where does the saying

[colsie]

keep the ball on the deck originate?

[Quizmonster]

The 'deck' has been used to mean 'the ground' since the 1920s, especially in aviation terms. A pilot might say he'd had trouble getting his aircraft 'on the deck'...ie successfully landed...because of some mechanical problem, for example.

As a result, people in general also started to use that word to mean 'ground'. So - on a very windy day, for example - a football coach might advise his team to "keep the ball on the deck"...ie pass it to each other on the ground...as high passes would probably go astray.