carry the ball

Idioms  

1. Take charge, advance a cause, as in In our lab any of the assistants can carry the ball. This usage comes from such sports as football, where the ball-carrying player gives the team yardage or a touchdown. By the early 1900s it was being transferred to other endeavors.

---

Example Sentences

Botterman's scrummaging has improved under Mitchell to earn a regular starting spot, but it is her ability to make turnovers and carry the ball into heavy traffic that are her foremost strengths.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

He’s able to carry the ball 29, 28, 27 times.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 26, 2024

Rookie Blake Corum, a third-round pick who did not carry the ball against the Lions, rushed for 28 yards in eight carries.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 16, 2024

"He would carry the ball back like a guided missile and had so many ways to beat the challenge of a defender," he said.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2024

Since Dad went to church only if one of us was being christened—in other words, about once a year—Mother had to carry the ball when it came to enrolling us in Sunday school.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey