take the hill?

This is not a stock phrase, to my knowledge. However, i suspect the author is using a military metaphor. In war, holding high ground, which overlooks the enemy's position is a very favorable position for the defender. To eliminate that advantage it is necessary to take the high ground away from them--to take the hill. This is always a costly operation, both because an attacker usually suffers more casualties, and because it is more difficult to attack uphill.

So, i suspect the author is attempting to say that he or she is a person upon whom one can rely to do a difficult and/or unpleasant job--to take the hill.

I think it means to adopt a defensive position


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No. Taking a hill is a very agressive move.

Not necessarily, Rog. I get the distinct impression that either meaning can apply depending on context. However, the more aggressive stance is often expressed as "take the hill by storm"


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If we want to emphasize a passive sort of taking, then maybe "take to the hill"

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I believe you are creating more smoke than light.

Then if not bright Rog I must be hot

It could have a literal meaning rather than a figurative one. It would depend on the sport the speaker is involved in. Is it ski racing, ski jumping, hill climbing with motorcycles/four wheel drive vehicles, ... ?

The quote implies it's business, not sports, so unless it's an extremely unusual business, it's not literal. I can't imagine how Microsoft, for example, would literally take a hill

He might be in the extermination business, moles can ruin a lawn.

I now agree, MJ.

This is the most hilarious thread I've read in a long time. Except for Roger, talk about the blind leading the blind.

Take the Hill is fairly ubiquitous phrase which means "put everything you have into attacking an enemy that's fortified on higher ground, oust them and occupy the position." Literally, in a military context, it's an aggresive and dangerous thing to do.

Having the hill is when you defend. Taking the hill is the attack.

In other contexts, the phrase means to put everything you have into a single, specific goal.

There are several related phrases. One that's gotten popular recently is "This is not the hill." That's actually a fragment that references a longer sentence, "This is not the hill to die on." And what this means outside of a military context works like this: You'd say this to a colleague who has become so obsessed and overfocused on winning some battle at work that they're in danger of doing damage to themselves and compared to the value of winning the battle, it's not worth it.

For example, if someone was going to march into the CEO's office to give him a piece of their mind about some change in the dress code at work, somone else might say, "Bro, this is not the hill."