sightscreen

The batsman swung and thwacked it behind him over the sight-screens.

1982, Douglas Adams, Life, the Universe and Everything, page 24:

(cricket) A large screen, at each end of a cricket field, coloured to provide visual contrast to the cricket ball, to aid the batsman in seeing its movement through the air.


daisy cutter

* From plowing through a field and flattening and mowing down hypothetical daisies.
* (explosive): From flattening vegetation in a round region creating a clearing reminiscent of a daisy flower

(baseball, slang, dated, 1800s) A well-struck ground ball.

(cricket) A low ball that bounces more than once before reaching the batsman.


baseman

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(baseball, softball) A player positioned at or near a base: first baseman, second baseman or third baseman.


banjo hit

(baseball) A weakly hit fly ball which goes just over the infielders.


soak the runner

en-verb

soak the runner (third-person singular simple present soaks the runner, present participle soaking the runner, simple past and past participle soaked the runner)

soaks the runner (present singular third-person)
soaking the runner (participle present)
soaked the runner (participle past)
soaked the runner (past)

(baseball, slang, 1800s) To throw the ball at the runner in order to "tag" him out (illegal after 1845).


plug the runner

plug the runner (third-person singular simple present plugs the runner, present participle plugging the runner, simple past and past participle plugged the runner)

plugs the runner (present singular third-person)
plugging the runner (participle present)
plugged the runner (participle past)
plugged the runner (past)

(baseball, slang, 1800s) Synonym of soak the runner


show a little ginger

show a little ginger (third-person singular simple present shows a little ginger, present participle showing a little ginger, simple past showed a little ginger, past participle showed a little ginger or shown a little ginger)

shows a little ginger (present singular third-person)
showing a little ginger (participle present)
showed a little ginger (past)
showed a little ginger (participle past)
shown a little ginger (participle past)

(baseball, slang, 1800s) To play harder or smarter.


short leg

en-noun

short leg (countable and uncountable, plural short legs)

When he dismissed Keith Miller, caught at short leg off a lifter, I turned round to Tony Lock[.]

1990, Ashes: Battles and Bellylaughs, Byron Bay: Swan Publishing, page 148:

(cricket, uncountable) A fielding position on the leg side, square of, and close to the batsman.

(cricket, countable) A fielder in this position.


spec

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

spectacular mark
spectacular mark#English

(Australia, Australian rules football, informal) Clipping of spectacular mark. (a type of catch in Australian rules football).


boodler

(slang, baseball, dated, 19th century) A person displaying unsportsmanlike behavior.


muffin

→ Chinese: 瑪芬 /玛芬 (mǎfēn)

→ Danish: muffin

→ Esperanto: mafino

→ Finnish: muffini, muffinssi, muffinsi

→ French: muffin

→ German: Muffin

→ Japanese: マフィン (mafin)

→ Korean: 머핀 (meopin)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: muffins

→ Polish: muffin

→ Portuguese: muffin

→ Russian: ма́ффин (máffin)

→ Swedish: muffins

→ Yiddish: מאָפֿין (mofin)

From earlier moofin, probably a diminutive of Low German Muffe ("small cake"; Muffen (plural)), from Middle Low German muffe (“small pastry”). An alternative, and phonologically less plausible theory suggests a connection to Old French (pain) moflet (“roll”, literally “soft (bread)”).

gl

"small cake"; <i class="Latn mention" lang="nds">Muffen</i> (plural)

ncog

(baseball, slang) A less talented player; one who muffs, or drops the ball.


shoulder arms

en-verb

shoulder arms (third-person singular simple present shoulders arms, present participle shouldering arms, simple past and past participle shouldered arms)

shoulders arms (present singular third-person)
shouldering arms (participle present)
shouldered arms (participle past)
shouldered arms (past)

(intransitive, cricket) To deliberately lift the bat out of the path of the ball when it is judged to be missing the wicket.


sheet anchor

(cricket) A batsman who provides dependable defence while a series of other batsmen score rapidly.


five-by-five

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(basketball) A performance in which a player accumulates five points in each of five statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks) in a single game.


attacker

(soccer) One of the players on a team in football (soccer) in the row nearest to the opposing team's goal, who are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals.

مُهَاجِم

(soccer) movement of the team in possession of the ball


blooper

Again the blooper wafted up to the plate. Ted waited and waited and then let loose. The ball rose in a high trajectory and sailed deep into the bullpen for a homer. The fans roared. The slugger had killed the blooper.

1949, Jimmy Powers, Baseball Personalities: The Most Colorful Figures of All Time, New York, N.Y.: R. Field, →OCLC, page 254:

The blooper, delivered with a shot-put motion, floated in an arc that reached twenty-five feet, then suddenly dropped across home plate in the strike zone.

2003, Richard F. Peterson, The Pirates Reader, Pittsburgh, Pa.: University of Pittsburgh Press, →ISBN, page 139:

(baseball, slang) A fly ball that is weakly hit just over the infielders.


submariner

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

/sʌbˈmæɹɪnə/

/sʌbˈmæɹɪnɚ/

Jones was a submariner and could often confuse a batter with his unorthodox delivery.

