Behind the curve

Question

Hi teachers,In the past few years, economic prognosticators have been spectacularly behind the curve.Does that mean "they are not as accurate"?Thank you.Tinanam

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

Hello!

I would say it means that economists have been spectacularly incorrect in their prognostications over the past few years.

Hope this helps.

John

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi JohnParis,

Is this "behind the curve" an idiom? Can we use it in a sentence?

Thank you.

Tinanam

JohnParis · Answer

Yes, it's an idiom.

I don't understand what you mean by "can we use it in a sentence"? It was in the sentence in your original question....

Dave_anon · Answer

Dear Tinanam

It is a good phrase but it is very much tied to marketing and people who speak with marketing phrases

If there is a new idea happening in shops - say, knee-length socks - then you can draw a diagram to show that some shops are making the most of that trend whereas others are lagging behind. The diagram may look like a curve that rises from the left-hand side

The shops that are on the left-hand side of the diagram are "behind the curve" - they aren't up-to-date with what is happening

As said, it's a good phrase, but it probably only works well with certain people

Regards, Dave

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi Dave,

Thanks for your help. I thought I heard once in a class I took, which the teacher said some of them are behind the curve. If I heard it right. English is not easy, there's Globish I read from Newsweek. English stripped down to its very basic meaning so it's understandable. Basically I think English is very hard, with words evolving every day.

Best wishes,

Tinanam

JohnParis · Answer

Dear Tinanam0102,

When one discovers that English is difficult, "with words evolving every day", he has made an giant leap forward in truly understanding the language. You could not be more correct. One of the difficulties in learning English is not only do you have to learn the gramatical ground rules, but you also have to accept that it is a language that is alive with change. In fact, there are those who say English "lives and breathes change" and that those who come closest to mastering the language must, at some point in their life, live in an English speaking nation and have the chance to absorb what it is about the culture of a people that spekas English that makes their language change so often.

Your question about "behind the curve" is a very good example. The origin of the phrase refers to the graphic representation of a statistical bell shaped curve, also called the normal probability distribution; where to be 'behind the curve' is to be analogously in area of the graph to the left of the bell curve, to be 'ahead of the curve' analogously in the area of the graph to the right of the bell curve. If some one is referred to as being "behind the curve" then they are considered to be lacking in certain skills or knowledge by being in the lower 20% range on the bell or curve. I would also add that it is frequent to hear the phrase used in relation to one's ability to adapt to change. One is "ahead of the curve" or "behind" if one is quick to incorporate new technology or learning and put it into practice, or resistant to change.

As statistical analysis became easier to understand and compute (with the invention of data processing) graphic representations of probability curves were (and still are) used to illustrate everything from how people buy things (marketing) to how a particular molecule is absorbed into the bloodstream (biosciences) to even tracking the weather. For many people, seeing a bell curve is commonplace. Hence the expression "behind the curve".

Hope this helps.

John

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi JohnParis,

Thank you for the in-depth explanation.

Tinanam

Behind the curve

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