advance the ball

English

Verb

advance the ball (third-person singular simple present advances the ball, present participle advancing the ball, simple past and past participle advanced the ball)

1. (sports, of ball games) To move the ball closer to the goal.
   • 2016 October 25, Matt Bonesteel, “The Texans have a Brock Osweiler problem”, in The Washington Post‎^[1], archived from the original on January 2, 2019:

     Osweiler finished the game 22 for 41 for a measly 131 yards. He was sacked just once but spent the evening throwing short, ineffective passes that did little to advance the ball.

2. (figurative, by extension, chiefly politics) To make progress towards some shared or ultimate goal.
   • 2003 September 7, Dylan Stableford, quoting Alan F. Horn, “Warner Brothers' Chamber of Secrets”, in The New York Times‎^[2], archived from the original on March 09, 2021:

     Mr. Horn said he could not be happier these days. "Comfort and trust and stuff like that are important concepts in a work environment," he said. "To the extent there are politics involved in any company it doesn't further advance the ball, the work of the studio. I have maintained that all these people who have left are talented and made valuable contributions. But at some point it's got to be about the team."

   • 2006 September 26, 'Day to Day', GOP Looks for Immigration Win Before Elections‎^[3] (radio), spoken by Ken Salazar, via NPR:

     And so what we need to do is to deal with this issue comprehensively. We have a broken and lawless system in the United States of America. And the piecemeal approach that majority leader Frist has taken along with the Republican leadership of the Congress isn't going to advance the ball.

   • 2017 October 17, Neil Cavuto, Your World With Neil Cavuto‎^[4] (television production), spoken by host, via Fox News:

     You know, Scott, you could make the argument that if in the middle of this they score a bipartisan deal on healthcare, it might not be to either party's liking. But it would be a way to advance the ball. Wall Street could respond to that very favorably, tax cuts or no tax cuts.

   • 2022 November 30, Dylan Stableford, quoting Hakeem Jeffries, “Hakeem Jeffries elected to lead House Dems, will become 1st Black party leader in Congress”, in Yahoo! News‎^[5], archived from the original on February 4, 2023:

     In a press conference on Capitol Hill, Jeffries thanked the outgoing leadership. "From the very beginning of our arrival in the Congress, we stand on their collective broad shoulders building upon the incredible work that they've done, excited about the opportunities to advance the ball for everyday Americans as we move forward into our future," Jeffries said.

See also

• drop the ball
• keep the ball rolling