(US, baseball) A pitcher that throws with an underhand motion.


rearguard

/ˈɹɪəɹˌɡɑɹd/

From rear + guard. Attested in The Song of Roland circa 1150 (rereguarde). Doublet of retrogarde.

Mancini's side only showed enough ambition when it was too late and by then battle lines were drawn as James Collins and former City captain Richard Dunne fought a magnificent rearguard action at the heart of Villa's defence.

2011 January 22, Phil McNulty, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Man City”, in BBC:

(soccer) The defence, collectively the defenders.


VAR

en-noun

VAR (countable and uncountable, plural VARs)

[Harry] Kane was the victim in incidents plucked straight from the world of wrestling in each half, and on neither occasion did any of the officials – on the pitch or in the VAR booth – see fit to intervene in what were obvious penalties.

2018 June 18, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2019-04-21:

video assistant referee
video assistant referee#English

(soccer) Initialism of video assistant referee.


All Blacks

the national rugby union representative team of New Zealand


lineup

More than any other batter in the lineup, he can keep the inning going with a a base hit, and over a season he'll have as many at-bats as teh lead-off man and thus hit hard and often for his team.

1993, Jerry Kindall, Baseball: Play the Winning Way, page 248:

For example, as before, the leadoff hitter for the visiting team in the top of the first inning fails to come to bat and the #2 batter in the lineup subsequently becomes the initial batter in the inning.

2015, Andres Wirkmaa, The Complete Baseball Scorekeeping Handbook, page 70:

That meant Howell moved from a weak-hitting lineup to a great-hitting lineup, and players generally said they hit better if they had better hitters around them.

2022, Paul Aron ·, The Lineup: Ten Books That Changed Baseball, page 96:


silly mid on

silly mid on (countable and uncountable, plural silly mid ons)

(cricket) a fielding position, on the leg side, forward of the batsman's wicket, and very near the batsman; a fielder in this position


silly point

silly point (countable and uncountable, plural silly points)

(cricket) A fielding position, on the off side, square of the batsman's wicket, and very near the batsman; a fielder in this position.


silly mid off

(cricket) a fielding position, on the off side, forward of the batsman's wicket, and very near the batsman; a fielder in this position


rubber match

The Red Sox, having lost the opener and won the second game, lost the rubber match against the Twins.

A sporting event at the end of a series in which the opponents are tied in terms of events won and lost.


creeper

From Middle English crepere, from Old English crēopere, equivalent to creep + -er. Slang usage derived from phrase give the creeps or creep out (distinct from merely one who creeps).

May joined Hutton and proceeded to play masterly cricket in which the straight-drive predominated. There was always the possibility that he might be trapped by a creeper, but May watched the ball intently.

2009, Steven Lynch, Wisden on the Ashes, page 292:

(cricket) A ball that travels low, near ground level.


dunking

(basketball) Forcefully thrusting the ball through the basket from above.


backstop

(baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate.

Bench may be the greatest catcher subjectively, but he's not statistically. Statwise, Yogi Berra is the all-time backstop, regardless of which measure you prefer. Berra's Total-Z is one-third of a standard deviation higher than Bench's, and his Core-Z average is a point better.

2002, James F. Vail, Outrageous Fortune: What's Wrong with Hall of Fame Voting and How to Make It Statistically Sound, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 143:

(baseball, slang) A catcher; the position of catcher.


meatball

→ Japanese: ミートボール

→ Korean: 미트볼 (miteubol)

And then. A 98.4 fastball on the inside half of the plate, ring him up, Strike 3, game over. It wasn’t a meatball like Terrence Long watched to finish 2003 ALDS Game 5, but it felt the same.

2020, Alex Hall, “Oakland A’s faced all their nightmares in Game 3 and wrote a new ending”, in Athletics Nation:

(baseball) An easy pitch to hit, especially thrown right down the middle of the plate.


right back

(soccer) a defender who normally plays on the right side of the field


hard count

Jones is good at drawing a defense offside with his hard count.

(American football) The situation where the quarterback attempts to draw the defense offside through a deceptive snap count sequence, sometimes accompanied by subtle body movements which simulate the initiation of the play.


dead bird

Jones got on board with a dead bird to start the innning.

(baseball, slang) A ball which falls over the infielders’ heads for a hit, as if it were a bird shot by a hunter.


SB

SB (countable and uncountable, plural SBs)

(baseball) Abbreviation of stolen base.; The statistic reporting the number of stolen bases.


linebacker

The linebacker corralled the runner who had slipped through the hole.

(American football) The defensive players who are in position behind the defensive linemen and in front of the safeties and cornerbacks and whose principal responsibilities are to tackle runners and to defend against shorter passes.


steals

He has 25 steals this year.

