HOME PLATE, FAST CURVE BACK TO

a coined term meaning an unexpected path back to the main matter or idea at hand. This is an allusion to the game of baseball in which a player (called the pitcher) throws a ball past a member of the opposite team who tries to hit it with a bat. To make it difficult for the batter, the pitcher can throw the ball so that it "curves," and does not follow a normal or expected course. Home plate is a fivesided white rubber slab on the ground where the batter stands to hit the ball.