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Reptax Posted 4 years ago
Grammar

There are too many meanings for the idiom "where the rubber hits the road". Please explain

I came up across the idiom 'where rubber hit the road' from an article but I don't remember the article's title. I looked up the definition of idiom on Free Dictionary. This is the definition it gave me.

The Free Dictionary"

"The point at which someone's or something's efforts, resolve, or viability are put to the test; the point at which things become truly or meaningfully challenging."

I thought that was that. But I looked up the phrase on different websites.

English-Grammar-Lessons.com:

"The expression “rubber meets the road” means that you’re about to test a concept in the real world or the market. It’s a way of saying that it’s time to see if your project works as expected.

The phrase usually appears as “when the rubber meets the road.” It’s a way of describing the inflection point between theory and practice."

The saying can also refer to times when a person’s attitude becomes serious, and they are ready to test themselves against a challenge in life, at work, or in the market.""

USING ENGLISH.com:

"Where the rubber meets the road is the most important point for something, the moment of truth. An athlete can train all day, but the race is where the rubber meets the road and they'll know how good they really are."

Rolls Off Tongue Tumblr:

"The point at which a theory or idea is put to a practical test; the most important point for something, the moment of truth; A place or circumstance at which the implementation of a plan or intent is to be achieved."

Why are there so many meanings for this idiom? Please explain

  

Top answer

reptax Why are there so many meanings for this idiom? It is a relatively new expression. How long have there been rubber tires?

— Anonymous

  • reptax Why are there so many meanings for this idiom?
  • It is a relatively new expression.
  • How long have there been rubber tires?
  • As with new slang, its meaning has not settled down, and it is imprecise in any event.
  • I would not say it has wide currency.
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4 Answers
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reptaxWhy are there so many meanings for this idiom?

It is a relatively new expression. How long have there been rubber tires? As with new slang, its meaning has not settled down, and it is imprecise in any event. I would not say it has wide currency. I have never used it, and until I read your research here, I would not have been able to define it. It is p

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reptaxWhy are there so many meanings for this idiom? Please explain

They are all fundamentally the same meaning, but used in different contexts.

Fraze.it has 79 exemplars

This one involves a double meaning - figurative and literal:

For a teen the learner's permit is literally where the rubber meets the road.

Here are so

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reptaxWhy are there so many meanings for this idiom?

There really aren't so many meanings. There are many definitions, but they all approximate the same meaning, just as definitions attempt to do.

The fact is that definitions just dance around the meaning of an expression. The only thing that literally means the same thing as the expression i

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reptaxI came up across

The third word is not needed.

reptaxI looked up the definition of idiom

You left out a word between those two.

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