(baseball, informal) The number of stolen bases by a baserunner.


fairway

(golf) The area between the tee and the green, where the grass is cut short.

carrer

(golf) the area between the tee and the green


play ball

en-verb

play ball (third-person singular simple present plays ball, present participle playing ball, simple past and past participle played ball)

plays ball (present singular third-person)
playing ball (participle present)
played ball (participle past)
played ball (past)

(baseball, softball) An expression used at the beginning of a game of baseball or softball.

jugueu

if there's grass on the field, play ball

if there's grass on the pitch, play ball


disposal

en-noun

disposal (countable and uncountable, plural disposals)

[dɪsˈpəʊzəɫ]

(different ways of disposing of something

on the spot or at a remote location, by reusing or simply depositing) selejtezés

2019 In the mix: Who's pushing for selection for round eight? Australian Football League, 7 May 2019. Accessed 8 May 2019.
Lewy Taylor was quiet against the Swans with just seven disposals but hit the mark with a couple of kicks inside 50 during the crucial last quarter.

(countable) A disposing of or getting rid of something.

(countable, Australian rules football) A kick or a handball of the ball during a game.


Emirates

(soccer, with the) Emirates Stadium, a football stadium in London that is the home ground of Arsenal F.C.


SFC

Southampton Football Club
w:Southampton F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Southampton Football Club.

Sunderland Football Club
w:Sunderland F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Sunderland Football Club.

(soccer) Initialism of Sydney Football Club.


holy Toledo

The city of Toledo in Spain (after which the city in Ohio was later named) was the center of Christianity in Spain in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and its Archbishop was and still is the Primate of Spain.
Phrase later made popular by the late Oakland A's and Raiders sportscaster Bill King.

An exclamation of surprise or astonishment.


(baseball) triple, a baseball statistic indicating a runner has safely advanced to third base


OBP

OBP (countable and uncountable, plural OBPs)

on-base percentage
on-base percentage#English

(baseball) Initialism of on-base percentage.


(baseball) Double, a baseball statistic indicating a runner has safely advanced to second base.


ALCS

(baseball) The American League Championship Series, a best of seven game series played to determine the champion of the American League.


official at-bat

official at-bat (plural official at-bats)

A player's batting average is his hits divided by his official at-bats.

(baseball) A completed batting opportunity that did not result in a base on balls, hit-by-pitch, sacrifice fly, sacrifice bunt, or interference or obstruction.


1B (countable and uncountable, plural 1Bs)

(baseball) The baseball statistic of one-base hits or singles.


grab some pine

en-verb

grab some pine (third-person singular simple present grabs some pine, present participle grabbing some pine, simple past and past participle grabbed some pine)

grabs some pine (present singular third-person)
grabbing some pine (participle present)
grabbed some pine (participle past)
grabbed some pine (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-grab some pine.wav

Strike three! Grab some pine, meat! The saying references the pine benches in the dugout. It has absolutely nothing to do with pine tar used for grip on bats

(sports) Go sit on the bench. Typically used as a taunt after a strikeout. Popularized by Giants sportscaster Mike Krukow.


NLDS

National League Division Series
w:National League Division Series

(baseball) Initialism of National League Division Series., a pair of best of five game series played annually by Major League Baseball teams to determine the opponents in the National League Championship Series (NLCS).


ALDS

American League Division Series
w:American League Division Series

(baseball) Initialism of American League Division Series., a pair of best of five game series played annually by Major League Baseball teams to determine the opponents in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).


NLCS

National League Championship Series
w:National League Championship Series

(baseball) Initialism of National League Championship Series. It is a best of seven game series played to determine the champion of the National League and win the NL pennant.


reliever

The first reliever got the last two outs of the sixth.


LCS

League Championship Series
w:League Championship Series

(US, baseball) Initialism of League Championship Series for each of the two leagues of Major League Baseball.


walk-off

Scott Podsednik hit the twelfth walk-off home run in World Series history on October 23rd, 2005.

(baseball, of a hit) That drives in a run that ends a game.


walk-off

It was the Brewers' first walk-off walk since May 4, 2005, when Damien Miller drew a walk to win the game, 4-3, at home over the Cubs.

2010 May 27, “Brewers overcome errors in walk-off win”, in MLB.com:

(baseball) Any event or action in the bottom of the last inning of a game that scores a run and thereby ends the game with a victory to the team at bat.


dipper

desc

→ Kashubian: dyper (Canada, United States)

From Middle English dippere; equivalent to dip + -er.

(cricket) A delivery bowled that curves into or away from the batter before pitching.


Southsider

I'm no baby bear fan; I'm a Southsider.

(baseball) A player or fan of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, which plays its home games on Chicago's south side.

