sclaffer

At a foot and a half from the hole the clean putter often fails, from incapacity to graduate inches of weakness, whilst the sclaffer succeeds because he is dealing with coarser weight sensitiveness.

1887, Sir Walter Grindlay Simpson, The Art of Golf, page 154:


three-second rule

en-noun

three-second rule (plural three-second rules)

Any rule that prescribes or proscribes behavior in a three-second interval, especially

(basketball) A rule stating that no offensive player may remain in the free-throw lane, with or without the ball, for more than three seconds.


ten-second rule

ten-second rule (plural ten-second rules)

Any rule that prescribes or proscribes behavior during a ten-second interval, especially:

(basketball) The rule that a team must advance the ball over the center line within ten seconds of gaining possession. The 10-second interval is used in U.S. high school and college basketball; professional leagues use an 8-second limit.


tip drill

(basketball) A practice drill where a line of players improve their rebounding skills by catching a rebound in the air, tossing the ball back against the backboard before landing, and returning to the end of the line to go again.


stringbed

A second limitation is the lack of measurement of both handgrip force and ball impact location in the stringbed.

2015 July 16, “Tennis Racket Vibrations and Shock Transmission to the Wrist during Forehand Drive”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI:

(tennis, squash, racquetball) The matrix of strings within the oval frame of a racket


toolsy

en-adj

toolsy (comparative toolsier, superlative toolsiest)

toolsier (comparative)
toolsiest (superlative)

From tools + -y, in reference to a five-tool player.

Tabbed the No. 30 prospect in the Giants' system by Baseball America, which calls him "raw and toolsy. His best tool is his arm, and if he doesn't succeed in the field, he could ... move to the mound. He threw in the low 90s in workouts at Texas. ... One of the best defensive infielders in the system already, as his arm plays well at either (shortstop or third base). ... The best defensive third baseman in the organization."

2006 June 7, “Augusta pitcher is on the right track”, in The Augusta Chronicle:

He was considered very toolsy and athletic, but rather raw, best-known as a basketball player in high school.

2008 March 20, “Not a Rookie: Matt Kemp”, in SB Nation:

The Twins are known for their fascination with toolsy and athletic outfielders, but Hicks has the most talent of any Twins draft pick since Joe Mauer in 2002.

2008 June 11, “Breaking down the draft, Part 1”, in The Hardball Times:

Okay, this joke worked better when Jim Bowden was still the GM, with his fetish for toolsy outfielders and troubled second-chancers.

2009 August 2, “Michael Vick In MLB?”, in The Washington Post:

I think he might be a little bit toolsier than Dexter. He probably has a little more power.

2014 August 5, “Grand Junction Rockies broadcaster Adam Spolane on Hamlet Marte, Rockies' depth at lowest minor league levels”, in Purple Ros:

Mitchell was one of the more toolsy and projectable prep outfielders in this draft.

2015 June 8, “Mitch Hansen profile: A closer look at Dodgers' 2nd-round pick”, in SB Nation:

...the toolsy Jones was somewhat of a cult favorite among the prospect-watching set.
Now, three years later, Wilson is back as one of the toolsier college bats in the class. And he certainly looks the part, strong and athletic, with the ability to hit for power and run well.

2015 July 30, “Pirates trade JaCoby Jones for Joakim Soria”, in Bucs Dugout:

(sports) Of a player: having numerous skills and abilities.

(baseball) Able to hit for a high batting average and for power, to run the bases well, to throw well, and to field well.


through the gate

(cricket, slang) Through a gap between the bat and the batsman's shin pad.


longball

Wells, in the three hole, extended his streak of at-bats without a home run to 134, the longest longball drought of his career.

2009 June 14, RICHARD GRIFFIN, “Janssen struggles as Marlins take another”, in Toronto Star:


man in motion

(American football) A single player on offense (always a backfielder) who is moving backwards or parallel to the line of scrimmage at the snap.

(Canadian football) Any player on offense (always a backfielder) who is moving backwards, forwards or parallel to the line of scrimmage at the snap.


soccerer

This means that a tennis player or soccerer has to be punished for a doping offence in exactly the same way as a track and field athlete, a canoeist or a skier.

2013, Helmut Digel, Sociological Aspects of Modern Sports, Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., chapter II.7, 161


handball player

en-noun

handball player (plural handball players)

A person who plays handball, especially professionally.


linkster

Syncopic form of linguister, probably modified after link (as a translator was the "link" between two communicating parties).

1885, R. Wright Hay, “West Africa” in The Missionary Herald, 1885-1886, 1 March, 1886, p. 104,
Upon it [the peninsula] are built four trading houses—two English, one German, and one Portuguese—which serve as depôts for the produce purchased and brought down from the interior by ‘linksters,’ or native middlemen.

“All this,” continued Massala, “shall be set down in writing, and you shall read it, and the English lingster shall tell it straight to us.”

1885, Henry Morton Stanley, chapter 8, in The Congo and the Founding of Its Free State, New York: Harper, page 136:

(obsolete, by extension) In West and Central Africa, a bi- or multilingual agent or broker facilitating trade between Europeans and non-Europeans.


spitballer

(baseball) A pitcher who moistens the ball with saliva before throwing it.


TP

TP (countable and uncountable, plural TPs)


pop fly

(baseball, slang) A pop-up; a fly ball to the infield or the shallow outfield.


tenniser

Among the tennisers was a young man who looked older than he probably was, every other time that your eye fell upon him, clad in white below and stripes above.

1913, Nathaniel Clark Fowler, The Knockers Club, page 103:


trap ball

An old game played with a levered wooden trap by means of which a small ball is launched into the air so as to be struck by a player with a bat. The aim is to hit the ball furthest, either in one or several turns.


Christmas tree formation

Christmas tree formation (plural Christmas tree formations)

An overhead diagram of the formation has a pointed shape, like a Christmas tree.

(soccer) A formation consisting of four defenders, three central midfielders, two attacking midfielders, and one striker.


knee-buckler

(baseball, slang) A curveball (or occasionally a knuckleball) that fools the hitter, causing his or her knees to buckle (i.e. bend).


touch 'em all

en-verb

touch 'em all (third-person singular simple present touches 'em all, present participle touching 'em all, simple past and past participle touched 'em all)

touches 'em all (present singular third-person)
touching 'em all (participle present)
touched 'em all (participle past)
touched 'em all (past)

(baseball, slang) To touch all four bases after hitting a home run, hence to hit a home run.


goalkicking

(rugby) The goalkicker's task of kicking for penalties and conversions.


EPL

(soccer) Initialism of English Premier League.


HIA

head injury assessment
head injury assessment#English

(rugby) Initialism of head injury assessment.


bad hop

(baseball) A ball that bounces in front of an infielder in an unexpected way, often as a result of imperfections in the field or the spin on the ball.


payoff pitch

(baseball, slang) A pitch thrown on a count of three balls and two strikes.


bonus baby

(baseball) A baseball player who is given a large bonus when joining a professional league for the first time.


Stimpmeter

Blend of Stimpson + meter; it was designed by golfer Edward S. Stimpson, Sr. in 1935.

(golf) A device that measures the speed of a golf course's putting green by applying a known force to a golf ball and measuring the distance travelled.


bogeyland

Even worse than the sand, though, was the grassy bank that comes down between the bunkers, where the rough was so thick it amounted to bogeyland.

2009 June 20, Charles Mcgrath, “Where Golf's Best Looked Their Worst”, in New York Times:

(golf, colloquial) Part of the terrain of a golf course, or (figurative) a situation, that leads to a player achieving no better than a bogey.


piling on

A fighting tactic wherein multiple people attack another.

(American football) An illegal strategy wherein players tackle an opposing player.


hidden-ball trick

en-noun

hidden-ball trick (plural hidden-ball tricks)

(baseball) A fielding play where the fielders deceive the baserunners as to the location of the ball, allowing one of the fielders to attempt to tag a runner out without the runner being aware of it.


turn two

en-verb

turn two (third-person singular simple present turns two, present participle turning two, simple past and past participle turned two)

turns two (present singular third-person)
turning two (participle present)
turned two (participle past)
turned two (past)

(idiomatic, baseball) To complete a double play.


nontender

nontender (third-person singular simple present nontenders, present participle nontendering, simple past and past participle nontendered)

nontenders (present singular third-person)
nontendering (participle present)
nontendered (participle past)
nontendered (past)

In Los Angeles, where Turner signed after being nontendered by the Mets in December 2013, he has evolved past a cliché.

2015 October 13, Seth Berkman, “Former Met Justin Turner Provides Offensive Lift for Dodgers”, in New York Times:

(transitive, baseball) To fail to tender a contract to (a player).


blindside flanker

en-noun

blindside flanker (plural blindside flankers)

The position of the blindside flanker depends on the proximity of a touch line, so if the scrum takes place close to the left-hand touch line, the blindside flanker will be closest to that touch line.

2015, Ann Waterhouse, Rugby Made Simple, Meyer & Meyer Verlag, →ISBN, page 23:

(rugby) a forward in rugby union, usually number 6, who binds to the scrum on the side closest to the side line.


in-goal

(rugby) a part of the playing area between each goal line and the corresponding dead ball line where players can score a try


chairmanager

Notoriously, Barry Fry spent nine years from 1996 to 2005 as chairmanager of Peterborough United, presiding over one promotion and two relegations.

2015 October 21, John Ashdown, “Football’s unbreakable records and the teams who can’t play each other”, in The Guardian:

(informal, soccer) A person who (temporarily) holds the position of both chairman and manager of a club


gegenpressing

From German, popularised by Ralf Rangnick (1958–), German football manager.

Not the kind of player you’d associate with the frenzied gegenpressing for which Jürgen Klopp’s name is a byword, the striker’s non-future with Liverpool is expected to be thrashed out by his agent Mino Raiola and Klopp in what the Rumour Mill imagines will be a fairly short conversation.

2015 October 26, Barry Glendenning, “Football transfer rumours: Pep Guardiola to manage Chelsea?”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A tactic in which a team, after losing possession of the ball, immediately attempts to win back possession, rather than falling back to regroup.


FG%

field goal percentage
field goal percentage#English

(basketball) Abbreviation of field goal percentage.


FT%

free throw percentage
free throw percentage#English

(basketball) Abbreviation of free throw percentage.


free throw percentage

free throw percentage (plural free throw percentages)

(basketball) A statistic computed by dividing a player or team's made free throws by the total number of free throws he or it attempted.


field goal percentage

field goal percentage (plural field goal percentages)

(basketball) A statistic computed by dividing a player or team's made field goals by the total number of field goals he or it attempted.


boardsman

The overall record for the team was also broken that night when the Royal boardsmen grabbed 71 bouncebacks.

