I found the following quote of Mike Nichols, director of the hit revival of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” on Broadway in the article titled “How Oedipus Wrecks” in March 24. New York Times:
“My father was proud once when I won a horse show in boarding school. And he was proud when I was brave when I broke my arm. And man, I’ve hauled those out innumerable times.”
As I’m not familiar with the expression, “haul something out,” I looked for the definition without success in OED and CED.
There was an entry of “hauling out” as a noun in Wikipedia, defining it as;
- Hauling-out is the behaviour associated with pinnipeds of temporarily leaving the water between periods of foraging activity for sites on land or ice. Hauling-out is necessary in seals for mating and giving birth and non-reproductive aggregations, termed "haul-outs".
I also found the following answer to the similar question on “haul out” in www.englishforums.com/:
- (haul out is) to take a heavy-handed approach to justice. It is a US phrase. I guess it comes from the slightly stereotyped image of the sheriff going into the saloon bar and "hauling out" ...
However, I think neither applies to Mike Nichols’ statement, “I’ve hauled those out innumerable times.” What does “haul something out” mean? Does it mean “experience / get over problems" or simply "pull something out”? Is “haul something out” a popular day-to-day phrase?