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Zelda Thuong
2020-11-28 06:11
Where the rubber meets the road American spoken language informal
This idiom is also known as "when the rubber hits the road".
The launch plan looks solid, but when the rubber hits the road it may still need some adjustments. We will just have to wait and see how the weather looks on the day.
Politicians can prepare speeches all they like, but getting out there and making a connection with the people is where the rubber really meets the road.
We are about to face an experienced team, they actually have a perfect record, so I hope you’re ready. This is where the rubber hits the road.
Now that we are done with the proposal. This is where the rubber meets the road.
Image source: knowyourphrase.com
This idiom is created by a metaphor derived from the point of contact between automobile tires and pavement. In 1956, the Mt. Vernon Register News featured an article which explains that in order to be successful in advertising on radio and TV, one has to speak their language. It then goes on to list a "collection of stylized phrases" that advertising men might use. One of these phrases is: Let's get down to where the rubber meets the road. It is easily noticed that the expression is written with 'meets' instead of 'hits.' That's just another way in which this phrase is said. An early recording of this form, where the rubber hits the road rather than meeting it, appears in The Modern American Usage: A Guide by Wilson Follet, first published in 1966: Lately, speakers of weak imagination have taken to saying 'where the rubber hits the road', evoking an image of cars falling or bouncing.
Do you see anything wrong?
A humorous way of saying that what one has said is just what they acknowledge and may not be entirely accurate
Mike: Have you returned from your vacation on the beach? Your skin seems to get tanned.
Jenny: My skin is always dark. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