1958, February 21, Pittston Gazette, page 6:

Willie Murrell, the fluid 6-6 frontliner, is the ’Cats No. 1 point producer with an 18.3 average. His 9.1 mark also tops the boardsmen.

1963, January 12, The Kansas City Times, page 23:

Michael Whitley of Ohlone led all boardsmen with 6 rebounds.

1984, February 9, Santa Cruz Sentinel, page 30:

(basketball) A basketball player who specialises in rebounds.


move the chains

en-verb

move the chains (third-person singular simple present moves the chains, present participle moving the chains, simple past and past participle moved the chains)

moves the chains (present singular third-person)
moving the chains (participle present)
moved the chains (participle past)
moved the chains (past)

(American football) To alter the position of the device, a chain holding two sticks ten yards apart, used to initially determine the position of the line crossing which yields a first down for the offense, which may be moved by penalties or by the offense gaining a first down.

(American football, by extension) To convert a play that would result in said chains being moved.


HWB

Hawaii Winter Baseball
w:Hawaii Winter Baseball

(baseball, historical) Initialism of Hawaii Winter Baseball.


salad bowl

(tennis) The silver bowl awarded to the winners of the Davis Cup.


footfault

footfault (third-person singular simple present footfaults, present participle footfaulting, simple past and past participle footfaulted)

footfaults (present singular third-person)
footfaulting (participle present)
footfaulted (participle past)
footfaulted (past)

(tennis, intransitive) To commit a foot fault.


technical area

It was a victory that clearly meant so much to Van Gaal as the normally impassive manager raced from his seat in the technical area to celebrate Lingard's winner.

2016 May 22, Phil McNulty, “Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United”, in BBC:

(soccer) A specified area by the pitch that the coach and technical staff should not leave during the game.


second division

en-noun

second division (plural second divisions)

Let me pause to explain “second division” to those for whom the term has little or no significance. For the first half of the twentieth century the classic, constant number of baseball teams in a league was eight. Not six, not ten, not twelve, not fourteen. Eight. […] Even if a club failed to win the pennant, it was important to finish second, third or fourth—that is, in the upper half or first division of the league. […] “First division” came to mean something admirable, “second division” was denigrating.

1991, Robert W. Creamer, Baseball and Other Matters in 1941, page 37:

(US, chiefly baseball, dated) The half of the standings containing the teams with the worst records.


first division

(US, chiefly baseball, dated) The half of the standings containing the teams with the best records.


triple option

(American football) A formation that allows the quarterback to pass the ball or to give the ball to the fullback or to one of two running backs.


dimeback

Blend of dime + cornerback. Modelled on quarterback: both the quarter (“25 cents”) and the dime (“10 cents”) are American coins, though quarterback was not named for the coin. Coined due to the dimeback being one additional defensive back more than the nickelback, since the 10-cent dime is more than the 5-cent nickel. See more at nickelback.

(American football) A sixth defensive back (in addition to two cornerbacks, two safeties and a nickelback) who is deployed for additional pass coverage.


nickelback

Blend of nickel + cornerback. Modelled on quarterback: both the quarter (“25 cents”) and the nickel (“5 cents”) are American coins, though quarterback was not named for the coin. Coined due to the nickelback's role as the fifth defensive back on the field, thus the connection to the 5-cent nickel.

(American football) A fifth defensive back (in addition to two cornerbacks and two safeties) who is deployed for additional pass coverage.


stretch four

From the concept of a "four" (or "4"), the standard numeric designation for the power forward in play diagrams, being able to "stretch" a defense by forcing it to guard the player beyond the three-point line.

(basketball) A power forward able to shoot three-pointers.


Power Five

(American football) The five college football conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) that traditionally contain the strongest programs, and whose champions are guaranteed berths in one of the six bowl games associated with the College Football Playoff.


super cup

(soccer) A competition featuring a single game between winners of different cups


passing shot

(tennis) A shot that passes the opponent because it is out of reach


farm league

The Yankees entered the farm league business in 1929 when they purchased Chambersburg in the Class D Blue Ridge League.

2005, Lance A. Berger, Management Wisdom From the New York Yankees' Dynasty, →ISBN:

Still, the Colonial League experiment was successful enough in its first season for the Federals to become interested in pursuing it as a farm league for its excess players.

2009, Robert Peyton Wiggins, The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, →ISBN, page 229:

Now, understand, you would probably go in the farm league before going up in the majors.

(baseball) One or more minor league teams owned by a baseball franchise and used as a training and testing ground for rookies, who, if they perform well, move on to play in the main major league team.


dying quail

(baseball, idiomatic) A pop fly which is hit weakly and falls in front of the outfielders.


special teamer

(American football) A member of a special team.


stickhandler

(ice hockey, field hockey, lacrosse) A player who is skilled in stickhandling.


smallball

There was no heroic ending — Toronto's Joey Votto coming up a triple shy of hitting for the cycle, and some brilliantly executed smallball saw to that — as the visitors claimed victory to avoid being swept in the three-game series.

2009 June 26, Mark Zwolinski, “Blue Jays rally gets wasted”, in Toronto Star:

(baseball) A style of play that scores a large number of runs, one base at a time.


upback

But long snapper Steve Schmidt hit upback Bryan Crawford with the snap and Jason Arakgi recovered for the Lions at the Argo eight.

2009 September 20, Chris Zelkovich, “Disastrous start too much for Argos”, in Toronto Star:

(American football) A blocking back who lines up approximately 1-3 yards behind the line of scrimmage in punting situations.


linksy

en-adj

linksy (comparative more linksy, superlative most linksy)

more linksy (comparative)
most linksy (superlative)

Ames agrees with the general early assessment of Turnberry, that it's not quite completely linksy, with some forced carries, particularly on the par-3s, and requires particularly straight driving because the rough is up (and usually wet) and 22 new bunkers have been added, many at go-or-no-go distances, to swallow up the timid or at least steer them the long way around.

2009 July 15, Dave Perkins, “Ames ready to break out”, in Toronto Star:

(golf) Characteristic of a links (golf course situated on dunes near the sea).


Selection Monday

en-noun

Selection Monday (plural Selection Mondays)

(US, basketball) The Monday in March on which the teams that participate in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament are selected.

NCAA basketball tournament selection process


cricketana

(cricket) Items relating to the game of cricket, especially collectibles.


lax bro

(slang) A stereotypical male lacrosse player.


one-timer

(soccer, ice hockey) A shot, made from a teammate's pass, which is not stopped before shooting.


neighborhood play

neighborhood play (plural neighborhood plays)

(baseball) A force play where a fielder does not touch second base while holding the ball.


donkey drop

(cricket) A pitch of the ball that aims to land it on the stumps from as great a height as possible, preferably with the ball descending behind the batsman standing at the crease.


swing through

en-verb

swing through (third-person singular simple present swings through, present participle swinging through, simple past and past participle swung through)

swings through (present singular third-person)
swinging through (participle present)
swung through (participle past)
swung through (past)

(baseball, idiomatic) To swing and miss at a pitch.


at 'em ball

Because such a ball is hit straight at 'em (at them).

If opposing hitters consistently hit balls at -Fielders, the fortunate pitcher is said, to be possessed of an "at 'em ball."

1996, Mike Whiteford, How to Talk Baseball, →ISBN, page 76:

(baseball, slang) A hard-hit batted ball hit straight at a fielder in the air for an out.


zooter

From zoot (“rush, scoot”) + -er (agent noun suffix).

suffix

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-zooter.wav

The leg-spinner had talked about new mystery balls, giving them names like shooters and zooters.

1994 December 25, The Canberra Times, Canberra, page 14, column 4:

(cricket) A type of ball bowled by a leg break bowler, which spins backwards and skids off the pitch with a low bounce.


Ger

(soccer) A person associated with Rangers F.C., as a player, fan, coach etc.


ghost goal

(ball games) An apparent goal in which it is not clear whether or not the ball crossed the goal line.


strike out the side

en-verb

strike out the side (third-person singular simple present strikes out the side, present participle striking out the side, simple past and past participle struck out the side)

strikes out the side (present singular third-person)
striking out the side (participle present)
struck out the side (participle past)
struck out the side (past)

(baseball) To record all three outs in an inning with a strikeout.


restart kick

(rugby) A drop kick of the ball by the non-scoring team toward the opposition, used to recommence play after a point has been scored.


truck and trailer

(rugby) The situation where the ball carrier leaves a maul and is followed by teammates.


soup bone

(slang, baseball) The arm that a player uses to pitch the ball.


hand wedge

(golf, slang, humorous) A golf player's hand, when used to cheat by surreptitiously moving the ball to a more advantageous position.


junkballing

(baseball, slang, rare, of a pitcher) That relies heavily on junkballs.


one-and-one

State begins fouling and UCLA misses a couple of front-end free throws on one-and-ones.

2009, Brandon Lang, Stanley Cohen, Beating the Odds: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of a Sports Handicapper, →ISBN:

Twice we got fouled and missed the front end of one-and-ones that could have pretty much cinched it for us.

2011, Clyde Drexler, Kerry Eggers, Jim Nantz, Clyde the Glide: My Life in Basketball, →ISBN, page 99:

UConn had chances to increase its lead, but Ryan Boatright and Terrence Samuel each missed the front ends of one-and-ones, giving Terp star Dez Wells two chances to give Maryland its first lead of the game in the final 13 seconds.

2015, David Borges, Rebound!: The Incredible Story of UConn Basketball's Comeback from Defeat to Dominance, →ISBN:

(basketball) A double foul shot, where the first shot must succeed in order to get the second shot.


run into one

run into one (third-person singular simple present runs into one, present participle running into one, simple past ran into one, past participle run into one)

runs into one (present singular third-person)
running into one (participle present)
ran into one (past)
run into one (participle past)


asdet

(soccer) Acronym of after sudden death extra time.


caught stealing

(baseball) Thrown out (i.e. put out) while attempting to steal a base.


slash bunt

(baseball, softball) A play by the team at-bat where the hitter assumes the position for a bunt and then changes grip and takes a swing at the ball.


safety squeeze

(baseball) A play by the team at-bat where with a runner at third base, the batter puts down a sacrifice bunt with the aim of allowing the runner to score. In contrast to a suicide squeeze, the runner waits to see the trajectory of the ball before deciding whether to attempt to touch home plate.


