khoff  +  363003 Thu, 10 May 07 03:51 PM I know how this expression is used -- it means to take action to prevent a problem rather than waiting until it occurs, when the action would be less effective -- but I don't know where it comes from.  (For instance, my dentist always tells me to take a painkiller before the novocaine wears off, to "stay ahead of the curve.")  Can anyone tell me the literal meaning that the figurative meaning evolved from? khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,278 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

	Philip  +  363028 Thu, 10 May 07 05:04 PM  Khoff wrote: I know how this expression is used -- it means to take action to prevent a problem rather than waiting until it occurs, when the action would be less effective -- but I don't know where it comes from.  (For instance, my dentist always tells me to take a painkiller before the novocaine wears off, to "stay ahead of the curve.")  Can anyone tell me the literal meaning that the figurative meaning evolved from? Where have I been?  I've never heard of this expression.  Philip Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Veteran Member 8,738 At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen

	Grammar Geek  +  363030 Thu, 10 May 07 05:06 PM Philip, if you don't stay ahead of the curve, you may find yourself behind the 8-ball. Khoff, I have no idea, but I'm going to look. Edited: I saw this on another forum: If you plot normal probability distribution on a graph, the shape looks similar to a bell. This is usually referred to as the Bell Curve. If someone is ahead of the curve, they're beating the odds or staying ahead of the game. That makes sense, I guess. I was thinking of it in more physcal terms, like a race car driver who knows the curve is coming and starts to take action sooner rather than waiting until he is in the curve and has to turn hard. Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Marius Hancu  +  363052 Thu, 10 May 07 05:55 PM As GG says, Do better than the statistics and the curve for them (the statistical distribution/spread) would indicate for someone in your case. Marius Hancu Joined on Wed, Apr 26 2006 Veteran Member 11,673

	julielai  +  363079 Thu, 10 May 07 07:10 PM Easier to say "stay ahead of the curve" than to say "stay 2 standard deviations ahead of the mean". julielai Joined on Sun, Oct 24 2004 Senior Member 3,829 Just another blogger (http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/julie-lai)

	khoff  +  363148 Fri, 11 May 07 12:06 AM I was thinking at first maybe it was a baseball metaphor, like anticipating where the curve ball was really going to be rather than where it was apparently heading -- but I guess it could well be the statistical curve.  (But doesn't "stay ahead of the curve" sound sort of like the curve itself is moving?  khoff Metaphors