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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Vocabulary

What happens if the marbles continue to tumble?

Hi!

I'm wondering if anyone can help me understand the meaning of a phrase.

In the following sentense, what does "the marbles contine to tumble" mean?


Hillary Clinton was the Democratic frontrunner even before she announced she was running for president. From the start, the Democratic race has been hers to lose. And if the marbles continue to tumble in front of her, it just might happen.

Are "marbles" those colorful glass balls?

I googled "marble tumble" but couldn't find any sentense similar to this and wonder if this is a common idiom.
  

Top answer

It's certainly not an idiom I've ever heard before! However, there is an image (that shows up in old slap-stick movies) of people slipping on marbles (those colorful glass *****) and falling. So perhaps this is saying that there are enough things in store for her in the future that can "trip her up" and cause her to fall, loing the election.

— BarbaraPA

  • It's certainly not an idiom I've ever heard before!
  • However, there is an image (that shows up in old slap-stick movies) of people slipping on marbles (those colorful glass *****) and falling.
  • So perhaps this is saying that there are enough things in store for her in the future that can "trip her up" and cause her to fall, loing the election.
  • I believe the "it" in "it just might happen" refers back to the race being hers to lose, so it means she may lose.
  • It's not a very clear antecedant.
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7 Answers
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It's certainly not an idiom I've ever heard before!

However, there is an image (that shows up in old slap-stick movies) of people slipping on marbles (those colorful glass *****) and falling. So perhaps this is saying that there are enough things in store for her in the future that can "trip her up" and cause her to fall, loing the election. I believe the "it" in "it just might happen" re
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Is this not a Bingo image? The marbles tumbling in the cage?

There was a big Bingo thread on the forum recently.
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Thank you for your reply!

Now I can almost see the image and it reminds me of "Home Alone."

:-)
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Uh-oh... It seems I missed Delmobile's reply somehow. I meant to reply to Grammar Geek.

Bingo next? So do you think "marbles tumble in front of her" refers to a totally different situation??
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Well, at first I thought it referred to the bingo tumbler, meaning that luck might fall to someone else if a different marble were selected. But upon reading it again I think Grammar Geek probably has the right idea - that Ms. Clinton, who was considered such a sure bet a while back, is stumbling on the marbles "tumbling" in her path. Yes, exactly like the scene in Home Alone. "Tumble" is an awkwa
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Yeah, it's definitely Home Alone situation.

By the way, the article is from FOX News web site.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316865,00.html

Again, thank you Delmobile and Grammar Geek for your help.
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Hi there, no the marbles are not colorful glasses ***** because marbles are the stone and they will found in different colors in my opinion there is only one answer visit the website which I am giving to you I search it on a net from that website you can know all types of marbles and ceramic tiles and much more it wills helps you a lot its my grantee visit the website given
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