Tuffers

(slang) Phil Tufnell (born 1966), English cricketer and television personality.


invisible runner

en-noun

invisible runner (plural invisible runners)

(baseball) In informal baseball and stickball games, a baserunner who cannot steal a base but can, depending on the rules, advance on a wild pitch, and who usually travels at the rate of the current batter.


ghost runner

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-ghost runner.wav

invisible runner
invisible runner#English


foul trouble

(basketball) The situation of a player who has committed enough fouls to be almost at the point of fouling out and disqualification.


false nine

(soccer) An unconventional lone striker or centre forward who drops deep into midfield.


marngrook

Any of a number of traditional indigenous Australian pastimes involving kicking and catching a stuffed ball, played by large numbers of players across a wide area.


I Zingari

From dialectal Italian i (“the”) + zingari (“gypsies”), since the English club had no ground of its own.

"Well, and what do you think of it all, my boy?" he inquired, fanning himself with a wide-brimmed grey hat which had I Zingari colours round it […]

1938, Siegfried Sassoon, The Old Century and seven more years, London: Faber, page 175 (1968 edition):

(cricket) Amateur Australian and English cricket clubs.


lose the dressing room

en-verb

lose the dressing room (third-person singular simple present loses the dressing room, present participle losing the dressing room, simple past and past participle lost the dressing room)

loses the dressing room (present singular third-person)
losing the dressing room (participle present)
lost the dressing room (participle past)
lost the dressing room (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-lose the dressing room.wav

But it is very clear that (using football parlance) 'the management has lost the dressing room', following earlier misjudged decisions about reducing operating costs.

2023 May 31, 'Industry Insider', “DfT calls time on TPE”, in RAIL, number 984, page 68:

(soccer) Of a team manager: to lose the respect and trust of one's players.


newcomb

Named after Sophie Newcomb College, where it was invented.

A sport that is a variation of volleyball, but in which one may catch the ball.


not up

(tennis) Of the ball, having bounced twice. Usually called by the umpire in situations where it is unclear if the ball has bounced a second time to indicate to the players and spectators that the point is over.


sphairistic

en-adj

sphairistic (comparative more sphairistic, superlative most sphairistic)

more sphairistic (comparative)
most sphairistic (superlative)

If you are sphairistic, you are playing tennis.

2007, Barbara Ann Kipfer, Word Nerd: More Than 17,000 Fascinating Facts about Words, Sourcebooks - The Pennsylvania State University Press, page 483

Finally he turned to the huge volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary where he found that the word 'sphairistic', labelled 'rare', meant tennis playing.

1987, Denis Joseph Grogan, Enquiries and the Reference Process - Grogan's Case Studies in Reference Work, Clive Bingley - The Michigan University Press, page 21

Some rare words are learned formations, such as 'sphairistic' meaning 'lawn-tennis-playing'

1977, Dannie Abse, More Words, British Broadcasting Corporation Publications, page 59

I hope it will not be taken amiss if I say that, while we have no objection to people walking behind the bowler's arm when the bowler is Australian, we deprecate its sphairistic equivalent.

1975, Periodical Magazine Article Authors, The New Yorker - Volume 51 - Issues 20 to 27, F-R Publishing Corporation - The Indiana University Press, page 77

The World of June 14, 1882, was writing: 'Lawn-tennis has not to answer for many accidents, so that two in a week among the sphairistic ladies of Ireland seems alarming.' Croquet as a country-house pastime could not compete with the new …

1954, F.C. Westley, The Spectator - Volume 193, The Michigan University Press, page 88

When, exactly a century, Major Wall Clopton Wingfield issued the early rules on the sphairistic.

1973, Brown & Merry, Country Life, Volume 154, Country Life - Limited - The Michigan University Press, page 2024

(historical or rare) Of, like, or pertaining to tennis; tending to play tennis, especially lawn tennis, with crebrity.


INT

en-noun

INT (countable and uncountable, plural INTs)

His near-perfect stat line (25 of 30 passing, 235 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) could have improved if Jamal Agnew had not dropped a would-be touchdown on a deep crossing route late in the second quarter, but here’s a guess that Jacksonville won’t quibble about it.

2022 September 18, Derrik Klassen, “What We Learned From Week 2 of the N.F.L. Season”, in The New York Times:

(American football) Abbreviation of interception.


foot trip

(rugby) The act of causing someone to fall or stumble by tripping them with one's feet.


foot trip

en-verb

foot trip (third-person singular simple present foot trips, present participle foot tripping, simple past and past participle foot tripped)

foot trips (present singular third-person)
foot tripping (participle present)
foot tripped (participle past)
foot tripped (past)

(rugby) To cause someone to fall or stumble by tripping them with one's feet.

rapahuki

to cause someone to fall or stumble by tripping them with one's feet


overclub

overclub (third-person singular simple present overclubs, present participle overclubbing, simple past and past participle overclubbed)

overclubs (present singular third-person)
overclubbing (participle present)
overclubbed (participle past)
overclubbed (past)

(golf, transitive, intransitive) To take (a shot) with a golf club that provides too much distance.


underclub

underclub (third-person singular simple present underclubs, present participle underclubbing, simple past and past participle underclubbed)

underclubs (present singular third-person)
underclubbing (participle present)
underclubbed (participle past)
underclubbed (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underclub.wav

(golf, transitive, intransitive) To take (a shot) with a golf club that provides too little distance.


power alley

At Oakland Coliseum, it's 388 feet from home plate to the power alley.

(baseball) The areas of deep right-center and deep left-center field where home runs are most likely to be hit.


Ticats

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, a team in the Canadian Football League.


break back

break back (third-person singular simple present breaks back, present participle breaking back, simple past broke back, past participle broken back)

breaks back (present singular third-person)
breaking back (participle present)
broke back (past)
broken back (participle past)

(tennis, of a receiver) To win a game having lost a service game, or during a tiebreak, to win a point against the serve having lost a point while serving.


prawn sandwich brigade

Coined in the press in reference to a comment by Manchester United captain Roy Keane in 2000: "Away from home our fans are fantastic, I'd call them the hardcore fans. But at home they have a few drinks and probably the prawn sandwiches, and they don't realise what's going on out on the pitch."

association football
association football

(UK, derogatory) People who attend association football matches (or other sporting events) primarily to enjoy luxury boxes and corporate hospitality, rather than to support a team.


Sky Blues

(soccer) Sydney FC (a soccer club from Sydney, Australia)


Tillies

(soccer) the Matildas (the Australia women's national soccer team)


twi-night

(baseball) Of a doubleheader: occurring between the hours of twilight and night.


gangsome

After he retired, he played five days a week with his "gangsome."

2008, J. Mark Fox, Real Life Moments: A Dad's Devotional:

Our wagering gangsomes roamed the course for around twelve years.

2014, Dan Jenkins, His Ownself: A Semi-Memoir:

(golf) A large organised pool of golfers made up of multiple smaller groups or foursomes; a group of golfers larger than a fivesome playing together


squash shot

Trying to get the ball in play, she ducked and hit an awkward squash shot.

2011, Yolanda Wallace, Lucky Loser, →ISBN:

Roger ran back and, instead of hoisting a defensive lob, went for a reverse between-the-legs squash shot, which didn't come off.

2013, Paul McNamee, Game Changer: My Tennis Life, →ISBN, page 289:

That was the last squash shot I trained with her.

2014, Syed Raza Haider, A Tulip In The Desert, →ISBN, page 231:

(tennis) A forehand shot with the arm at full extension, typically made as a desperation shot to slice the ball back into the court.


stodger

(cricket, slang) A batter who defends and scores slowly but reliably.


behind center

(American football) At the quarterback position.


throw BBs

throw BBs (third-person singular simple present throws BBs, present participle throwing BBs, simple past and past participle threw BBs)

throws BBs (present singular third-person)
throwing BBs (participle present)
threw BBs (participle past)
threw BBs (past)

* Blend of throw + BBs; an allusion to the pitches being thrown so hard that they look like, or are as hard to hit as, a BB pellet.

But when I get up at the plate, he's throwing BBs at me. He strikes me out twice.

2003, Mickey McDermott, Howard Eisenberg, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Cooperstown:

(baseball) To pitch exceedingly well, especially with high velocity pitches.


Hairgate

From Hair + -gate, after umpire Darrell Hair, who made the ruling.

(informal, cricket) A 2006 controversy around allegations of ball tampering in the Test match between England and Pakistan.


Toffee

In reference to two toffee shops that were located in Everton village at the time the club was founded.

(informal, UK, soccer) A fan or member of Everton F.C..


rugby boot

His rugby boots were caked in mud after the game.

A shoe with rounded studs, used to play sports on soft ground.


putt-putt

Shortened form of Putt-Putt Golf, from the American company and recreational facility named Putt-Putt Fun Center.

(golf) An informal form of golf, played with a putter on a short course featuring novelty obstacles.


Lombardi

Lombardi. ¶ Walsh. ¶ Shanahan. ¶ Steve from West Valley? ¶ The world is about to find out whether regular fans can take their place alongside the greatest offensive minds in the annals of professional football.

2017 February 14, Jason Chilton, “Salt Lake Screaming Eagles prepare to test their fan-run franchise model in debut game”, in Sports Illustrated:

If coming second is coming nowhere, as all sports-people tend to to be taught (remember the words of Mr Lombardi), then this is most true in those individual sports where careers tend to be brief, and opportunities to win fewest.

1998 June 4, “Superhuman heroes”, in The Economist:

National Football League
National Football League

(American football) used specifically of Vince Lombardi (1913–1970), best known as the head coach of the National Football League's Green Bay Packers.

Looking specifically at the Patriots, […]. They've never had to win three playoff games to play for the Lombardi, showcasing the importance of home-field advantage.

2019 February 3, Corbin Smith, “3 Ways Seahawks Can Reach Super Bowl LIV”, in Sports Illustrated:

The Dolphins are the organization of 17-0. Of Don Shula. Of Dan Marino. It's a franchise with two Lombardi trophies and one that made 21 postseason appearances between 1970 and 2001.

2015 October 6, DJ Gallo, “How the Dolphins went from marquee name to the NFL's sunniest garbage heap”, in The Guardian:

(American football) A trophy awarded each year to the winning team of the National Football League's championship game, named in honor of Vince Lombardi.


DPH

en-noun

DPH (countable and uncountable, plural DPHs)

(baseball) Initialism of designated pinch hitter.


guttie

(golf, informal) A golf ball made from gutta-percha.


blitzer

The Bills disguised their coverage to make the Jets think they were sending a blitzer from Brandon Marshall’s side of the field.

2015 November 13, Ben Shpigel, “For Once, Rex Ryan Enjoys a Jets Fiasco”, in New York Times:

(American football) One engaging in a blitz.


chip and gather

I made sure I hit the ground running, scoring 18 points in the first game against Cordoba, including a chip and gather try which I was especially pleased with.

2013, Mike Catt, Landing on My Feet, →ISBN:

His second was sheer class - a perfectly-executed chip and gather - to give the visitors the all-important first score of the second half.

