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Reader question: Please explain this sentence, particularly "get his bearings": It takes him a few weeks to get his bearing at the collegiate level, as all players take some time to get used to college life. My comments: Bearings refer to compass bearings. Before GPS and other modern day positioning techniques, people used the compass for direction. Without a compass, of course, they had to rely on the sun or the north star at night for direction. The compass shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it. To get one's bearings, therefore, means to look for and ascertain one's position relative to one's surroundings. In other words, we get our bearings to enable us to orient ourselves. For example, schools have what is called freshman orientation. That's an introduction program to help newcomers to get oriented, i.e. help them get familiar with their surroundings and whereabouts. The compass may have been a thing of the past, but the phrase "get one's bearings" is still quite in use. In our example, new college players need a few months to get their bearings, i.e. to get to know about their new environs. Once they get their bearings, they'll then be able to play and live comfortably - and then really take off and flourish. Before they get their bearings, however, they may be, understandably, a little confused and uneasy. Okay? Okay, here are media examples of people getting their bearings: | 
