# “I’m spinning a lot of plates in the air right now”. Do you understand the reference? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107 "2022-09-24T01:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/21 "2022-09-24T03:36:56Z")
I’d definitely know what it means. I use it myself. It didn’t even occur to me that some folks might not recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/22 "2022-09-24T11:28:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > “I’ve got a lot of shit on my plate” That would have been a very different Ed Sullivan act! Also, I’m familiar with the idiom and have heard it used. My kids did also see a plate spinner at some circus or another. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/23 "2022-09-24T11:56:04Z")
_The Ed Sullivan Show_ was considered the top American television variety show during its run. It was the one that a performer decided that they had made it if they appeared on the show. However, there were some acts that seldom appeared anywhere else. Plate spinners were one example. Another was Señor Wences: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uEio4rQDU5A/hqdefault.jpg "Señor Wences on The Ed Sullivan Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEio4rQDU5A) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/24 "2022-09-24T12:26:55Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Personally, I think it is a much better metaphor than juggling. Just look at your plate spinner in action - running from one “problem” plate to another. It’s not some smooth flow of action like juggling, more like seeking out the squeaky wheel that needs urgent attention I use the experession and for exactly this reason. And usually with the explanation “it’s getting to the point that i pick a plate to drop, or it’s going to start being random plates”. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/25 "2022-09-24T12:28:43Z")
I find this act a bit sus. I skipped to the end, expecting them to show all the plates falling off the sticks. That they did not, implies that they were attached in some way. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/26 "2022-09-24T12:31:48Z")
Penn Jillette has talked at length on his podcast about learning plate spinning during the pandemic. He goes into a good amount of detail about his practice sessions (in his yard) as well as things you don’t think about - length of the stick, rimless vs. rimmed plate bottoms, weight of the plates, whether the plates should be breakable (they should). Also, a skilled spinner is capable of keeping all his plates a-spinning. The panicked lunges to correct a wobbler are largely manufactured drama. mmm ETA: Also, letting one crash to the ground every now and then is not necessarily a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/27 "2022-09-24T16:27:58Z")
I saw plate spinning on Ed Sullivan, but I also saw The Flying Karamazov Brothers [https://www.fkb.com/](https://www.fkb.com/) live. I’m pretty sure they did plate spinning in their act. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/28 "2022-09-24T17:14:35Z")
Hmm, I saw them three or four times, but don’t recall that. Still, they did all sorts of fun stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/29 "2022-09-24T23:56:19Z")
yup, sure do ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/30 "2022-09-25T00:12:37Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Still, they did all sorts of fun stuff. Like Shakespeare’s _Comedy of Errors_. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dwYyrbX9LUY/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGHIgRChIMA8=&rs=AOn4CLAmFSqD6tmkCFcb5fsgWWkram10dA "The Flying Karamazov Brothers - The Comedy of Errors 1 of 2") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwYyrbX9LUY) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/31 "2022-09-25T00:18:36Z")
I get the reference. Although I could also see how someone might think you maybe combined two phrases that mean the same thing: “I have a lot of balls in the air.” “I have a lot on my plate.” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/32 "2022-09-25T00:58:11Z")
Video was unavailable for me, but in the meantime, I found one of my old ticket stubs! And a nice letter I got from the guy who played Alyosha. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/33 "2022-09-26T04:28:01Z")
I’d be more likely to say I’ve got a lot of plates in the air, but I haven’t heard (or seen) that reference in a while. > [@Maserschmidt](#): > > > [@pulykamell](#): > > > > “I’ve got a lot of shit on my plate” > > That would have been a very different Ed Sullivan act! **The Aristocrats**? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/34 "2022-09-26T04:50:03Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Cool, good to hear from a millennial on the subject! I was a bit concerned I was letting a ‘grandpa saying’ slip through at work. Not that my workplace is ageist at all really, but I do work in tech. I mentioned “the agony of defeat” at work, and then had to explain it. I’m old. > [@DocCathode](#): > > I’d get it. But then I’m facsinated by circuses and still hope (seriously) to one day be shot out of a cannon. Don’t get your hopes up. It’s rare to find a man of that calibre. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/35 "2022-09-26T05:58:05Z")
Then you’re not gauging it right. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/36 "2022-09-26T17:46:16Z")
My sister recorded a couple of movies off TCM a couple of weeks ago. Two _Broadway Melody of_ 19xx (38 and 40, IIRC). They were so cookie-cutter it was interesting to watch them close together. Both had a running gag with what was called a specialty act. The earlier movie had an expert on snoring, of all things. It was awful. Just stupid and boooooring. And he got so much movie time. After his first appearance, we just ff’d him. The other movie had a woman called Fritzi who was a juggler, and she was awesome. Spinning plates and all. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/37 "2022-09-27T03:39:16Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I find this act a bit sus. I skipped to the end, expecting them to show all the plates falling off the sticks. That they did not, implies that they were attached in some way. According to [this site,](https://www.juggle.org/the-art-of-plate-spinning/) modern plate-spinning sticks are in fact attached to a ballbearing system in the plate so it’s almost impossible for them to fall off. The acrobats still had to keep them spinning and upright and not bumping each other while they did their acrobatics, though, so I think it still counts as a good trick. ---
**Author:** ![X.L.Lent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a5b964/32.png) [@X.L.Lent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X.L.Lent)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/38 "2022-09-27T05:48:10Z")
I understand the reference but I have only heard it used with the word “balls” instead of “plates”. For example: “too many balls in the air”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/39 "2022-09-27T06:00:08Z")
I understand the reference, though my knowledge of plate-spinning acts comes from WGN’s “Bozo’s Circus,” when I was a kid in the 1970s, rather than from the Ed Sullivan Show. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/2MNL2r3Vg_c/hqdefault.jpg "Tony Comito as Michael Anthony Spins Plates on the Bozo Show") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MNL2r3Vg_c) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2022, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107/40 "2022-09-27T08:33:28Z")
> [@solost](#): > > where a guy would spin **ordinary ceramic dinner plates** on long sticks. I don’t think so. I’ve done a little juggling, and every spinning plate I’ve seen has a recess for the pole. I’m not sure if its even possible to spin ordinary plates. [![](https://www.mastersofgames.com/images/circus/spinning-plate-blue-lg.jpg) ](https://www.mastersofgames.com/images/circus/spinning-plate-blue-lg.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-m-spinning-a-lot-of-plates-in-the-air-right-now-do-you-understand-the-reference/972107.md?page=3)