2014 July 10, Tony Smith, “Stormin' Norman Berryman slays the Sharks”, in The Press (Christchurch, New Zealand):

After his chip and gather Freddie Burns was off from out of his 22 and his cross-kick set up the position for Ed Slater to squeeze in at the corner.

2016 September 10, Michael Aylwin, “Wasps' Jimmy Gopperth seals victory to deny Leicester comeback”, in The Guardian:

(rugby) A maneuver in which a player gains ground by kicking the ball high and forward, runs forward, and catches the ball as it drops back down.


call someone's number

en-verb

call someone's number (third-person singular simple present calls someone's number, present participle calling someone's number, simple past and past participle called someone's number)

calls someone's number (present singular third-person)
calling someone's number (participle present)
called someone's number (participle past)
called someone's number (past)

So on the first play, I asked the quarterback to call my number on an end sweep.

2002, Rich Wolfe, Kurt Warner: And the Last Shall Be First, →ISBN, page 229:

Billy was shocked; he didn't get that call once during spring practice, and now, in the spring game, they want to call his number on the first play.

2011, W. S. Gaines, Blood on a Pew: Overcoming Tragedy Through the Truth of Eternity, →ISBN:

Now he told me that when the coach had diagrammed plays, he would move to the back of the huddle, in the hope that the coach wouldn't call his number.

2015, Mark O'Connell, The Good Father: On Men, Masculinity, and Life in the Family, →ISBN, page 73:

(American football) To be assigned to carry the ball at the start of a play.


Kolpak

From Maroš Kolpak. A 2003 decision of the European Court of Justice which ruled that nationals of a country who have signed an association agreement with the EU have the same right of freedom to work as EU nationals.

(UK, cricket, rugby) A player from an overseas country, such as South Africa or the Caribbean.


go long

go long (third-person singular simple present goes long, present participle going long, simple past went long, past participle gone long)

goes long (present singular third-person)
going long (participle present)
went long (past)
gone long (participle past)

He yelled to Steve "Go long!" just as the ball was snapped.

He went only 1 for 3 in the first game of the doubleheader, but he found the fence with that hit for his fifth round tripper and was 2 for 5 in game 2 and, once again, went long for home run number 6, a two-run shot, and the Red Sox were able to pull out both the wins at 8-5 and 13-9 over the Tigers.

2011, Michael Francis Mann, Baseball's Rare Triple Crown, page 164:

(sports) To run far from the person throwing a ball in order to receive a long pass; (especially American football, Canadian football) to run down the field away from the quarterback to receive a long or Hail Mary pass.


super over

(cricket) An over, typically involving a chosen subset of a team, used in some game formats, if a match would otherwise end in a tie


send in

send in (third-person singular simple present sends in, present participle sending in, simple past and past participle sent in)

sends in (present singular third-person)
sending in (participle present)
sent in (participle past)
sent in (past)

To send (someone) into the thick of things, as:

(cricket) To send (a batsman) onto the field to bat.


Rules

Australian rules football
Australian rules football


Shaheens

(cricket) The Pakistan national cricket team.


Hearts

(soccer) Heart of Midlothian F.C., a football club from Edinburgh.


dead fish

en-noun

dead fish (plural dead fish or dead fishes)

(baseball, slang) A hit that travels a limited distance and then falls straight to the ground.


put-in

The abovementioned scenario is illegal, and the referee would order a scrum at the place of the original penalty, with the put in to the black team.

2005 June 30, Designated Members of the Rugby Committee, Clarification 3 2005, World Rugby

The whole point of the laws as drawn is to make the scrum a contest whereby the put-in side has the advantage of timing the feed and having its hooker closer to the ball.

2013 September 30, Brian Moore, “Crooked put-ins make scrums a test of brute strength”, in The Daily Telegraph:

(rugby) restarting play by rolling or throwing the ball into the scrum; the right to do this


volleybelle

Now a part of the decorated DLSU Lady Spikers, this petite lass already showed glimpses of her skills as she, together with veteran volleybelle Charleen Cruz bagged home second honor merits in the recently concluded UAAP Beach Volleyball tournament...

2010, Green Gallery: Lady Spiker Amanda Villanueva:

(Philippines, sports journalism) A female volleyball player.


El Clásico

Borrowed from Spanish el Clásico (literally “the Classic one”). See more at classic and classical.

bor

Yesterday's El Clásico went to the history as the first where one ever played outside Spain.

The next El Clásico wil be the first in a long time with neither Messi or Ronaldo playing.

Having secured his place in the spotlight, when Barcelona visited the Bernabéu to contest one of the most hotly anticipated El Clásicos in history, the pressure was on for the star man to shine.

2014, Geoff Hurst, Geoff Hurst's 50 Greatest Footballers of All Time, London: Icon Books, →ISBN, page 209:

Other than the UEFA Champions League Final, El Clásicos are the most-watched soccer matches in the world.

2016, Ryan Nagelhout, 20 Fun Facts About Soccer, New York: Gareth Stevens, →ISBN, page 25:

Lionel Messi and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo (who plays forward for Real Madrid, FC Barcelona's main Spanish league rival) have long fought for the title of best soccer player in the public's eye. Here, the rival players are shown in an El Clásico match in Barcelona on October 26, 2013.

2016, Karen Burshtein, Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer, New York: Britannica Educational Publishing, →ISBN, page 27:

(soccer) Any match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the two leading teams in Spain.

اَلْكْلَاسِيكُو

any match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid


Bok

* As a Dutch surname, from bok (“goat, buck”)
* As a Swedish surname, from bok (“beech”)
* As a Jewish/German surname, from Bock (“buck, goat”), related to the Dutch word.

Between minutes 30 and 33 England laid siege to the Bok tryline but could not get through.

2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times:


Fed Cup

Short for Federation Cup, the name by which it was known until 1995.

(sports) The premier international team competition in women's tennis.


checkdown

(American football) A short pass to a running back or tight end made due to the primary receivers being covered.


roverback

Many of the gifts that made [Brad Van Pelt] a football star at defensive roverback— speed and instinct, for example— did little to serve him as a fire-balling pitcher.

2009, Bob Boyles, Paul Guido, editors, The USA Today College Football Encyclopedia, 2009 edition, page 294:

(American football) A defensive back position whose coverage responsibilities are a hybrid of those of a cornerback, safety and linebacker.


LAC

Los Angeles Clippers
w:Los Angeles Clippers

(Canada, US, basketball) Initialism of Los Angeles Clippers.


curveballer

(baseball) A player who throws curveballs.


turnover on downs

en-noun

turnover on downs (plural turnovers on downs)

(American football) A situation where a team's offense loses possession of the ball due to failure to convert a touchdown, field goal or first down on their four opportunities. This is in contrast to a turnover by interception or fumble.


nuffy

They didn't doubt my passion for the game - I was a cricket nuffy - but I needed to hear those words.

2013, Darren Lehmann, “I was a cricket 'nuffy' as are our youngsters, but they are willing to learn as well as entertain”, in Herald Sun:

In the South Australia squad Christian is known as a cricket nuffy, someone who loves talking about the game and playing it.

2010, Peter English, The man from Narrandera, ESPN Cricinfo:

Bailey hails ‘cricket nuffy’ Boof's history tests for keeping team learning, Zee News
Australian Test `debutant` George Bailey has hailed coach and `cricket nuffy` Darren Lehmann`s random history Tests for keeping the Australian team grounded and constantly learning.

(Australia, slang, cricket) Someone who an obsessive fan of a sport, particularly of cricket.


nutmegger

[…] Archie Thompson, our five goal Grand Final hero, back from dancing the nutmegger suite three days earlier.

2008, Andrew O'Keefe, Steve Vizard, The Best Australian Humorous Writing, page 216:

This makes the victim look so foolish that a foul inevitably follows, as the nutmegger is promptly clogged.

2012, Stephen Wade, Passion for the Park: A Leeds Education:


personal protector

personal protector (plural personal protectors)

(American football) The upback on the punting team.


stump out

en-verb

stump out (third-person singular simple present stumps out, present participle stumping out, simple past and past participle stumped out)

stumps out (present singular third-person)
stumping out (participle present)
stumped out (participle past)
stumped out (past)

(cricket, transitive) To put (a player) out by knocking down the stump or wicket.


SANFL

w:South Australian National Football League

(Australian rules football) Initialism of South Australian National Football League.


AFLW

(Australian rules football) Initialism of AFL Women's.


T formation

(American football) An offensive formation in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterback, forming a shape like the letter T.


Champions tiebreak

en-noun

Champions tiebreak (plural Champions tiebreaks)

(tennis) An extension of a tiebreak (sometimes played instead of a deciding set) in which the winner is the first player to reach ten points and lead by a margin of two


LAL

(Canada, US, basketball) Abbreviation of Los Angeles Lakers of Los Angeles, California, USA, in the National Basketball Association (NBA)


Dirty Dozen

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Dirty Dozen.wav

(American football) The twelve rookies who made the Dallas Cowboys team in 1975.

(basketball) The United States' men's basketball team (which consists of twelve players) at the 1998 FIBA World Championship.


eighthman

From eighth + man, from the fact that this position is the rearmost of the eight forward positions.

Border's captain Basil Kenyon, at eighthman, again impressed with his intelligent positional play, and general leadership - as he had done in the shock win earlier in the tour.

1974, Frederick Willem Jacobus Labuschagne, Good-bye Newlands, farewell Eden Park, page 94:

Table VI I A, which is read horizontally, shows that concussion and ligament injuries are commonest among eighthmen and fullbacks; that muscle injuries and fractures are fairly evenly distributed across all playing positions; that internal injuries are most frequent among scrum-halves, but are also common in fly-halves and full-backs; and that bone bruises are most frequent among fly-halves, centres and wings, whereas dislocations are commonest among hookers and prop-forwards.

1987, South African Medical Journal - Volume 71, page 311:

Du Plessis was shifted from eighthman to flank for the second test and then was dropped altogether, although he fared better than most.

2003, Andy Colquhoun, Paul Dobson, The Chosen: The 50 Greatest Springboks of All Time, page 136:

The ball moved to the eighthman; he waited for it to come out. SOTS scrum-half Jood pounced and began his pass, but swift as he was, Thorn Thompson was swifter. Shouldering his own leaden-footed scrum-half aside, Thorn dived atop quicksilver Jood with a bone crunching tackle. Thorn's heart pounded in his breast, he'd finally bested his hated boyhood rival. Then the whistle went. Thorn stared stupidly at the ball, still at the eighthman's feet.

2004, Pat Stevens, Politics Is the Greatest Game: A Johannesburg Liberal Lampoon, →ISBN:

(South Africa, rugby) The position of one of the forwards at the rear of a scrum formation who controls the ball at the back of the scrum and links to the back line; number eight.


