Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[vero2006]

Hi there!
Can someone explain what "closer" means? I mean, not the comparative form of the adjective close, I'm thinking about "The closer" (I think it is a the TV show or something like that) Is it used in a special context/situation/uncommon way?
Thanks a lot!

[CP]

When a salesman is negotiating a deal to sell something to someone, he has to be able to get that last handshake and the signature on the contract. That's closing the deal. Some salesmen are better than others at closing the deal. They are closers (pronounced with a soft "s"). Some are no good at it. They're just not closers, but they might be good at setting things up. So sometimes you send in the set-up man and later, at the right moment, the closer to get the signature.

The same in baseball. The starting pitcher goes out and pitches until he gives up too many hits or runs, and then the manager sends in a relief pitcher. If it is late in the game, he might need just his closing pitcher, his closer. If not so late, he might send in a set-up man until it's time to send in the closer. In baseball, the closer closes out the game -- hopefully winning it.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Anuradha Chepur]

A closer is also a person who closes something: the closer has to switch off the lights. In the context of TV, it could be the last show of the day of sorts. I've heard of 'door-closer' (an accessory fixed to the door to auto close it). Idiomatically, a door closer is one who is negative minded and discouraging as opposed to a door opener.