By Maria Padhila
It’s what Isaac refers to as “outkicking your coverage.” It means aiming a little high for a partner, usually in terms of appearance.
I’ve also heard “fighting above your weight,” as in boxing. Just recently, I was watching an old episode of the HBO show Treme, about New Orleans, and the young chef (now paired with a handsome sous chef), runs into her old DJ boyfriend at Jazzfest. He’s with a gorgeous musician, and she says, half-joking: “You’re fighting above your weight, there.” He replies: “I always have.” Meaning: You, too, were too good for me.
Oh, my! This is how those of us who consistently outkick our coverage get away with it: charm, flattery, a measure of humility (that only comes from confidence), and just damn sincere appreciation for those we admire.
It’s telling that the metaphors come from sports, because as much as those idiot pickup artist types have tainted the term, love and romance has plenty of aspects of a game. You can play it like the pickup “artists” or like the warriors in Dangerous Liaisons, where the prize is not the love or pleasure itself but social status, economic benefit, or the winning of a prize “object” one believes will convey such status or meaning to one’s existence.