SLG

slugging percentage
slugging percentage#English

(baseball) Abbreviation of slugging percentage.


SLG

en-verb

SLG (third-person singular simple present SLGs, present participle SLGing, simple past and past participle SLGed)

SLGs (present singular third-person)
SLGing (participle present)
SLGed (participle past)
SLGed (past)

(transitive, baseball) To have a certain slugging percentage.


outfielding

Statistically, outfielding is tougher to judge than infielding. Some outfielders have gone entire seasons without committing errors but haven't been particularly useful.

1987, Jim Kaplan, Playing the Field, page 123:

The role of a baseball player in the outfield.


wristspinner

(cricket) Alternative form of wrist spinner


third-guarder

From third + guarder. Used at Stonyhurst College in the United Kingdom.


second-guarder

From second + guarder. Used at Stonyhurst College in the United Kingdom.


open the batting

open the batting (third-person singular simple present opens the batting, present participle opening the batting, simple past and past participle opened the batting)

opens the batting (present singular third-person)
opening the batting (participle present)
opened the batting (participle past)
opened the batting (past)

(cricket) To be one of a pair of cricketers (batsmen) that start a side's innings, who are also known as the opening pair or openers.


rush defence

He [Finn Russell] fashioned the first try after 15 minutes, moments after Owen Farrell had equalised Greig Laidlaw’s opening penalty, with a chip in behind the rush defence.

2018 February 24, Paul Rees, “Finn Russell masterminds historic Scotland victory over England”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2018-04-22:


Calcutta Cup

The match was only a few minutes old when the second-row Jonny Gray squared up to [Dylan] Hartley and invited Courtney Lawes to join in. The message was clear: a side that had not won the Calcutta Cup for 10 years were going to fight for everything.

(rugby) A trophy won by the winner of the match between England and Scotland in the Six Nations competition.


go to bat

go to bat (third-person singular simple present goes to bat, present participle going to bat, simple past went to bat, past participle gone to bat)

goes to bat (present singular third-person)
going to bat (participle present)
went to bat (past)
gone to bat (participle past)

Turner hit to short right and took his first, and then his second by a wild throw of Winslow, but was trapped between second and third and put out by Stearns. Detroit thus retired without recording a tally, and the University again went to bat.

1875 June, University of Michigan, “Various Topics”, in The Chronicle, page 201:

Robinson went to bat for the last time that day in the eighth inning, singling for his fourth straight hit.

1968 December, A.S. Young, “Jackie Opens the Door — Wide!”, in Ebony, page 136:

(baseball) To be the individual or team that is currently batting; play offense.


game ball

(squash) The state of play when the server can win the game by scoring one more point.


call an audible

call an audible (third-person singular simple present calls an audible, present participle calling an audible, simple past and past participle called an audible)

calls an audible (present singular third-person)
calling an audible (participle present)
called an audible (participle past)
called an audible (past)

(American football) To change the play at the line of scrimmage by yelling out a new one.


hero ball

(basketball, derogatory) A style of play where a single player tries to be the team's hero by taking and missing many low percentage shots.


off-side rule

The computer-programming sense was coined by British computer scientist Peter Landin in 1966 and named after the rule in football.

coin

For the time the Etonians had their way, and it was not until 1867 that the Association adopted its present off-side rule, which provides that no man can be ' off-side ' unless there are less than three players of the opposite side in front of him when the ball is passed.

1889, Badminton Library of Sports and Pastimes - Volume 20, page 277:

To the unintelligent or careless, the great stumbling-block is Law 6, known as the off-side rule. It is of itself a reflection on the bulk of young players that this particular provision is so little understood, or rather so misunderstood. The rule provides that when a player kicks the ball, or throws it in from touch, any one of the same side who at such moment of playing or throwing is nearer to the opponents' goal-line, is out of play, and may neither touch the ball himself, nor in any way whatever prevent other players from doing so, until the ball as been played, unless there are at such moment of kicking or throwing, at least three of his opponents nearer their own goal-line.

1897, Hoffmann, Every Boy's Book of Sport and Pastime, page 429:

The off-side rule in football states that no player may be closer to his opponents' goal than his last two opponents (usually a defender and the goalkeeper) and the ball at the time the ball is kicked forwards towards him.

2010, Will Rollason, We Are Playing Football, →ISBN:

(soccer) The prohibition of teammates closer to the opponents' goal than the person kicking or throwing the ball unless there are three opponents at least as close to their goal line.


Eurostep

They have seen it enough that they have come to understand that the Eurostep is a pretty good way to get around a defender, used so routinely that Harden's teammate Clint Capela, a center that rarely goes one-on-one, has employed it, though in his case, it should probably just be called a "Step."

2018 April 17, “Why James Harden isn't traveling on his step-back 3-pointers”, in Houston Chronicle:

(basketball) A basketball move in which an offensive player picks up their dribble, takes a step in one direction, and then quickly takes a second step in another direction.


outmark

en-verb

outmark (third-person singular simple present outmarks, present participle outmarking, simple past and past participle outmarked)

outmarks (present singular third-person)
outmarking (participle present)
outmarked (participle past)
outmarked (past)

(transitive, Australian rules football) To surpass in marking.


Juve

(informal, soccer) Juventus Football Club, a football team from Turin, Italy


Young Lions

(soccer) The members of an England national football youth team, such as the under-21, under-20, under-17 etc.


TPR

en-noun

TPR (countable and uncountable, plural TPRs)

total player rating
total player rating#English

(baseball) Initialism of total player rating.


AVG

(baseball) Abbreviation of batting average.


shakehand

(sports) A form of grip in table tennis in which the hand is in a position similar to that when shaking hands


bingo bango bongo

Bingo bango bongo is a game whereby a point is awarded on each hole for each element of the bingo bango bongo.

2015, Roderick Easdale, “http://www.golf-monthly.co.uk/features/the-game/what-is-bingo-bango-bongo-67061”, in Golf Monthly.:

A golf game, in which each round of play consists of points being awarded to the first player to land their ball on the green, the player whose ball is closest to the hole (after all of the balls are on the green), and the first player to hit their ball into the hole.


teebox

(golf) The area where play begins for a hole of golf.


butcher boy

One of his [Casey Stengel's] more practical creations? The butcher boy, in which a batter would draw the infield in by squaring up to bunt ... only to quickly pull it back and take a short, downward swing at the ball.

2016 June 14, “The origin stories behind 11 uniquely strange baseball terms”, in MLB.com, retrieved 2018-06-26:

(US, baseball) Batting at a pitch with a short swing from a bunt position; a slash bunt, a slug bunt.


second yellow card

second yellow card (plural second yellow cards)

Another fortuitous event - the suspension of Garre after receiving a second yellow card - removed a classic left back from the scene and permitted the entry of Julio Jorge Olarticoechea, a prototypical defender with the ability to play as a midfielder and even an attacker.

1996, Andrés Cantor, Daniel Arcucci, Goooal!: A Celebration of Soccer:

He will miss the Joburg game after collecting a stupid second yellow card. Just what was he thinking, deliberately handling the ball in the opponent's half?

2005, Drum: A Magazine of Africa for Africa, page 106:

If McCall had been incensed about Varga escaping a second yellow card in the first half, he was much quieter when Billy Dodds got involved in an off-the-ball incident with Henrik Larsson early in the second half.

2012, Krys Kujawa, From Seville To Sevilla, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 130:

Some managers may instruct players to ‘earn’ a second yellow card and miss a relatively unimportant group game rather than risk missing important semi-finals or finals.

2021, Deepak Dhayanithy, Strategy Huddle: Management Lessons from Sports, SAGE Publishing India, →ISBN:

(soccer) The dismissal from the game of a player who has already been booked and would receive another yellow card, indicated by the referee by showing the player the yellow immediately followed by the red card, distinct from and less grave than a straight red card.


nothing but net

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-nothing but net.wav

(basketball) The situation where the ball passes through the net without striking either the rim or the backboard, reflecting an especially good shot.


double off

en-verb

double off (third-person singular simple present doubles off, present participle doubling off, simple past and past participle doubled off)

doubles off (present singular third-person)
doubling off (participle present)
doubled off (participle past)
doubled off (past)

The fielder doubled the runner off for the second out.

(baseball, transitive) After a fly ball is caught, to tag the base (a runner) was on at the time of the pitch, thereby causing them to be out for failure to tag up.


Three Lions

A reference to the crest or badge of the team, which depicts three lions.

The Three Lions are in the last four for only the third time. They went on to win their home tournament in 1966 but lost to West Germany on penalties in 1990.

2018 July 7, Phil McNulty, “Sweden 0-2 England”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) The England national football team.


ungolfed

the original, ungolfed code

(programming) Not having been written in short form according to the challenge of code golf.


video assistant referee

en-noun

video assistant referee (plural video assistant referees)

(soccer) A football assistant referee who reviews decisions made by the head referee with the use of video footage and a headset for communication, officially introduced in 2018.


wicket taker

(cricket) A person who takes a wicket in the game of cricket


puntless

en-adj

puntless (comparative more puntless, superlative most puntless)

more puntless (comparative)
most puntless (superlative)

That was the first puntless game in NFL playoff history.


stacks on the mill

From the cry of each boy entering the dogpile, sometimes expanded to stack on the mill, more on still, apparently a variant of the earlier British games more sacks to the mill and stack-upon-the-kill.

(Australia) Synonym of dogpile, especially in Australian football.


rim out

en-verb

rim out (third-person singular simple present rims out, present participle rimming out, simple past and past participle rimmed out)

rims out (present singular third-person)
rimming out (participle present)
rimmed out (participle past)
rimmed out (past)

(transitive, basketball) To miss a basket by bouncing the ball off of around the rim.


all-courter

(tennis) A player who can play as a baseliner or serve-and-volleyer


doubles net

(tennis) A net used for playing doubles, longer than a singles net


forced error

(sports, especially tennis) An error caused by an opponent's good play


Canadian doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, with some modified rules


wood shot

(tennis) A shot hit off the frame of the racket


American doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, and rotating who playes singles each game


time violation

(tennis) The breaking of a rule where a player takes too long to get ready between a point


Australian doubles

(tennis) A game of tennis with three people, pitching a singles player against a doubles pairing, and rotating who plays singles each game


point penalty

(tennis) The awarding of a point for a player's opponent, as a result of infringement of the rules, e.g. foul language or time violation


singles net

(tennis) A net used for playing singles, shorter than a doubles net


serve-and-volleyer

(tennis) A player who plays in a serve and volley style


double break point

en-noun

double break point (countable and uncountable, plural double break points)

(tennis) A situation in which the receiver has two break points (15-40 using the tennis scoring system)


singles stick

(tennis) A stick used to support a doubles net so that it meets the requirements of a singles net


chair umpire

(tennis) The official who sits in the umpire chair, who is the main authority during a match


smack out

en-verb

smack out (third-person singular simple present smacks out, present participle smacking out, simple past and past participle smacked out)

smacks out (present singular third-person)
smacking out (participle present)
smacked out (participle past)
smacked out (past)

He smacked out a triple.

