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It's given me mine.
St. Joseph/St. Joe

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

trial by fire / trial by ordeal

English answer:

Act or process of testing, trying, or putting to the proof; state of pain or anguish that tests patience, endurance, or belief.

Added to glossary by Kevin Pfeiffer (X)
Jul 18, 2004 07:33
20 yrs ago
English term

television fire

English Social Sciences Journalism news
Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic National Committee chairman, said the party was not the least bit concerned that Mr. Kerry had not faced a trial by television fire.

Does "television fire" mean television camera or flashlight or challenging questions by the anchorman?
Responses
5 +6 from 'trial by fire'
4 +3 challenging questions by the anchorman
5 negative advertising

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com Jul 21, 2004:
Thank you, Kevin, very much for your informative explanation. Thank you Rita for pointing out the connotation of this metaphor.
RHELLER Jul 18, 2004:
Xianjun, did you read this? http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/feb04/208081.asp
it is self-explanatory. good luck :-)

Responses

+6
7 mins
Selected

from 'trial by fire'

or 'trial by fire' (background here: http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Trial by ordeal), referring in this case t the ordeal of "performing well on television." That includes challenging questions, but more importantly, how well he comes across to the home viewer and to those rating his performance.

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Note added at 8 mins (2004-07-18 07:41:45 GMT)
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\"or trial by ordeal\"...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 19 mins (2004-07-18 07:52:52 GMT)
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(This answer was in the context of a televised debate, but see my disagree above...)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 36 mins (2004-07-18 08:09:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

NYT article with text under consideration: http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/feb04/208081.asp
Reference:

encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Trial by ordeal

Peer comment(s):
agree Patrick McKeown : good explanation, but silly use of English ;-) (not you Kevin, the expression itself)
5 mins
agree Melanie Nassar : you're right, answering tough questions is just part of it. He hadn't proved he could perform well on TV.
1 hr
agree Jerzy Gzula : very comprehensive answers, nothing left to add
6 hrs
agree humbird : Definitely. This expression is from that old cliche "Traial by fire", but TV was used as a modern day "fire". This is a metapher.
11 hrs
agree Alfa Trans (X)
22 hrs
agree Tahir
1 day 6 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very much."
+3
4 mins

challenging questions by the anchorman

challenging questions by the anchorman.
Peer comment(s):
agree Sunshine King
1 min
Thank you snshine001
agree Patrick McKeown : because it answered Liu's question but see below
7 mins
Thank you Patrick. Liu would translate it into Chinese. He just needs the confirmation that which one is correct.
disagree Kevin Pfeiffer (X) : If this is from the New York Times, Feb. 16, 2004, (and it appears so) then the subject here is negative advertising produced by the opponent; no anchormen or any other moderators involved!
14 mins
I think, we should not guess, but answer on the basis of what the asker has provided!
agree Vicky Papaprodromou
2 hrs
Thank you very much Vicky
agree Dorene Cornwell : The root term is definitely trial by fire but the text here definitely means questions from journalists and maybe also negative ads from one's opponent.
14 hrs
Thanks very much Dorene
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

negative advertising

http://www.jsonline.com/news/gen/feb04/208081.asp

After reading the short article, it becomes very clear what they are referring to here.

I am not contradicting the other responders, just trying to make it crystal clear for the asker.
Something went wrong...
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