wheel-house (wheelhouse)
noun

- an area that someone is interested in and skilled at

- a structure with a roof on a boat that provides shelter for the person who is controlling the direction of the boat

The Cambridge Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

The term “wheelhouse” was first used in the mid-1800s to describe the area of a steamboat that enclosed its steering wheel. You can still use the word to describe the part of any boat where the captain steers, though it's more common these days to call an actual wheelhouse a “bridge” or “pilothouse”.

For some reason, in the 1950s, “wheelhouse” was picked up by baseball announcers and reporters. They began to refer to a batter’s “wheelhouse,” by that meaning the area of the strike zone where a batter swings with the most power.

In the 1980s, the meaning of this term extended once again. It came to mean, and still means, an area or field in which a person excels. You could say that “grammar is my wheelhouse”, for example. Or that teaching people to write is “in my wheelhouse.”

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WHEELY WORDS

- Reinvent the wheel = to waste time or effort in trying to recreate something that already exists or has already been done.

- The squeaky wheel gets the grease = those who complain or make their needs known will get what they want or need.

- Wheel and deal = engage in commercial or political scheming; negotiate shrewdly.

- Put one's shoulder to the wheel = work hard or begin to work hard.

- Third wheel = an extra or unnecessary person; someone who is present in a situation where they don't belong or are not wanted.

- Fifth wheel = similar to "third wheel", but implies even greater redundancy.

- Behind the wheel = refers to being in control or in the driver’s seat, both literally and metaphorically.

- Set the wheels in motion = start a process; get something started.

- Wheels within wheels = complex or hidden circumstances or underlying factors that make a situation more complicated or hard to understand.

- Grease the wheels = to make something proceed smoothly or more easily.

- Wheel of fortune = refers to the ups and downs of life or fate.

- Spin one's wheels = to expend effort without making progress.

- Big wheel = an important person; a person with a lot of influence.

- Wheels fell off = something went very wrong or deteriorated.

- Sleep at the wheel = not paying attention to responsibilities or failing to notice something important.

- Break a butterfly on a wheel = to use excessive force to accomplish something minor.

- Take the wheel = take control of a situation.

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SYNONYMS

bridge, cab, captain's deck, cockpit, command center, command post, control room, control station, conning tower, driver's position, driver's seat, helm, lookout, navigation bridge, navigational deck, pilothouse, skipper's post, steering point, steering post, steering station, WHEELHOUSE

aptitude, arena, area of expertise, beat, bailiwick, calling, craft, department, discipline, domain, expertise, field, forte, function, game, know-how, line, mastery, metier, niche, occupation, profession, proficiency, prowess, realm, role, skillset, specialty, sphere, strength, strong suit, talent, territory, turf, vocation, WHEELHOUSE, work, zone

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation, say something like:

“When it comes to digital marketing strategies, that's right in Jenny’s WHEELHOUSE.

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