(transitive, baseball, by extension) To hit a ball very hard.


bank shot

(basketball) A shot in which the basketball glances off the backboard before reaching the basket.


Shinboner

Its origin is unclear. It may stem from abattoir workers or butchers supporting the club, or the players targeting opposition players' shinbones.

(Australian rules football) Someone connected with the North Melbourne Football Club.


premiership quarter

en-noun

premiership quarter (plural premiership quarters)

Based on a belief that the third quarter is the most important quarter to win in a match to increase a team's chances of winning the game and, later, the premiership.

2018 Jackson Russell, Romsey wins third straight The North Central Review, 25 July 2018. Accessed 7 August 2018.
"Romsey was able to extend its lead in the premiership quarter, kicking another five goals to three to take a 17-point lead into the final break."

(Australian rules football) The third quarter of a match.


red time

(Australian rules football, colloquial) slang for time on.


time on

(Australian rules football) The period of time added on at the end of each quarter to compensate for time being stopped during regular time.


Joe the Goose

tlb

(Australian rules football, sometimes derogatory, often attributive)


don't argue

en-verb

don't argue (third-person singular simple present don't argues, present participle don't arguing, simple past and past participle don't argued)

don't argues (present singular third-person)
don't arguing (participle present)
don't argued (participle past)
don't argued (past)

From the idea that pushing an opponent away with the arm is an order not to argue.

2017 Justin Talent, "THE MOMENT PORT SKIPPER KNEW THEY HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL" 1116 SEN, 26 June 2017. Accessed 23 August 2018.
"“I think in his first session he don’t argued Ollie (Wines) and put him on his arse and probably two weeks later he did the same thing to Hamish (Hartlett), so we knew this kid was going to be pretty special."

(Australian rules football) To fend off an opponent by holding an arm out straight and pushing in their chest.


don't argue

2017 September 30, Angus Reid, “How many 'don't argues' will Dustin Martin pull off in the AFL grand final?”, in Sporting News, retrieved 2018-08-23:

(Australian rules football) An instance of fending off an opponent by holding an arm out straight and pushing in their chest.


bore draw

From the notion that a scoreless draw is boring to watch.

"ROB GREEN was the hero as his penalty save allowed returning Eden Hazard to settle this bore draw in a shootout."

2018 August 7, Tom Barclay, “KANTE BELIEVE IT Chelsea 0 Lyon 0 (5-4 pens): Eden Hazard and N’Golo Kante return as Rob Green makes Blues debut in goal”, in The Sun:

(soccer) A draw in which neither team scores, i.e. the game ends 0–0.

(soccer, rarely) A draw in which both teams score but it is considered a boring game to watch.


score draw

"The former Liverpool captain, renowned for his reputation in the past as a no-nonsense midfield-enforcer, put Thierry Henry firmly in his place on Sunday afternoon after Arsenal's score draw with Tottenham."

2015 November 9, Callum Davis, “Graeme Souness shouting at Thierry Henry is frightening and awkward”, in The Telegraph:

(soccer) A draw in which both teams score, i.e. the game ends 1–1, 2–2, 3–3, etc.


outswinging

en-adj

outswinging (comparative more outswinging, superlative most outswinging)

more outswinging (comparative)
most outswinging (superlative)

(soccer) Moving so as to curve away from the goal or centre


switch codes

en-verb

switch codes (third-person singular simple present switches codes, present participle switching codes, simple past and past participle switched codes)

switches codes (present singular third-person)
switching codes (participle present)
switched codes (participle past)
switched codes (past)

(rugby) To change from playing rugby league to rugby union or vice versa


setup man

(baseball) A (male) relief pitcher who appears in the inning prior to the closer, typically the 8th inning.


line to gain

(American football) The points on the football field needed to pass to convert a first down.


best and fairest

en-noun

best and fairest (plural best and fairests)

(Australia, sports, rugby, Australian rules football) an award given to a player deemed to have been the best performer in a game or over a season


Pagan's Paddock

Pagan's Paddock (plural Pagan's Paddocks)

In reference to Denis Pagan, the coach who popularised the tactic in the 1990s.

While on the subject, does anyone think that the days of Pagan's Paddock are numbered? Over the weekend, a number of clubs used this tactic, but it seems to me, at least, that if the defence can't break past the centre, the ball just goes back into the attacking 50, and eventually a score will happen.

2002 17 July, Epigram (username), Connolly's Carousel, in aus.sport.aussie-rules, Usenet

(usually Australian rules football) A sporting tactic in which a large amount of space is deliberately left open in the attacking area of the ground, into which players can run.

Given a veritable Pagan's Paddock by the Cats to work in on Friday night, Danger booted two goals in the first seven minutes to send Geelong fans into orbit.

2017 September 18, Andrew McGarry, “AFL finals week two: The heroes and villains from the elimination semi-finals”, in ABC News, archived from the original on 2018-10-02:

(usually Australian rules football) A large amount of space on a sportsground, often created by this tactic.


runstand

(cricket) The number of runs scored by two batters in a partnership


Nations League

(soccer) A biennial European football tournament pitting similarly-ranked teams against each other, serving as qualification for the European Championship


Phillie

(baseball) A player that plays for the Philadelphia Phillies


charging the mound

(baseball) The act of a batter running towards the pitcher's mound with the intent of physically assaulting the pitcher for a perceived grievance.


Dilscoop

From the surname of Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan, and scoop.

(cricket) A kind of batting stroke, aiming to go on one knee to a good length or slightly short of length delivery off a fast- or medium-paced bowler and 'scoop' the ball over the head of the wicketkeeper, straight towards the boundary.


run game

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-run game.wav

Tristan Wirfs should help. His diverse athletic background — his past in wrestling, in particular — informed his approach to playing offensive tackle. An absolute mauler in the run game and a reliable pass-blocker, Wirfs played mostly right tackle at Iowa and ceded only 40 quarterback pressures on 1,138 pass-blocking snaps at Iowa, according to Pro Football Focus.

2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Time:

(American football) The running component of a team's offense, as distinct from passing and kicking.


live-ball era

(baseball) The period after about 1919, following the dead-ball era.


dead-ball era

(baseball) The period between around 1900 and 1919, characterized by low scoring games with few home runs.


winged T

(American football) A formation with two halfbacks, where one lines up just behind the line of scrimmage between the split end and the offensive tackle, and the other lines up behind the quarterback and next to the fullback.


crossback

* cross + back
* (Catholic person): Alluding to Catholic priests wearing crosses on the backs of their vestments in church services.

Ruddey made two on a crossback and Reddey was forced along for one., after which Hachah decided to punt, which he did forthwith, the ball alighting in Hart 's arms.

1906, The Lafayette Weekly - Volume 33, page 33:

On the kick-off, Cochran ran the ball back to the thirty-eight-yard line. It took only seventeen plays, most of them off tackle plunges, before Houlahan slid over the line on a crossback for the touchdown.

1919, Columbia Alumni News - Volume 9, page 119:

Go over several movements that the running backs and quarterback can make (i.e., option, crossback plays, quick pitches, sweeps, etc.).

1998, Mike Bobo, Spike Dykes, Principles of Coaching Football, →ISBN, page 94:

(American football) A play in which the player with the ball crosses to one side of the field and then doubles back to the other.


Murderers' Row

(baseball, historical) The batting lineup of certain New York Yankees teams in the early twentieth century, most notably the 1927 team.


USFL

United States Football League
w:United States Football League

(American football) Initialism of United States Football League.


AAFL

All American Football League
w:All American Football League

(American football) Initialism of All American Football League.


Air Coryell

(American football) An offensive scheme developed by NFL coach Don Coryell.


super-sub

Toone, who has gone from super-sub to starter since the Euros, also took her opportunity to cement her place in midfield in the absence of injured Chelsea star Fran Kirby and got a goal to show for her efforts.

2023 April 6, Emma Sanders, “Women's Finalissima:England beat Brazil in dramatic shhotout”, in BBC Sport:


YNWA

you'll never walk alone
w:you'll never walk alone

(soccer) Initialism of you'll never walk alone, an anthem commonly used by Liverpool football club Liverpool F.C. and the Scottish club Celtic F.C.

you'll never walk alone

(soccer, offensive) Initialism of you'll never walk again, used as a taunt in reference to the Hillsborough Disaster.


carry out one's bat

en-verb

carry out one's bat (third-person singular simple present carries out one's bat, present participle carrying out one's bat, simple past and past participle carried out one's bat)

carries out one's bat (present singular third-person)
carrying out one's bat (participle present)
carried out one's bat (participle past)
carried out one's bat (past)

(cricket) To leave the wickets without having been put out.


above par

(golf) (of a score) More than par for the hole or course.


supersub

(cricket) In non-standard cricketing rules, a substitute player who is able to come on and replace any player at any point during the game, and to take over the other player's batting and bowling duties.


CFM

(soccer) Initialism of Club de Foot Montréal, a Canadian team playing in Major League Soccer.


no-score draw

(soccer) a goalless draw, the result of a match in which neither side scores a goal.


UEFAlona

UEFAlona win again, having been awarded two penalties in the last 20 minutes. Yeah, I don't smell corruption at all...

(humorous, derogatory, soccer) The football club F.C. Barcelona (viewed as being unrightfully favored by UEFA in terms of refereeing or other aspects).


Uefalona

Atletico can count themselves lucky to get a penalty against Uefalona.

2016 April 13, ni...devx.co.nz, “UCL QF 2nd Legs [R]”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet):

It would be great to see who the refs favour if Rubentus play Uefalona in the CL.

2017 March 10, Diabolik, “Juve - TTFKATSP [R]”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet):

Alternative letter-case form of UEFAlona


television match official

en-noun

television match official (plural television match officials)

(rugby) A referee who uses video recordings to assist in deciding if points have been scored


half-one

(golf) A handicap of one stroke every second hole.


service box

(squash, racquetball) One of two sections of the court, inside which a server must have at least one foot during the service


major score

(Canadian football) A touchdown, which scores six points.


no yards

(Canadian football) A penalty in which the kicking team, on either a kickoff or punt, fails to give the receiver on the receiving team a 5-yard restraining area to catch the ball.


