out in left field

Idioms

Also, out of left field. Eccentric, odd; also, mistaken. For example, The composer's use of dissonance in this symphony is way out in left field, or His answer was out of left field; he was totally wrong. This idiom refers to baseball's left field but the precise allusion is disputed. Among the theories proposed is that in some ballparks the left field wall is farther from the batter than the wall in right field. Another is that in early ballparks, left field was often larger than right field and therefore was home to more lost balls and general confusion. [Mid-1900s] Also see far out.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"He's a proven winner everywhere he's gone. He's done a really good job. He gives us a huge opportunity to fill that void out in left field."

From Fox News • Mar. 16, 2022

“We were out in left field the whole night, never really had a great feel for the truck, a great-driving truck, and just salvaged what I could,” Busch said.

From Reuters • May 27, 2020

He worked out in left field for this first time during spring training in February.

From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2019

He was back out in left field in the bottom half of the fifth but was replaced by Brandon Nimmo in the next inning.

From New York Times • Jun. 25, 2017

Edward was far out in left field, Carlisle stood between the first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher’s mound.

From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

out in left field

Example Sentences

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