(soccer) A fan of the Vancouver Whitecaps football team


finesse

en-noun

finesse (countable and uncountable, plural finesses)

From Middle English finesse (“degree of excellence; (of metal) fineness, purity”), from Middle French finesse, Old French finesse (“fineness; delicacy; slenderness”), from fine, fin (“fine, thin”) (from Latin fīnis (“end”); compare Middle English fīn (“of superior quality; precious, valuable; admirable, pleasing; pure, refined; fineness, purity; delicate, exquisite, fine; sharp, thin”)) + -esse (suffix forming nouns describing the condition of being something).
The verb is derived from the noun.

cog

The Finesse Proper.—When, upon the invite of your partner, you refuse to force with your strongest card, or one of equal strength, you are in the case of the finesse proper. Holding the ace, queen, and ten, and taking with the queen, is a simple finesse; that is, a finesse to the king.

1850, “Short Whist: Its System and Science”, in Henry G[eorge] Bohn, editor, The Hand-book of Games: Comprising New or Carefully Revised Treatises on Whist, Piquet, Ecarté, Lansquenet, Boston, Quadrille, Cribbage, and Other Card Games; […] (Bohn’s Scientific Library), London: Henry G[eorge] Bohn, […], →OCLC, part IV (Whist by the Editor), page 185:

Here we are going to examine finesses from a negative standpoint. Those players who take finesses wherever and whenever they appear will seldom give any thought to what might happen if the finesse were to lose. And this is why taking or shunning a finesse is an option which shouldn't be exercised without much prior thought.

2013 October 22, Joe Blatnick, “Finesses (One More Time)”, in Bridge: A Thinker’s Game: How You Think is More Important than What and Thinking Comes before Doing, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 134:

(countable, card games) In bridge, whist, etc.: a technique which allows one to win a trick, usually by playing a card when it is thought that a card that can beat it is held by another player whose turn is over.


finesse

en-verb

finesse (third-person singular simple present finesses, present participle finessing, simple past and past participle finessed)

finesses (present singular third-person)
finessing (participle present)
finessed (participle past)
finessed (past)

Distressed as she was, she rose the next morning determined to contend with her feelings,—to think no more of Trevor,—and to finesse no more for a husband—she had had enough of it.

1835, chapter XIV, in Finesse. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 240:

As the children continue to shoot one another, I ask them some questions about guns. […] [M]ost revealing to me is that the children fully agree that they are playing a pretend game. The bad guys "really hurt people" and Freddie knows it because he "plays" it. Really hurting in pretend play … the children are not confused by this finessing of real and pretend. I think it is we adults who are confused by it.

2010 May, Kim Atkinson, “Working among the Good & Bad”, in Island Parent Magazine, Victoria, B.C.: Krayenhoff-Holland Enterprises, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2019-02-05; quoted in Veronica Pacini-Ketchabaw, Fikile Nxumalo, Laurie Kocher, Enid Elliot, Alejandra Sanchez, “Thinking Together”, in Journeys: Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Practices through Pedagogical Narration, Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto Press, 2015, →ISBN, page 128:

When we get the script and we have a piece that's being written to or being created around a voiceover, we'll generally do a scratch voiceover track here and time it out to that, then get the real voiceover and do some finessing there.

2011, Yael Braha, Bill Byrne, quoting Stacy Nimmo, “The Essentials of Typography and Time [Interview: Stacy Nimmo on Title Design]”, in Creative Motion Graphic Titling for Film, Video, and the Web, Burlington, Mass., Kidlington, Oxfordshire: Focal Press, →ISBN, page 108:

After making the original capture[…], I sat down to finesse it in Photoshop.

2015, Nylora[-Joy] Bruleigh, “Just beyond Reach: Lighting, Posing, and Styling; Postproduction”, in Fine Art Portrait Photography: Lighting, Posing & Postproduction from Concept to Completion, Buffalo, N.Y.: Amherst Media, →ISBN, page 62:

Finesse a nigga with some counterfeits, but now I'm countin' this / Parmesan where my accountant lives, in fact I'm downin' this

2017 March 30, Kendrick Duckworth, Michael Williams II, Asheton Hoga (lyrics and music), “Humble”, in Damn, performed by Kendrick Lamar:

So with valuable extra time to finesse its passenger handling and communications strategies, NR set its sights on rescheduling the work to begin this December instead.

2020 September 23, Paul Stephen, “East Coast upgrade: changes to schedule... but on schedule”, in Rail, page 30:

(transitive, chiefly Canada, US, politics) To evade (a problem, situation, etc.) by using some clever argument or stratagem.

(transitive, intransitive) To handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way.

finasser

to handle or manage carefully or skilfully; to manipulate in a crafty way

The ace is certainly to your left, you therefore finesse the ten, for if your left-hand adversary holds ace and knave he must make them both; but otherwise, your ten forces the ace, and you are left with the best.

1864, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “The Third Hand”, in The Laws and Principles of Whist Stated and Explained, and Its Practice Illustrated on an Original System, by Means of Hands Played Completely through, 7th edition, London: Bancks Brothers […], →OCLC, part I (General Principles), page 42:

Again, no amount of writing, and apparently no amount of practice, will induce a player to see that it is not always right to finesse an Ace Queen. We have seen all the trumps out. We have led a suit (Hearts) of which our partner had Ace, Queen, and two long Clubs; he finessed the Queen, and did not make his two Clubs. […] Twice in a fortnight have we have the Ace Queen finessed when two cards only remained in each hand and one trump was in.

