skate one's lane

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

skate one's lane (third-person singular simple present skates one's lane, present participle skating one's lane, simple past and past participle skated one's lane)

1. (ice hockey) To play in one's assigned position rather than straying to the location of the current action.
   • 1971, Mark Mulvoy, Ice Hockey, →ISBN, page 48:

     Wings should skate their lanes and not go roaming about the ice.

   • 1976, Kevin Walsh, Hockey for beginners, →ISBN, page 60:

     When the three-on-two situation develops, coming out of your own end, it is best to work the puck to the middle, where the center should be skating his lane.

   • 1990, John Smolens, Winter by Degrees, →ISBN, page 25:

     Their coach, Ray Preston, was a screamer; he yelled at them to cover their man or skate their lanes.

2. (by extension, idiomatic) To mind one's own business; focus on one's own goals and tasks and not worry about what others are doing.
   • 2011 September 2, Michael Hurley, “Deaths of Wade Belak, NHL Enforcers Leave NHL, NHLPA Left With Problem That's Impossible to Fix”, in NESN:

     Well, yes, but they're also human beings, fathers, sons, brothers, cousins, uncles and friends. Role players have to skate their lanes off the ice, too.

   • 2012 April 25, Stephen Sawicki, “Face Time”, in I Love FC (the best of fairfield county living):

     Failing to do so could spell disaster. After all, if skin care for tweens is truly a good business idea, it wouldn’t take long for one or two of the big players that have been watching from the sidelines to tap those customers that Christy is slow to reach, and eventually push her out of the picture. She knows all this, of course, and for now is skating her lane.

   • 2016 May 7, Charles P. Pierce, “Happy Friday. 'Dangerous Donald' Is Childish and Stupid”, in Esquire:

     Pareene is right. "Dangerous Donald" is stupid and childish. You are not going to out-stupid and/or out-childish He, Trump. Nobody can do that, not even incredibly stupid children. Skate your lane, Clinton people. Yeesh.