You may recall learning geometry in high school that there are 360 degrees in a circle. Angles are measured in degrees, with the vertex being at the center of the circle. That means a right angle—forming a quarter of a circle—is 90 degrees, and a horizontal line—forming the base of the theoretical semicircle—is 180 degrees.
(It is not known how ancient mathematicians considered 360 to be a number of degrees in a circle, but some historians have noted that it approximates the number of days in a calendar year, and a circle is almost aligned with the earth’s elliptical orbit. The fact that many numbers are evenly divisible by 360 may also be involved.)
Degrees represent spin angles, so we talk about them when we talk about hinges, inclines, skateboarding tricks, ski maneuvers, and basketball throws. A complete trip around the edge of a circle is 360 degrees, which means that if you complete one rotation around the central axis of your body, you will end up turning in the same direction as when you started.
Half rotation is 180 degrees, around the same central axis will put you in the opposite position to the original position. Charles Lindbergh, in 1927, using one eighty And three sixty to describe aerial maneuvers using half-turn and full-turn movements, respectively.
It was the second half of the 20th century that saw the use of idioms one eighty to describe any direction reversal, similar to terms or the French equivalent, volt face.
I drove the Pinto four-wheel drive at high speed through traffic and up a dirt road leading into a cemetery, then did one eighty to see what’s coming after me in a different way. — G.Gordon Liddy, Will1980
Naturally, the phrase (sometimes spelled .) rotate 180 degrees) can refer to a figurative change, doing the opposite of what one has done before:
“The Iranian regime has a choice. It can 180 degree turn get out of their outlaws and act like a normal country, or else their economy might collapse… We hope we can reach a new deal with Iran.” — Mike Pompeo, quoted in New York MagazineNovember 6, 2018
They work and it’s not easy, it’s not quick. But when the bulbs come on, they make one eighty. Suddenly they started talking about paying up front and going back one day and being a mentor themselves — Ken Morgan, quoted in Daily Macomb (Clinton Town, Mich.), September 25, 2015
On September 14, the Tigers lost to DeSales by a score of 40-14. This is their fourth consecutive loss, all by at least 19 points. Three of those losses came at home. Since then, Josh Abell’s team has 180 degree turn, reeling with seven consecutive wins. — Jason Frakes and Steve Bittenbender, Courier Magazine (Louisville, Ky.), November 10, 2018
When three sixty used in physical movements, it refers to a complete rotation:
“do three sixty!” someone yelled from the stands, and Corey’s face turned pale: “The three sixty? I will commit suicide. But that’s okay.” and he performed a beautiful spin. — Darcy Frey, Last shot1994
He broke a diver, left, and did 360-degree of rotation to get ahead of another Nebraska tackler. — Aaron McMann, MLive.comSeptember 22, 2018
But sometimes, writers forget what they have learned about geometry, and go 360 when what they really mean is an inversion of course, it’s a 180:
Tiger Woods got off to a disastrous start at the PGA Championship, when he hit a double-bogey on the first two holes. But Tiger’s luck did a 360 then, perhaps, aided by a shirt change. That is, if you believe what you read on Twitter. — Golf.comAugust 9, 2018
If Tiger Woods does a physical 360-degree spin, then he will face the same direction as when he started. Extending that to the symbolic direction, his fortunes will not change, and he remains bogged down the whole way. Instead, a 180 would suggest the reversal of fortune that the author suggests here.
“’Being an eighty’ implies a change, as in: ‘Ever since she took Prozac, her entire personality has made an eighty.’ I don’t think it applies to the wardrobe… Of course, ‘doing three and sixty’ is much worse. ‘Volte face’ is much better, but nobody uses it anymore.” —Kate Christensen, Jeremy Thrane2001
There are a few explanations for these easy mistakes. One is the temptation to think that doubling the number is merely emphasizing or exaggerating, rather than changing, its meaning, like someone giving the impossible 110%. Another thing is that the writer may not distinguish between rotating on an axis and moving along a circumference. If you picture a car going around a roundabout, going all the way around 360 degrees of the turn, and then getting off, the car will actually go in the opposite direction from where it started. But that’s not the kind of movement originally announced by 360.
It’s the kind of logic that makes you spin, and then you don’t know where you’re headed.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