Big Three

(tennis) Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal, each considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time.


play club

(golf, historical) A wooden-headed golf club used for driving the ball the longest distances.


dummy half

(rugby) The player who receives the ball when it is returned into play behind the teammate who was just tackled.


kickout

On his first return scoring, against the Oilers, J.T. said, “I saw a hole on the right side, got a good kickout block and shot through.”

1979, The Sporting News - Volume 188, page 64:

In the short roll, playing 4-on-5 like a smaller Draymond, his job is simple: Read the defense and make the right play. Most of the time, it is either a lob, a floater or a kickout for a corner 3.

2021 May 16, James Herbert, “Power guard? Point center? The NBA's positional misfits are dismantling an antiquated system”, in CBS Sports:

They have to get there however possible tonight to create not just layups but also kickout 3s.

2021 May 21, Fred Katz, “Just what the doctor ordered for Wizards”, in The Athletic:

(basketball) A pass to another offensive player who immediately shoots for the basket.

This is the style of kick made by goal keepers in soccer in a kickout and by players in the Rugby type of game in the kick-off .

1917, Wilbur Pardon Bowen, Applied anatomy and kinesiology, the mechanism of muscular movement, page 292:

(soccer) A kick made by the goalkeeper from the goal area.

In the great Michigan game of 1903, it was he who got the ball on the kickout.

1906, Graff F. Wolfe, The Story of Wall Ka-Zoo, page 112:

Jones caught the kickout on the fifteen-yard line and Hudson kicked goal.

1906, The United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette, page 276:

Another change requires that on the kickout the opponents line up on the 20-yard line, instead of on the 25-yard line, and that the ball be kicked from some point behind the 20-yard line.

The kickout was fumbled and Barrett lost his chance to try for the goal.

1915, The Cornell Alumni News - Volume 18, page 97:

“We called [the play] 26 Blast on that play and I was reading Jaydon Wright’s kickout block on the end,” Smith said.

2021 April 4, Nicholas Holstein, “FOOTBALL: Youthful Irish gain confidence, experience in win over Chicago Christian”, in Daily Journal (Kankakee, Illinois):

(rugby, American football) A drop kick by a player on the side to return the ball back into play.


long-slip

(cricket, dated) A fielder some distance behind and on the right of the batsman.


set shot

2016 Nick Bowen, Match report: Dogs dust Swans to snap 62-year drought Australian Football League, 1 October 2016. Accessed 6 May 2019.
The Swans then wrested control of the game in the midfield to hit back with the next four goals, the first a 50m set shot from Mitchell and the last two clever snaps from midfield bull Kennedy.

(Australian rules football) A kick for goal after a free kick has been awarded to the kicker and play has stopped.

(basketball) A shot taken without jumping.


five-eighth

(rugby) A rugby position, one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the scrum-half.


explosion shot

(golf) A powerful stroke that blasts the ball out of a bunker.


Wallaby

If the final margin was slightly harsh on a spirited Wallaby side it was hard-earned reward for England’s well-organised defence and the last-quarter power lurking on their bench.

2019 October 19, Robert Kitson, “England into World Cup semi-finals after bruising victory over Australia”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media:

(rugby) A player for the Wallabies, the Australian national rugby union team.


All Black

A player in the New Zealand national rugby union team


Redblack

(Canadian football) A player for the Canadian Football League's Ottawa Redblacks


Blue Bomber

(Canadian football) A player for the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.


Sabbath stick

(golf, historical) A golf club disguised as a walking stick (with the club's head held in the hand while walking) for use on Sundays, on which the Church of Scotland had discouraged the playing of golf.


drive for show, putt for dough

Chosen for the rhyme. See dough (“money”).

(golf, informal) Long drive shots may look impressive, but putting accuracy on the green is most important in order to win.


captain's try

2003 Aussies crash out of Rugby Sevens ABC News, 5 December 2003. Accessed 8 June 2019.
The reigning world sevens champions were heading out of the tournament trailing 10-5 in the dying seconds of the quarter-final clash before a captain's try from Karl Te Nana brought them level at 10-10 and took the game to sudden death.

2014 Waratahs stay top in Australian division after win over Waikato Chiefs South China Morning Post, 1 June 2014. Accessed 8 June 2019.
A late surge by the NSW Waratahs, sparked by a captain's try from Dave Dennis, carried them to a 33-17 victory over the defending champions Waikato Chiefs in their Super Rugby clash on Saturday.

(rugby) A try scored by a captain when their team is in need of inspiration.


Whites

1996, S. Greenfield, "When the Whites Go Marching In? Racism and Resistances in English Football", Marquette Sports Law Review, Vol. 6, No. 2, Art. 7, p. 315: #*: "When the Whites go Marching In" is a version of the hymn "When the Saints Go Marching In" and has been sung by football fans whilst attending "away" matches in other countries... In this context the reference is to English supporters indicating their disapproval of black players.

When the Whites go marching in, oh, when the Whites go marching in, oh, I wanna be in that number when the Whites go marching in!

(sports, historical) Any of several sports teams whose uniform is predominantly white, particularly

(soccer, UK) The away team during international matches.


scrum feed

(rugby) The action, performed by the scrum-half, of feeding the ball into the scrum.


stand on one's head

en-verb

stand on one's head (third-person singular simple present stands on one's head, present participle standing on one's head, simple past and past participle stood on one's head)

stands on one's head (present singular third-person)
standing on one's head (participle present)
stood on one's head (participle past)
stood on one's head (past)

(idiomatic, ice hockey, soccer) Of a goalie: to make exceptional saves.


teqball

A game or sport in which a spherical round ball (like a football, similar to or the same as a soccer ball) is passed from one side of a curved table (similar to a table tennis table) to the other.

թեքբոլ

A game or sport with a spherical round ball and curved table


golden set

(tennis) A set which is won without conceding any of the 24 points.


LFL

Lingerie Football League
w:en:Lingerie Football League

(sports, American football) Initialism of Lingerie Football League.

Legends Football League
w:en:Legends Football League

(sports, American football) Initialism of Legends Football League.


leather poisoning

Based on the leather out of which most Australian rules footballs are made, and a humorous "poisoning" someone could suffer if they touch it too much.

2016 Andrew McGarry, AFL 2016: From the Grand Final rematch to Boomer Harvey's big day, six matches to watch for this season ABC News, 17 March 2016. Accessed 24 June 2019.
For eight years Patrick Dangerfield delighted Crows fans, picking up regular leather poisoning while producing a sizable highlights reel and causing opposition teams to scratch their heads on how to stop him.

2019 Lance Jenkinson, Werribee lets another close game slip away Star Weekly, 21 May 2019. Accessed 24 June 2019.
Tom Gribble had his usual bout of leather poisoning with 35 disposals, while Michael Barlow returned from injury to collect 31 to go with seven tackles.

(Australian rules football, humorous) A fictitious disease said to be contracted by a player who accumulates a large number of possessions of the ball.


Lioness

(soccer) A player for England women's national football team


on the burst

(sports, rugby, colloquial) (Of a player taking a pass) running at full speed towards the opposition.


lay one down

lay one down (third-person singular simple present lays one down, present participle laying one down, simple past and past participle laid one down)

lays one down (present singular third-person)
laying one down (participle present)
laid one down (participle past)
laid one down (past)

Martin laid one down to get Buckley over to second.

(intransitive, baseball, slang) To bunt (sense 4)


long-stop

long-stop (third-person singular simple present long-stops, present participle long-stopping, simple past and past participle long-stopped)

long-stops (present singular third-person)
long-stopping (participle present)
long-stopped (participle past)
long-stopped (past)

(intransitive, cricket) To field in the role of long stop.


all-run four

(cricket) A four scored by the two batsmen running four times between the wickets


boundary four

It meant England were crowned world champions by virtue of having scored more boundary fours and sixes - 26 to New Zealand's 17 - in the entire match.

2019 July 14, Stephan Shemilt, “England win Cricket World Cup: Ben Stokes stars in dramatic finale against New Zealand”, in BBC Sport, London:

(cricket) A four scored by hitting the ball past the boundary (rather than an all-run four)


Black Cap

New Zealand stuck doggedly to a plan that centred on batting patience. Henry Nicholls' 55, and 47 from Tom Latham, held things together in the face of some probing England bowling.
The value of the Black Caps' pragmatism in reaching 241-8 was shown when England came to bat.

(cricket) A player for the New Zealand national cricket team


come to bat

come to bat (third-person singular simple present comes to bat, present participle coming to bat, simple past came to bat, past participle come to bat)

comes to bat (present singular third-person)
coming to bat (participle present)
came to bat (past)
come to bat (participle past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-come to bat.wav

In that case, the player who was called out for failure to come to bat properly is charged with having been put out, and whatever happened that resulted in the improper batter being put out goes into the scoring box of the batter who failed to bat in proper turn.

2015, Andres Wirkmaa, The Complete Baseball Scorekeeping Handbook, →ISBN:

(cricket, baseball) To have one's turn at bat.


baggy green

(cricket) The cap worn by members of the Australia Test cricket team


Red Star

(soccer) Red Star Belgrade (a professional football club from Belgrade, Serbia)


wickie

(sports, cricket, colloquial, British) A wicketkeeper.


deuces wild

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-deuces wild.wav

Refers to various card games where deuces are used as wild cards. Probably coined by Los Angeles Dodgers sportscaster Vin Scully.

The deuces are wild, he would announce before a pitch. Two balls, two strikes, two out, two on, and two to two in the bottom of the second. Bosch could hear Scully's voice in his head as he considered that the deuces were now wild in his own game

If there were two balls and two strikes on a batter, with two outs in an inning—what is called “deuces wild” in baseball—the bullpen would work like mad to get its pitcher out of the inning.

2011, Travis Haney, Gamecock Glory: The University of South Carolina Baseball Team's Journey to the 2010 NCAA Championship.:

(baseball) A situation in a ballgame where there are two balls, two strikes, two outs and two men on base.


total bases

(baseball) A statistic that measures a player's hitting. In this statistic, each single counts as one base, each double counts as two bases, each triple as three bases and each home run as four bases.


armchair quarterback

en-noun

armchair quarterback (plural armchair quarterbacks)

My dad is such an armchair quarterback; he recognizes every bad decision the coach makes as soon as the play is over and he knows whether or not it worked.

To turn an armchair quarterback into a triple-threat man, just ask him to rake the leaves. He'll put up a terrific kick, pass the buck to his kids, and put up a long run.

