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Meantolearn Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary

on the ground

Katrina ... crisis on the ground

I'm wondering why 'on the ground' means the following.

Anyone knows its origin?

Thanks,

______

on the ground - in the place or situation where something important is happening, rather than somewhere else - used especially in news reports: (Longman)

  

Top answer

Hi, I think it has a military origin. Imagine there is a war. The airforce is over the other country, and the navy is off the coast of the other country, and they are both having very great success.

— Clive

  • Hi, I think it has a military origin.
  • Imagine there is a war.
  • The airforce is over the other country, and the navy is off the coast of the other country, and they are both having very great success.
  • Nevertheless, the President of the attacking country says 'We will never have complete success unless we put soldiers on the ground in that country'.
  • He means you can not avoid having to do the hard, dirty close-up work.
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1 Answers
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Hi,

I think it has a military origin. Imagine there is a war. The airforce is over the other country, and the navy is off the coast of the other country, and they are both having very great success. Nevertheless, the President of the attacking country says 'We will never have complete success unless we put soldiers on the ground in that country'. He means you
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