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[deleted] t1_iwhqnp7 wrote

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

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.”

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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

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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.

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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

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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...

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avoid3d t1_iwlram1 wrote

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

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vacri t1_iwlskjf wrote

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

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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*

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dnattig t1_iwi6d5x wrote

Joystick?

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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

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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

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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”

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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.

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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".

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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.

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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.

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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.

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HighlightFun8419 t1_iwin940 wrote

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

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