insider baseball
Wonkish procedural details
Insider baseball refers to the technical details, procedural minutiae, or specialized knowledge of a field that only insiders understand or care about.
From baseball's reputation for arcane strategy and statistics, the phrase usually implies that something is too inside-the-game for general audiences: The article devolved into insider baseball about Senate procedure.
Often used dismissively.
- gatekeepingControlling access to something
- cliquesExclusive social groups
- old boys clubInformal male power network
- jargonSpecialized professional vocabulary
- tribalismIn-group loyalty, out-group hostility
deep state · wonkish · caucus · subcultures · lobbying · exclusivity · back channel · closed door · need to know · super PACs · shop talk · bullpen · batting average · arcana · filibuster · smoke-filled room · stakeholder analysis · trade secrets
insider baseballlayman's terms
Non-specialist phrasing
common knowledge · mainstream appeal · plain English · accessible · public discourse
insider baseballplain English
Unadorned, accessible wording
dumbed down · big picture · basics · fundamentals · overview
insider baseballmainstream
Dominant cultural current
popular · mass appeal · water cooler talk · general audience · household name
insider, baseball, inside, insiders, base, ball, balls, bases, based