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Chong Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary

"on the ground" of

One advantage of taking the franchise approach is that you will be able to benefit from the specific knowledge "on the ground" of the franchisees in each of the countries you want to move in to.

How can I understand this sentence?
What're the meanings of "specific knowledge" and "'on the ground' of"?

Thanks
  

Top answer

"specific knowledge" means knowledge (presumably detailed knowledge about the locality) that is specific to those franchisees. In other words, other people would not necessarily have that knowledge. "on the ground" means "actually there, in that locality".

— Mr Wordy

  • "specific knowledge" means knowledge (presumably detailed knowledge about the locality) that is specific to those franchisees.
  • In other words, other people would not necessarily have that knowledge.
  • "on the ground" means "actually there, in that locality".
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9 Answers
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"specific knowledge" means knowledge (presumably detailed knowledge about the locality) that is specific to those franchisees. In other words, other people would not necessarily have that knowledge.

"on the ground" means "actually there, in that locality".
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Oh, and I forgot to mention, it's better to split the sentence as "specific knowledge of the franchisees" with "on the ground" inserted, rather than treating "'on the ground' of" as a unit.
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chongOne advantage of taking the franchise approach is that you will be able to benefit from the specific knowledge "on the ground" of the franchisees in each of the countries you want to move in to.
To my ear, this is extremely unnatural. In the US, I lately hear the expression "boots on the ground," but "in the territory of the franchisees" would be the n
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AvangiMaybe "on the ground of the franchisees" is BrE.
I suspect it's not a BrE/AmE thing, but that we are reading it differently. I read it as:

"you will be able to benefit from the specific knowledge, 'on the ground', of the franchisees"

Here, "on the ground" is a set expression inserted into the sentence. I do not read "on the ground of th
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Mr Wordy I read it as:

"you will be able to benefit from the specific knowledge, 'on the ground', of the franchisees"
Okay, I can follow that.
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Dear Mr.Wordy & Avangi:

Thanks a lot!

Yeah , Avangi ,you are right and that's BriE

I have probably understood the meaning of the sentence.
But I still have another question.Why are there quotatin marks with the phrase 'on the ground'?
I think that if it means "in that locality",the quotation marks may be unnecessary.
Is it a metaphor?

Best wishes!
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chongBut I still have another question.Why are there quotatin marks with the phrase 'on the ground'?
It's possible that the author added the quote marks because he/she felt it was an unusual use of the expression, but in my opinion this figurative sense is well known and well understood and does not need them.

However, an additional problem with your
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Mr Wordythis figurative sense is well known and well understood
I agree absolutely.
It's like having "an agent in the field."
Actually, "boots on the ground" is not that far off, it terms of the meaning of "on the ground."

When they're running a worldwide operation, the people in the "main office" don't always have a sense of exactly what's
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