Coffee Break
Member
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2022
- Member Type
- Student or Learner
- Native Language
- Korean
- Home Country
- South Korea
- Current Location
- South Korea
I encountered the expression "get their eyes in", but am finding it difficult to understand it. Could you please let me know what it means? Here is the excerpt:
Dick put the stumps under the breakwater and Mary piled the bathing dresses and towels together on a dry sunny heap of shingle. They simply played catch to begin with—to get their eyes in, standing round in a wide circle and throwing to one another, sometimes skiers, sometimes straight and low. Now and then Mr. Stevens, instead of throwing the ball on in the usual way, would jerk it quickly back the way it came to make the others keep on the alert, and sometimes when one of the children missed it, and had to chase it down the sands towards the sea, Mr. Stevens would rest his hands on his hips, and gaze round.
- R. C. Sherriff, The Fortnight in September, Chapter 16
This is a novel published in 1931, which describes a fortnight in September in which an English family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, Mary, Dick, and Ernie go on a holiday. On the sands, the family are playing the catch-ball to begin with.
In this part, I wonder what this underlined expression means.
I vaguely assume that it means "to allow their eyes to adjust to the speed of the ball", but still I am not sure what it means exactly to "get" one's eyes "in", so I wanted to ask you.
Dick put the stumps under the breakwater and Mary piled the bathing dresses and towels together on a dry sunny heap of shingle. They simply played catch to begin with—to get their eyes in, standing round in a wide circle and throwing to one another, sometimes skiers, sometimes straight and low. Now and then Mr. Stevens, instead of throwing the ball on in the usual way, would jerk it quickly back the way it came to make the others keep on the alert, and sometimes when one of the children missed it, and had to chase it down the sands towards the sea, Mr. Stevens would rest his hands on his hips, and gaze round.
- R. C. Sherriff, The Fortnight in September, Chapter 16
This is a novel published in 1931, which describes a fortnight in September in which an English family consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, Mary, Dick, and Ernie go on a holiday. On the sands, the family are playing the catch-ball to begin with.
In this part, I wonder what this underlined expression means.
I vaguely assume that it means "to allow their eyes to adjust to the speed of the ball", but still I am not sure what it means exactly to "get" one's eyes "in", so I wanted to ask you.