1874 March 1, “Whist Jottings—Stupidity”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, →OCLC, page 235:

(transitive, card games) To play (a card) as a finesse.

Blue finesses to the further boundary, intending to come to his partner next time with black, hoping that if yellow comes after these balls, he may pass the boundary and so lose the break. […] Black has now to play; he finesses to another boundary.

1870 August, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Croquet in 1870”, in The Gentleman’s Magazine, volume V (New Series), London: W. H. Allen & Co., […], →OCLC, page 308:

(intransitive, croquet, obsolete) To play a ball out of the way of an opponent.


bring up

bring up (third-person singular simple present brings up, present participle bringing up, simple past and past participle brought up)

brings up (present singular third-person)
bringing up (participle present)
brought up (participle past)
brought up (past)

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

From Middle English bring up, dissimilated from Middle English upbringen (“to bring up, raise”). Doublet of upbring.

der

Warner smacked a four over midwicket to bring up his century.

(cricket) To reach a particular score, especially a milestone.


BB

en-noun

BB (countable and uncountable, plural BBs)

(baseball) A walk; the statistic reporting the number of "bases on balls".


Oriole

He became an Oriole as the result of a pre-season trade.

(baseball) A player on the team Baltimore Orioles.


Cardinals

(baseball) The team St. Louis Cardinals.

(American football) The team Arizona Cardinals.


dugout

Spurs, who were without boss Harry Redknapp after his heart surgery, failed to create a clear-cut chance. Redknapp is expected to be back in the dugout when Spurs play Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday but it was left to his assistant Kevin Bond to take a young team to Russia looking for the win that would put them through to the last 32.

2011 November 3, Chris Bevan, “Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport:

(baseball, soccer, cricket) A sunken shelter at the side of a sports field where non-playing team members and staff sit during a game.

Spielerbank

where non-playing teammembers and staff sit during a game


gapper

Bob's gapper cleared the bags.

(baseball) A ball hit through the regions between the outfielders.


Jints

Eye dialect for popular New York City pronunciation of giants

1914 May 17, “The Old-Time Fan Refers To the Jints' Little Napoleon As a...”, in Atlanta Constitution:

The folks were quite happy about Sunday's thrilling reprieve in Philadelphia and happily confident that "d' Bums'll moider dem Jints"

1951 October 2, “VOICE OF FLATBUSH GOES UP AND DOWN; Loud Shouts of Morning Fall to...”, in New York Times:

He did about as well as could be expected with the Jints, though the halo he gained lastseason was knocked slightly askew in the process.

1952 September 4, “Sports of the Times; Wait Till Next Year”, in New York Times:

The faithful cheered loudly for their beloved Bums; they jeered loudly at the others teams, especially if they were the hated "Jints" from the Polo Grounds.

2000, G. Richard McKelvey, The MacPhails: Baseball's First Family of the Front Office, page 38:

The Polo Grounds, which had been the site of many fierce battles between the "Jints" and the "Bums," was not friendly to the home team.

2001, G. Richard McKelvey, The Bounce: Baseball Teams' Great Falls and Comebacks, page 100:

To his credit, Allen could not imagine the Jints or Bums unabiding on New York's behalf. "New York is fully capable of supporting three clubs."

2007, Curt Smith, The Voice: Mel Allen's Untold Story, page 111:

(baseball, informal) Nickname for the New York Giants, subsequently the San Francisco Giants.

On Sunday it would be even more drinking, plus the Times, and the pitiful "Jints" on TV.

2000, James Patterson, The Midnight Club, page 101:

(American football, informal) The New York Giants.


Bums

1951 October 2, “VOICE OF FLATBUSH GOES UP AND DOWN; Loud Shouts of Morning Fall to …”, in New York Times:

(baseball) Nickname of the Brooklyn Dodgers, later the Los Angeles Dodgers.


Astro

Jones became an Astro as the result of a pre-season trade.

(baseball) A player for the Houston Astros.


Astros

The Astros lead the division through half the season.


seagulling

As long as he can stay away from the seagulling in the tight games.

2002 May 25, Greig Blanchett, “Re: So. To The ABs”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet):

Jack has to cut out the seagulling and get in and do the dirty work.

2009 December 28, Steve Hepburn, “Rugby: Oval ball gazing for 2011 World Cup”, in Otago Daily Times:

And while Williams cut down the seagulling, he still wasn't hitting the breakdown with any vigour.

2011 August 29, lord shineything [username], “Re: AB Players”, in rec.sport.rugby.union (Usenet):

(British, Australia, New Zealand, rugby slang) The practice, in Rugby Union, of forwards running in the back line rather than concentrating on their primary positional duties in open play (see rugby union positions).


pick up

en-verb

pick up (third-person singular simple present picks up, present participle picking up, simple past and past participle picked up)

picks up (present singular third-person)
picking up (participle present)
picked up (participle past)
picked up (past)

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

And soon after, no-one picked up Shotton who was free to power a 12-yard header over from another Pennant corner, before Pennant sent a free kick straight at Cardiff keeper Tom Heaton.

