for full power but you do not push the stick to the firewall unless you're aiming for the ground.

1

Flapaflapa t1_iwj0rwa wrote

sticks or yokes very rarely have balls at the end...I doubt it's referring to pushing the plane into a dive. but the throttle, prop control, and mixture are often knobs or balls, and can be pushed to the panel (wall).

8

avoid3d t1_iwkbcuq wrote

I am not very deeply invested in this, but all the sources that I can find align with the quote I provided, and not your interpretation.

−1

mdave52 t1_iwieell wrote

Your definition is what I've always heard is the basis for "balls out". I suppose balls to the wall is a variant.

43

Aiwatcher t1_iwih630 wrote

Okay so we are clear:

Balls to the wall: not sexual

Balls out: not sexual

Tripping balls: not sexual. Not exactly safe for work, but not sexual

Balls deep: very sexual

87

CrazySD93 t1_iwiz3e5 wrote

Would you also class “Dicks out” as not sexual?

“The act of pulling your dick out of your pants as a sign of respect for our bro Harambe”

49

open_door_policy t1_iwj5917 wrote

Nah, two separate origins. One from aviation, and one from early steam engines/trains. Urban dictionary just has them mixed together.

Steam engines had the pressure regulator with spinning balls on it. Aviation had you pushing the levers all the way to the (fire)wall.

But I'm certain that both of them just retained popularity because they do sound sexual.

17

mouse_8b t1_iwj65y3 wrote

> But I'm certain that both of them just retained popularity because they do sound sexual.

Absolutely. I imagine they even started because they sounded sexual. I'm positive everyone in the area snickered the first time someone ever said "balls to the wall".

8

sky033 t1_iwku4qb wrote

I thought balls to the wall was related to a fighter pilot mechanical part. I had not heard of it for a train mechanical part.

2

Frostspellfaeluck t1_iwkufmi wrote

So it's not about an intense game of squash? We have wildly different ideas of what it means and now I'm confused.

2

Supersymm3try t1_iwhtil7 wrote

That sounds like a retroactive meaning applied to the phrase tbh, like the whole shit meaning ‘ship high in transit’ nonsense.

31

HighlightFun8419 t1_iwin940 wrote

this is what one of my engineering school's professors said once after using the term.

2

rklab t1_iwigbnv wrote

I don’t believe “full send” is sexual, but I could be wrong.

51

venustrapsflies t1_iwiile0 wrote

Pretty sure it’s not, I’ve seen it in relatively professional contexts where it would be highly inappropriate to use a sexually-charged phrase

21

bernmont2016 t1_iwjvx83 wrote

Even on urbandictionary (where sex-related definitions are often highly favored), "full send" currently doesn't have any sex-related definitions until way back on page 5. The more popular definitions for it are more focused on extreme sports and extreme partying.

16

riskylifie t1_iwi656o wrote

Balls to the walls was a WWII term. The throttle in the planes had a little ball on top and when pushed to full speed, it would hit the wall.

21

basementthought t1_iwj3du2 wrote

I know the term sending out full send as a climbing term, which means climbing a route in one go with no falls or rests. It's short for ascending, so not sexual. Though I'm suspicious that there isn't some other meaning given how popular it is outside of climbing these days.

8

Flapaflapa t1_iwj0hyg wrote

"Balls to the wall" is a reference to engine controls on an aircraft. Either a lever or a push pull rod with a ball on the end. If it's balls to the wall the levers are pushed all the way in, as in engine connected to it making full power.

So not sexual. unless you are a love machine and currently balls deep going balls to the wall.

7

Idealistic_Crusader t1_iwjc1by wrote

Also, full 'send' comes from rock-climbing.

Send, is a shorter version of ascend, which means climb to the top of.

Ascend it - Send it.

Full send means to do something completely.

7

cbg13 t1_iwjoed4 wrote

Balls to the wall is not sexual but I'd wager most people think it is. It originated from pilots pushing their throttles, which were capped with balls, to the firewall i.e. going as fast as you can/requesting full power

3

cgrisG t1_iwj5y53 wrote

I don't care what someone once said on the Internet. I've never once heard of a woman being described as going "Balls out", and if I did it would not sound right at all. I've never heard my mother use the phrase, even though it was apparently used in a nonsexual easy her entire life. Balls out, dicks out, rock out with your cock out, jam out with your clam out... If you wouldn't expect to hear it in a Sunday sermon, it just might mean something lurid.

1

FateLeita t1_iwjl1kn wrote

I mean I'm a woman and use the term 'balls out', but I'm crass and no, it would not be accepted in polite company.

2

bernmont2016 t1_iwjuxl2 wrote

"Going balls out" is easy to use a more polite substitute for, at least - "going all out".

1

Idealistic_Crusader t1_iwjbs30 wrote

From taking a few flying lessons, I was taught that the accelerator lever on all airplanes has a ball on the handle, and the term means "flying at full speed," because you would tilt the ball, all the way to the wall.

1

28eord t1_iwjx7zp wrote

Thread tl;dr at the moment but I've heard from a mechanic friend that "balls to the wall" refers to a certain old timey kind of governor that used ball weights and centrifugal force to control a machine's speed; when the machine was going as fast as it could, it was "balls to the wall."

1

AtaracticGoat t1_iwk5v62 wrote

From what I remember "balls to the wall" is old military jargon. Old aircraft throttles were basically a lever with a ball on top, each engine had it's own lever and they were in a row so you could grab multiple at a time to increase or decrease throttle on all engines. "Balls to the wall" was going full throttle, pushing the balls on the top of the levers to the "wall" (as far as they could go).

1

Nolsoth t1_iwk7c40 wrote

Balls deep is sexual, but usually infers that someone has fucked up very badly and is now compromised.

Eg he was caught balls deep in his mates wife.

Full send and balls to the wall is not sexual and simply implies everything's going full throttle.

1

dug99 t1_iwknldw wrote

Kinda like "fisting", when your team wins and you make a fist, hold it above your head and yell, "yeah!"

1

gregorydgraham t1_iwkynxx wrote

I don’t think “balls to the wall” is sexual but don’t use it anyway. Most people I know think it refers to male genitalia even if it doesn’t actually.

“Full send”? Go nuts. I have no idea what it means but it doesn’t obviously reference a taboo. If any one asks, say “it’s a climbing term” as they use “send” to mean a completed climb

1

SilasX t1_iwlmvgt wrote

Related: "shot my wad" or "shot my load" is a reference to guns, not sex. Which I guess makes it more socially acceptable in the US, and less so in Europe :-p

1