I personally wouldn't rule out "the size of a football field" as cliche since I think it's a useful reference (for Americans). The one that pisses me off is "taller than the Statue of Liberty" because the writers are almost always sneaking in by referring to the height of the statue itself, not the height of the statue plus the base, which is what most people are going to envision when they read that. The base is taller than the statue and more than doubles the height of the whole thing.
It's a big ass rectangle of grass conveniently delineated by physical barriers. Lots of big ass patches of grass in the world, but few delineated by barriers with two dozen cameras focused on it. I can't think of a more readily defineable or accessible patch of grass than a sports field.
I think the point being made is that it is so defineable and overused it's borderline cliche. Maybe not as bad as something like "white as snow", of course. I don't see the problem with it if it's something the POV character would relate to. Another reference often used (mainly in journalism, I think) is 'olympic sized pool'. That's one I really have no idea on the exact dimensions or volume other than it's a whole, whole lot of water. But sometimes it can be difficult to describe the size of things without using a recognizable reference like 'football field'. Which reminds me of George Orwell's rules of writing. One being not to use cliches, but the last rule being something like 'break any of these rules before writing something monstrous'.
I'd say the "football field" is ubiquitous to the point of transcending cliche. If you want to describe a large area of object/space, you're won't find a more economical phrase than a "football field." But then again I'm a football fanatic.
There was some book or other that I read where the high school math teacher took the class out into the school grounds to an area that he had marked out with traffic cones. He told them to wander around, that he'd marked out an acre and this would probably be their one chance to see how big that was. Wish my teachers had done that.
100 to 130 yds long by 50 to 100 yds wide, according to Law One of the Association Football Laws of the Game.
In the UK at least it has certainly transcended cliche and is firmly established as a supplementary measure. The next size up is a Wales, as in, "The catastrophic industrial cock-up coated an area four times the size of Wales in a fine blue laminate" See also, double-decker buses, Olympic swimming pools, bags of sugar (which is either 1lb or 1kg, depending on where you shop, so charmingly open to interpretation), Nelson's Columns, oh and for number of people you have Wembley Stadiums (90,000). If its allowable for supposedly serious energy news journals to refer to gas and electricity and coal in 'barrels of Brent crude equivalent' then why the hell not? The Register even has its own standards system, in fact: https://www.theregister.com/Design/page/reg-standards-converter.html
Very well. Refer to football field-sized objects if you can't think of anything more original... except in my classes where you will be required to think beyond the obvious, even if the obvious is the size of a football field.
A plot hole the size of a football field is my speciality. It would be the size of Wales, but for that I would need to finish the novel.
An American football field is about 1.1 acre, so anyone who can envision a football field can also pretty well envision an acre.
I can't recognize an acre without horses and cows in it. Without horses and cows, an acre just look like a football field.
O my gosh. Oh! Oh! (Falls about with the vapors.) I can sympathize with you. I really can. I'm also the sort (maybe it comes with being an architect) who wants to help others put things in order. But you're more persistent and patient than I am. What that guy gave you sounds like the Sunday bulletin forms I get from church secretaries when I'm on to do pulpit supply. Those things are only two half-sheet pages, and it takes me two or three hours to get rid of the wonky formatting. I can't imagine even embarking on the stormy voyage you endeavored. Were you supposed to get any money for this? At all? Oh heavens. My heart! Where are my smelling salts? Oh!
Nope, "long as a football field" is a popular unit of measure throughout the United States. Any town with a high school will have one, so it's handy to visualize distance by.
Get it together woman! Loosen your stays. Unlace your corset a little. Quick, someone dash a glass of water in her face!
This sounds like something Jean Kerr would have written when she wasn't dealing with her children. If anyone wanted to compile a book of writer anecdotes, this should be in it.
The beauty of using "football field" is it works for both Americans and Europeans. A soccer field is similar in size to the American field. So the reference is relatable to multiple groups, even if the size of the object is a bit different.
Found out last week that my system isn't as cast-iron as I thought it was. I'm in stinking good health for somebody my age (just attended my 50th high school reunion this past September). I pull all-nighters all the time, and other than the bags under my eyes, I get away with it. I worked retail all through COVID and never got sick (knock wood). But this month I took a three week vacation, a double transatlantic ocean crossing with time in England in between, and I drank more than I usually do. As a rule I might have a bottle of cider or beer once a week. During this trip I was averaging more like three or four glasses of wine, beer, and cocktails every day. Never got drunk, no. Spaced them out nicely. But last Tuesday night I was changing for bed out of the floor-length gown I was wearing, and was astonished to find my ankles and feet had swollen up. Could hardly get into my slippers. Asked a table mate the next evening what she thought it might be. She suggested too much salt (nope, Cunard chefs under-salt the food, imho), too much sitting around (no, I was up and down stairs and around the promenade deck all day every day), or too much alcohol (very possible indeed). I finished off the glass I was having with supper, and have had nothing alcoholic since. The swelling went down and has stayed down. Ding-ding-ding! Too much alcohol for the win! Seems my liver is no longer up to processing all that booze. If it ever was.
For what it is worth, I get what you're saying. My fiftieth high school reunion will be this year (not that I'm planning to go) and I've found my body doesn't behave quite like it used to. Darn the thing, anyway. I don't drink, but I've grown to dread the hotter days of the year when my ankles and feet swell like I'm nine months toward a new baby.
Tell your liver to quit fucking around or you’ll get a new one. Just remember it needs you as much as you need it, don’t let it get away with substandard performance.