2011 January 18, David Dulin, “Cardiff 0-2 Stoke”, in BBC:

(soccer) To mark, to defend against an opposition player by following them closely.


World Series

(US, baseball) The best-of-seven game series played annually in late October-early November to determine the year's championship of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, played between two teams, one each in the National League and the American League.


League Championship Series

(baseball) The best-of-seven series of games to determine the winner of each of the National League and the American League.


fall classic

The White Sox swept the 2005 fall classic.


earned run

(baseball) A run that was recorded without the benefit of an error.


National League

(baseball) The older of the two professional baseball leagues within Major League Baseball.


American League

(baseball) The younger of the two professional baseball leagues within Major League Baseball.


go yard

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

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

Question 162: To follow-up on the aforementioned Phillies slugger, in 1980 he set a career high and established a Major League record for home runs by a third baseman when he went yard 48 times.

2010, Major League Baseball IQ: The Ultimate Test of True Fandom:


ISF

International Softball Federation
w:International Softball Federation

(softball) Initialism of International Softball Federation.


MLB

There was no repeat rainbow rebellion during last Saturday’s Pride Night at Tropicana Field after MLB introduced a policy this season forbidding teams from changing their uniforms to mark local themed events.

2023 June 12, Tom Dart, “US culture wars come to baseball as MLB celebrates Pride month”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Major League Baseball
w:Major League Baseball

(US, Canada, baseball) Initialism of Major League Baseball.


NFI

(American football) Initialism of non-football injury; any injury sustained by a player outside of games or training.


AAAA

(slang, baseball) A baseball player who is too good for Minor League Baseball, but not good enough for Major League Baseball.


lino

en-noun

lino (usually uncountable, plural linos)

Contraction of linesman + -o (“diminutive suffix”).

Lino flagged a bit late but was right

2014 October 4, MartTheTaxi, “Twitter status”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(UK, colloquial, informal, soccer) Abbreviation of linesman.


FCS

w:NCAA Division I#Football Championship Subdivision

(American football) Initialism of Football Championship Subdivision.


left back

(soccer) A defender who normally plays on the left side of the field.


not cricket

(idiomatic, figuratively, humorous) unsportsmanlike.


pick and roll

He and [Dennis] Schröder developing pick-and-roll chemistry will certainly be an objective. [Markieff] Morris has a tendency to linger around the mid-range area after setting ball screens, but when he’s popping beyond the 3-point line, he can hurt defenses.

2019 February 25, Brett Dawson, Fred Katz, “How power forward Markieff Morris might fit in with the Thunder”, in The Athletic:

(basketball) An offensive play in which a player stops to block a defender for a teammate handling the ball and then slips behind the defender to accept a pass.


pav

“It′s no good hanging around here. I vote we nip round to the back of the pav,” Jennings suggested. “We might be able to see Mr Findlater and wave to him through the window.”
They scurried round to the rear of the building where a row of windows overlooked a deserted part of the cricket ground.

1954, Anthony Buckeridge, According to Jennings, page 80:

Up goes the finger and the Dodo snaps to attention, rams the bat under his arm (subaltern with swagger stick) and retreats to the pav with a slowness intended as silent comment on a poor decision.

2000, Aidan Higgins, The Whole Hog, unnumbered page:

One of the most enjoyable drinking experiences in town can be had on a pleasant summer′s day on the balcony of the Pav, the cricket pavilion overlooking Trinity′s playing fields.

2008, Fionn Davenport, Dublin City Guide, Lonely Planet, page 166:

(cricket, informal) Clipping of pavilion.


face mask penalty

face mask penalty (plural face mask penalties)

(American football) A penalty in American football where one player grabs the face mask of an opposing player. There are two versions of this penalty: incidental face mask penalty and the more serious personal foul face mask penalty.


strike rate

(baseball) The number of runs of a batter divided by the number of balls faced.

(cricket) The number of runs scored by a batsman per 100 balls faced; the number of balls bowled by a bowler divided by the number of wickets taken.


facemask

潛水面罩 /潜水面罩

covering used to protect the face used for diving

(American football, Canadian football) The part of the helmet that directly covers the face, made of one or more plastic-coated metal bars.

(American football, Canadian football) The foul of grasping it during play.


go over

en-verb

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

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

But in the closing stages Bishop spotted a gap to go over and Hook converted to set up a nervous finish for the Blues, who managed to hold on.

2010 December 31, “Magners League: Cardiff Blues 27-25 Osprey”, in BBC:


diving

en-noun

diving (countable and uncountable, plural divings)

(soccer, sports) The act of pretending to be tripped or brought to the ground by an opposition player in order to secure an undeserved penalty.


hickory

hickory (countable and uncountable, plural hickories)

A shortening of pockerchicory/pokickery/pohickery, from Powhatan pawcohiccora.

