keep one's eye on the ball

Remain alert and attentive, as in The research director told her students to keep their eye on the ball when it came to accurate footnotes . This expression alludes to numerous sports in which players must watch a ball's path. [c. 1900]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
'Ashtoret	-	Biblical Hebrew, Near Eastern Mythology
Ball	[bɔ:l]
Sinclair	['siŋklɛə]
Stela	-	Romanian
David	DAY-vid (English), dah-VEED (Jewish, Spanish), da-VEED (French), DAH-vit (German, Dutch), DAH-vid (Swedish, Norwegian), dah-VEET (Russian)	English, Hebrew, French, Scottish, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, C
Urbana	oor-BAH-nah	Italian