Il n’y a pas à balancer = We must not hesitate, but act.
Une balle perdue = A wasted shot; A useless effort.
Une balle morte = A spent ball.
A vous la balle = It is now your turn to act.
Renvoyer la balle = To return the compliment.
Prendre la balle au bond = Not to miss an opportunity; To take time by the forelock; To make hay while the sun shines.
[Also: Prendre l’occasion aux cheveux.
Compare:
“Rem tibi quam nosces, aptam dimittere noli;
Fronte capillata post est Occasio calva.”
Cato, Distichs, ii. 26.
“Her lockes, that loathly were and hoarie grey,
Grew all afore, and loosely hong unrold,
But all behind was bald, and worne away
That none thereof could ever taken hold.”
Spenser, Faerie Queene, ii. 4, 4.