What you find out is, if you have good hickories, you can play anywhere from 5,300 yards to 6,100 with no problem.

2012, Lee Pace, The Golden Age of Pinehurst: The Story of the Rebirth of No. 2, page 117:

I still had in my possession thirteen sets of hickories and a good stock of gutty golf balls, […]

2013, Alfie Ward, Fairways! What Fairways?, page 182:

(countable, golf, informal) A club with a head made from hickory wood.


scorpion kick

association football
association football

(soccer) A rare type of kick in association football where the player dives headlong so his body flies parallel to the ground in a prone position and quickly extends his hips and flexes his knees backwards, so they resemble a scorpion's upright tail, to kick a football passing towards his heels, returning it in the direction it came.


bootleg

From boot + leg. Originally a nickname given to smugglers in King George III's reign, derived from the smugglers' custom of hiding packages of valuables in their large sea-boots when dodging the king's coastguardsmen.

(American football) A play in which the quarterback fakes a handoff, conceals the ball against his hip, and rolls out.


toepoke

en-verb

toepoke (third-person singular simple present toepokes, present participle toepoking, simple past and past participle toepoked)

toepokes (present singular third-person)
toepoking (participle present)
toepoked (participle past)
toepoked (past)

‘You’re not going to tell me you’re still toepoking at your age,’ his uncle said. ‘See what happens if you don’t kick properly? Look here till I show you.’

1988, Glenn Patterson, Burning Your Own, Minerva, published 1993, →ISBN, page 105:

Clinging on to said defender, viduka, slightly off balance, only manages to tickle the ball with his toecaps, merely toepoking it to the opposition.

2002 April 2, Darren Dootsen, “Does this ound familiar?”, in uk.sport.football.clubs.leeds-united (Usenet):

There are moments today as ever when you catch that joy on the wing: seeing a little girl standing in a shopping trolley singing a nonsense song or a chortling urchin toepoking a football past the toppling figure of his father in the park.

2004, Ferdinand Mount, Mind the Gap: The New Class Divide in Britain, Short Books, page 250

Morrison ran on to a through ball, toepoked it towards the goal, Sorensen went to ground too early and the ball bounced slowly over his chest and nestled in the goal.

2005 January 4, Sumisdad, “Re: So...is it time to bring back Tim?”, in alt.sports.soccer.manchester.united (Usenet):

did he( Ronaldinhio) toepoke that goal or what?

2005 March 9, arby, “Re: chelsea v barca”, in uk.sport.football.clubs.newcastle-united (Usenet):


toepoke

Toepokes are useful in an emergency, particularly when it is impossible to get close to the ball.

1979, Ken Jones, How to Play Soccer, Chartwell Books, →ISBN, page 13:

viduka's toepoke was matched in the second half, but again was wide.

1997 October 3, David Arnold, “[Tunisia - Australia [R]]”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet):

I think the ball bounced over his hand, he was in line with the ball but the toepoke bounced higher than he expected.

2002 June 27, William Watson, “Re: Semifinal Brazil - Turkey [R]”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet):

3-1is a bit close? Try 1-0, with a toepoke of a goal in the 90'.

2004 August 20, Victoria Barrett, “Re: [082104] When Gut League Saturday Comes”, in uk.sport.football (Usenet):


clanger

From clang (“loud ringing sound”) + -er.

Geelong could not get their running game going and lapsed into clanger after clanger.

2006, Jim Main, Rohan Connolly, More Than a Century of AFL Grand Finals, page 202:

(Australia, Australian rules football) A mistake made by a player; counted in the game statistics in the category "errors including frees against".


thunderbolt

Substitute Niko Kranjcar's injury-time thunderbolt gave Tottenham a dramatic win over Bolton.

2011 February 5, Michael Kevin Darling, “Tottenham 2 - 1 Bolton”, in BBC:


white maggot

From the uniform of white shirt and shorts worn by the Victorian Football League (which became the Australian Football League) field umpires. The umpires' uniforms changed to day-glow orange in 2004.

Come on you white maggot, that was a throw.

2004, Brooke Neindorf, “Country footy”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name), archived from the original on 2006-04-20:

(Australian rules football, slang, derogatory) A field umpire.


leggie

I'm still top leggie, says Warne [article title]

2004 February 12, Chloe Saltau, The Age:

(cricket, slang) A leg spin bowler, i.e. leg spinner.


throw-in

(soccer, rugby, basketball, handball) A set-piece where the ball is thrown back into play

(Australian rules football) A throw of the ball back into play by the boundary umpire. The umpire faces away from the players and throws it in over his or her shoulder (so as to clearly not favour either side by where exactly it's thrown).


crosscheck

(lacrosse) A penalty where a player hits another player with the shaft of their lacrosse stick with their hands spread apart.


crosscheck

crosscheck (third-person singular simple present crosschecks, present participle crosschecking, simple past and past participle crosschecked)

crosschecks (present singular third-person)
crosschecking (participle present)
crosschecked (participle past)
crosschecked (past)

He picked up a roughing penalty for crosschecking Montreal’s Andrei Kostitsyn to the ice Tuesday after Kostitsyn hit Boston defenseman Aaron Ward from behind.

