Learn English – Put ( in / on ) a great performance

expressions

I'm reading essays written by non-native English speakers about movies and I keep coming across the phrase "put in a great performance." For example, when talking about an actress in a movie one person wrote:

Takahata Mizuki put in a great performance. I was very moved.

or

The voice actors who appeared in the movie put in a great performance.

I have never heard the use of in in this phrase (American English). So my question is: is this standard English anywhere? Is this just a malapropism? If it is used, does it have a different meaning from using on?

Here are my thoughts. First, if you put on a great performance, it almost always refers to a live show, play, etc. When discussing the performance of an actor in a movie, it would make more sense to say "their performance was great" or "their acting was great."

Second, the part that really confuses me. How can you put in a performance? Isn't a performance an output, not an input? One can put in effort, but can you put in a performance? Logically, it doesn't really make sense to me. Although of course English is far from logical.

Third, I found a FEW examples of the phrase used in sports related instances. All of them appear to be non-native speakers (and football players, huh). But still, the usage seemed uncommon.

  1. SPALLETTI: "WE ARE EAGER TO PUT IN A GREAT PERFORMANCE"
  2. Zidane: “We're only thinking about putting in a good performance”
  3. Mayoral: “We've put in a great performance”

Best Answer

Yes. It is standard English. The phrase "put in" is defined as something you devote time or effort to, while the phrase "put on" refers specifically to organizing or presenting a play, exhibition, or event. While they are essentially analagous, when speaking of the theater the latter is preferred. While I will put in the required hours at work, at least in my profession they wouldn't want me putting on the required hours at work.

Follow up: the definitions above are from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/put and you simply have to scroll way down into the phrases to unearth the following usages of "put in".

‘employed mothers put in the longest hours of all women’

‘Employees frequently put in at least 50 hours a week.’

‘People are putting in long hours to make up for poor organisation and planning in the workplace.’

‘But even in the face of potential relapse, many exercisers worry that taking a break for health concerns may undo all the hard work they've put in at the gym.’

‘Mother-daughter arguments are normal at this stage, but it's definitely worth putting some effort into improving the relationship.’

‘Why don't they instead put the energy into presenting scientific rebuttals against our side?’

‘I think it's a reflection of the hard work staff put in at the school.’

‘We've been putting in a lot of work over a long period of time, it's been a struggle.’

‘Most people do not mind putting in some extra time when there's a crisis or an unexpected rush.’

‘We have had almost 120 training sessions, so a monumental effort has been put in.’

‘Joe says that by putting in the hours at the social hall, he feels he is giving something back to the community.’

Source: oxforddictionaries.com

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