Are you looking for a way to tell someone that it’s time to implement and prove a concept? You could use the saying “rubber meets the road” to announce the start of the project. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
The expression “rubber meets the road” means that you’re about to test a concept in the real world or the market. It’s a way of saying that it’s time to see if your project works as expected.
The phrase usually appears as “when the rubber meets the road.” It’s a way of describing the inflection point between theory and practice.
The saying can also refer to times when a person's attitude becomes serious, and they are ready to test themselves against a challenge in life, at work, or in the market.
Example Usage
“Alright, we’ve spent the last year developing this new system. It’s time to test it. Let’s see how it performs when the rubber meets the road.”
“Okay, team, we’ve spent the offseason improving our game. It’s our season opener, and this is where the rubber meets the road. Go out there and show them what you learned over the summer.”
“The CRM is where the rubber meets the road for the sales process. As soon as a lead enters the CRM, it moves to the sales funnel where the prospect starts receiving our email campaign.”
“The president spent the last year talking down the opposition and making big promises. We’ll he won the re-election. This is where the rubber meets the road, and he implements his policies.”
“It’s time to test this concept in the market. This is where the rubber meets the road, and we’ll know if the algorithm works in the next few hours.”
“Things are getting serious right now. We’re in the last phase of testing, and this is where the rubber meets the road.”
Origin
The origin of “rubber meets the road” has an origin in the early 1900s, after the invention of the rubber tire by John Dunlop in 1888. The earliest reference of the idiom in print comes from the Mt. Vernon Register News in 1956, where it appears as the following.
“How much is it going to cost?:
‘Let’s get down to where the rubber meets the road.”
The phrase would also appear in “The Modern American Usage: A Guide,” published by Wilson Follet, in 1966.
“Lately, speakers of weak imagination have taken to saying ‘where the rubber hits the road’, evoking an image of cars falling or bouncing.”
Phrases Similar to Rubber Meets the Road
- Buckle down.
- Knuckle down.
- Pull out all the stops.
Phrases Opposite to Rubber Meets the Road
- We’re not ready for testing.
What is the Correct Saying?
- Rubber meets the road.
Ways People May Say Rubber Meets the Road Incorrectly
The phrase doesn’t refer to cars or motorbikes, or any form of transportation. You’re not actually talking about tires or the road. In this case, the “rubber” is your idea or concept, and the “road” is the testing environment.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Rubber Meets the Road
You can use the saying “rubber meets the road” when you’re about to test a hypothesis in the real world. The phrase suits professional and social use.
For instance, you could use it at work when launching a CRM system, or you could use it at home when you’re testing a project you built in your garage.
The phrase is a statement suggesting that you are about to prove a concept in real-time. It’s a way of describing the implementation of something that you’ve been planning for a while.