1959 Oct, “Notes on these changing times”, in Herbert L. Brown, Jr., editor, The Kiplinger Magazine: Changing Times, volume 13, number 10, Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., page 2:

(colloquial, idiomatic, chiefly US) A person who watches sports on television, typically American football, who often verbally suggests plays or critiques the players and coaches.


one that goes the other way

the one that goes the other way (plural ones that go the other way)

the one that goes the other way (canonical)
ones that go the other way (plural)


sitting volleyball

A form of volleyball played by disabled people, who sit on the court while playing.


pass rusher

A late-scoring push forced overtime, but even in added time, the team was forced to go for a field goal on their initial drive after a pass rusher forced an overthrow from Purdy. This allowed Mahomes in and the emerging all-time great doesn’t often make mistakes.

2024 February 12, Ben Morse and Steve Almasy, “Kansas City Chiefs defeat San Francisco 49ers in OT in Super Bowl LVIII, become first back-to-back NFL champions in 19 years”, in CNN.com:

(American football) A defensive player who engages in a pass rush, who attempts to sack or pressure the quarterback.


zero blitz

(American football) A defensive scheme which involves no deep defenders, person-to-person coverage and a heavy pass rush.


pass rush

Coach Ron Rivera was hired to restore pride and discipline (and winning seasons) to a decaying franchise, and for a defensive-minded coach, buttressing the pass rush with the best defensive end prospect in the class is a reasonable way to start.

2020 April 24, Ken Belson, Ben Shpigel, “Full Round 1 2020 N.F.L. Picks and Analysis”, in New York Time:

(American football) A defensive tactic which involves one or more players charging towards the quarterback either to get a sack or other pressure.


white ball

Kohli says that his white-ball batting is essentially an extension of his Test batting.

2017 January 28, Jonathan Liew, “To cling together or drift apart? Red and white-ball cricket facing a divided future”, in The Daily Telegraph, London:

Adil Rashid has put his ambitions for a Test return on hold and negotiated a new white-ball deal at Yorkshire after losing some of his appetite for the first-class game. ... “I’ve made the decision to just concentrate on white ball, something which makes me very happy and gives me the best chance of improving my cricket,” said Rashid.

2018 February 15, Ali Martin, Vithushan Ehantharajah, “Adil Rashid opts out of first-class cricket for 2018 season”, in The Guardian, London:

limited overs cricket
limited overs cricket

(cricket, journalism, metonymically) limited overs cricket, as distinct from first-class cricket


chest down

en-verb

chest down (third-person singular simple present chests down, present participle chesting down, simple past and past participle chested down)

chests down (present singular third-person)
chesting down (participle present)
chested down (participle past)
chested down (past)

(ball games, especially soccer) to control a high ball with the chest (for example, in order to shoot, dribble, or pass it)


scout team

(American football) A group of players on a team, often from the practice squad who emulate the style of play of future opponents so that the starting players can practice against them.


practice squad

(American football) A group of players who are not eligible to play in games, but who participate in practices.


out for a duck

From the use of duck to mean a batsman's score of 0 in cricket.

The inevitable happened - I was out for a duck and was furious when I got back to the dressing room.

2012, Andrew Flintoff, Ashes to Ashes: One Test After Another:

The batsman out first ball is out for a duck, no matter how fervently and frequently he replays the awful moment in his mind's eye; a missed catch is a drop, however intricate and extenuating the context; and wickets claimed in the post-match bar do not count, even if the bowler believes them "deserved".

2013, Robert Winder, The Little Wonder: The Remarkable History of Wisden:

Shaw's five victims included Australian skipper, David Gregory, out for a duck.

2014, Philip Barker, Lord's Firsts: 200 Years of Making History at Lord’s Cricket Ground, page 98:

(cricket) Having batted no hits for the entire game.


prop forward

The Wallaby defence was too easily spilt by Farrell’s snappy midfield miss-pass, allowing a beaming Sinckler to storm untouched through the unguarded heart of the defence. The Harlequins front-rower used to be a fly-half in his youth but this was the stuff of any prop forward’s dreams.

(rugby) A forward who acts as a prop in a scrum.


broken field

Quarter-backs this year who have gained considerable notice are Fallis of Haskell Indians and Pooler of Kansas University, they both being very good in a broken field.

1905, Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide, page 169:

The forward passer receives the ball, runs a yard or two as a feint, and then, with scarcely a look over the broken field, selects a person and a place and throws the ball.

1972, Chronicle of American Physical Education, page 383:

Barely two minutes after the interval the margin was reduced to just a single point after Elliot Daly, under a bit of pressure, knocked on 40 metres from his own line and gave the Wallabies a broken field to play with.

(rugby, American football) A field in which there are defensive players from the other team between the player who has the ball and the goal.


dot down

dot down (third-person singular simple present dots down, present participle dotting down, simple past and past participle dotted down)

dots down (present singular third-person)
dotting down (participle present)
dotted down (participle past)
dotted down (past)

[…]Makazole Mapimpi became the first Springbok try scorer in a RWC final when he dotted down in the 67th minute.

2019 November 3, Liam de Carme, “Boks, you beauties”, in Sunday Times:


COYBIG

(soccer) Acronym of come on you boys in green: a chant in support of Celtic F.C. and the Republic of Ireland national football team.


knothole section

en-noun

knothole section (plural knothole sections)

The regular Knothole section was in the right field pavilion, but sometimes the left field pavilion was open as well. The two sections would compete to see which one could root the loudest. After 1938 the Knotholers sat in the upper deck of the pavilions and stomped their feet on the metal floor until the noise reached a deafening crescendo. The teams played more and more night games after World War II, and as a result, Knothole days became fewer and fewer.

1987, Richard Miller, Gregory L. Rhodes, “The Life and Times of the Old Cincinnati Ballparks”, in Queen City Heritage, volume 45, number 2, Cincinnati Historical Society, pages 25–41:

The next year, I sat in the Knothole section for the Northwestern game. Iowa won that day, too, 28–21. Within a few years, I went from kid-in-the-Knothole-section to photographer’s spotter on the sideline during Evashevski’s outstanding seasons.

2003, Ron Maly, Tales from the Iowa Sidelines, Sports Publishing, →ISBN, page viii:

… mission in the north end zone, affectionately called The Knothole Section (TKS). Elementary and junior and senior high school students by the thousands filled the cheap seats and not only for the game. It was a social happening, because sanctioned gathering spots for kids were scarce.

2006, William Teten, Very Truly, Tudey: An Austin Anthology, Old Austin Press, →ISBN, page 57:

This collector explained how as a young boy he dove for the balls when thrown into the stands at the knothole section.

2017 October 15, Terry Hutchens, Bill Murphy, Indiana Hoosiers Fans' Bucket List, Triumph Books, →ISBN, page 173:

(colloquial, especially baseball) The section of cheap seats in a stadium favored by youth spectators.


American handegg

American handegg (countable and uncountable, plural American handeggs)

/əˈmɛɹɪkən ˈhændɛɡ/

I want a picture of a football (a real one, not one of those american handeggs) with wings.

2013 April 17, Stars_InTheirEyes, “Let us play Pic Hunter!”, in Egosoft.com (forum), archived from the original on 2014-10-08:

I haven't tried it yet but It's been suggested to practice your relese^([sic]) by throwing mini nerf footballs (or American handeggs, for those of you not in 'Murica) underhanded.

2015 March 16, u/dabobbo, “Practice at home”, in Reddit, archived from the original on 2022-12-21, r/Bowling:

(slang, countable, humorous, derogatory) The ball used to play American football.


brushback pitch

brushback pitch (plural brushback pitches)

(baseball) A pitch that comes very close to the batter, forcing them to move back from the plate.


jet sweep

(American football) A play where a wide receiver catches a short pitch, then runs left or right prior to running downfield.


coffin corner

coffin corner (American football)
coffin corner (aerodynamics)

During that second half, Carideo, one of Notre Dame's greatest punters, repeatedly kept SMU bottled up deep in its own territory on “coffin-corner” punts which invariably went out of bounds inside the Mustangs' 10-yard line.

2010, Jack Cavanaugh, The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football:

Kick it hard, kick it deep, and aim for the coffin corner when close enough to the opponents' end zone.

2014 November 7, “Rugby-style kicking helps Chiefs' Colquitt take punting to another level”, in Kansas City Star:

His ability to find the coffin corner pinned countless opponents deep in their own zone, and even when he didn’t have the big numbers that some other CFL punters did, he was always considered to be one of the very best directional punters in the league.

2019 November 28, Daniel Austin, “Rob Maver announces retirement after 10 seasons with Stampeders”, in Calgary Herald:

During his career, Higgins punted 135 times for an average of 43.5 yards, with 40 in the "coffin corner".

2019 December 13, “Higgins gets third All-America honor”, in The Marshall Democrat-News:

(American football) A corner of the field formed by the opponent's goal line and a sideline, into which a punt is often aimed in order to force the opposition to play close to their goal line.


yardage book

/ˈjɑːdɪdʒ ˌbʊk/

I noticed Bruce looking at two yardage books, one bright and brand-new, the other beaten up.

2008, John Feinstein, Caddy for Life: The Bruce Edwards Story, Little; Brown, →ISBN:

A book of maps of a golf course, with distances indicated to specific points of interest.


Ammie

From amateur + -ie, from the club's former name, the Salford Amateurs.

(soccer) Someone associated with Salford City F.C., as a fan, player, coach etc.


bosie

(cricket, obsolete) Alternative form of bosey


suicide squad

The most violent men in pro football play on the suicide squads.

1971, LIFE, volume 71, number 23, page 3:

(American football, slang) Synonym of special team


ABU

(UK, soccer, slang) Initialism of anyone but United: a fan who dislikes Manchester United and will support any team that is playing against them.


spade mashie

(golf, dated) A kind of golf club, the number six iron.


falling leaf

So called from the gradual "drifting" motion like a leaf falling from a tree.

(soccer) A dated kicking technique used to put the ball into a swaying movement that makes it harder to estimate its trajectory.


spectacular mark

spectacular mark (plural spectacular marks)

(all informal)

(Australian rules football) A mark (or catch) that typically involves a player jumping up on the back of another player.


topspinner

(sports) A player who applies topspin to the ball.


ruckwoman

(Australian rules football) A female ruck; a woman who contests rucks.


Billy Williams' Cabbage Patch

Named after committee member William Williams, involved in purchasing the land as a market garden in 1907.

(rugby, slang) Twickenham Stadium, England.


rainbow shot

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-rainbow shot.wav

In reference to the arched shape of a rainbow.

Even after Spooner dropped in one of his patented rainbow shots from the left side and Schulz scored on another tip-in, Quincy still held a two-point lead with half a minute to go in the third quarter.

2002, Scott Johnson, Julie Kistler, Once there were giants: how tiny Hebron won the Illinois state basketball championship and the hearts of fans forever, page 158:

(basketball) A high arcing shot into the basket.