2009 January 16, Dave Caldwell, “Goalie Takes a Long Trip to Reach the N.H.L.”, in New York Times:

(lacrosse) To hit another player with the shaft of a lacrosse stick.


woodwork

en-noun

woodwork (usually uncountable, plural woodworks)

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

From Middle English woodewerk (“carpentry”), equivalent to wood + work.

That goal was so close, it went in off the woodwork.

Carroll thought he had equalised with his header against the bar with eight minutes left. Liverpool claimed the ball had cross the line and Chelsea were grateful for a miraculous intervention from Cech to turn his effort on to the woodwork.

2012 May 5, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, rugby) The frame of the goal, i.e. the goalpost or crossbar.


who ate all the pies

Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies? You fat bastard, you fat bastard, you ate all the pies. Loser!

(British, soccer, colloquial, derogatory, rhetorical question) Used pejoratively against a fat person.


Premiership

/ˈpɹɛmɪəʃɪp/

(British, soccer) the Premier League of English association football

(British, rugby) Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union


featherbed

(cricket) A soft, slow pitch of predictable bounce.


cutback

cutback (countable and uncountable, plural cutbacks)

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

Lee Barnard swung at Chaplow's cutback and missed completely and then was just too far away to connect with Harding's flashing ball across the face of goal.

2011 January 29, Ian Hughes, “Southampton 1 - 2 Man Utd”, in BBC:

Before the interval an Alibade strike ricocheted off the back of Bright after Ifeoma Onumonu’s cutback. Then in added time Uchenna Kanu smacked a header off the top of the bar.

2023 August 7, Suzanne Wrack, “England beat Nigeria on penalties to reach Women’s World Cup quarter-finals”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) An offensive pass played into a position further from the attacking goal line.


up the gut

American football
American football#English

Describing a play in American football in which the player runs the ball through the middle of the field through defenders.


twelfth man

(cricket, rare in the plural) A designated substitute player who may field but not bat or bowl.


compo

compo (countable and uncountable, plural compos)

(cricket) A type of practice cricket ball made of cork and rubber.


hit and run

hit and run (countable and uncountable, plural hit and runs)

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

(baseball) A play where the baserunners leave their base before the batter hits the ball, assuming that the batter will in fact hit the ball and this will give them an advantage.


hit and run

en-verb

hit and run (third-person singular simple present hits and runs, present participle hitting and running, simple past hit and ran, past participle hit and run)

hits and runs (present singular third-person)
hitting and running (participle present)
hit and ran (past)
hit and run (participle past)

This manager, in keeping with all other famous managers, believed that batting was the thing which won games. He developed a hard-hitting team. He kept everlastingly at them to hit and run, hit and run.

1920, Zane Grey, “The Manager of Madden's Hill”, in The Redheaded Outfield:

(baseball) To leave the base before the batter hits the ball.


spin bowler

(cricket) A bowler who bowls the ball (in cricket) relatively slowly, with spin on it, such that the ball moves in an irregular manner after it bounces; as opposed to a fast bowler.


pop out

pop out (third-person singular simple present pops out, present participle popping out, simple past and past participle popped out)

pops out (present singular third-person)
popping out (participle present)
popped out (participle past)
popped out (past)

(baseball, softball) To be retired after three strikes, including a popout (pop fly) on the third strike.


tweener

Crowder was 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, so those scouts naturally called him a tweener — a power forward in a wing player’s body. The Celtics forward admits to even going along with the stereotype.

2015 June 22, Mark Murphy, “NBA Draft: Celtics” Jae Crowder heads up NBA trend for ex-tweeners”, in Boston Herald:

“Isaac plays fast, never stops,” said Coach Parker, who labels him as “a tweener.” ¶ That means he’s big and strong enough to take care of business in the middle of the line, and quick and agile enough to cover the flanks and harass the quarterback.

2023 August 24, Fred Jeter, “VUU’s Anderson draws national ‘Watch’”, in Richmond Free Press:

(informal) A person or thing that is between two categories, classes or age groups.

(sports, chiefly basketball) A person who plays at two positions, especially if not good enough at either to be restricted to it.

The No 2 seed dismissed the challenge of the world No 82, Panna Udvardy of Hungary, in just over an hour with eight aces, 27 winners and even a tweener, treating the crowd to her power and athleticism on her return to Wimbledon after missing the event last year because of the ban on Russians and Belarusians competing.

2023 July 4, Simon Cambers, “Sabalenka and Jabeur delight the crowds with a tweener and touch”, in The Guardian:

(sports, chiefly tennis) A shot that is hit between the legs.


on-side kick

(sports) A play in American football whereby the team performing the kick-off kicks the ball the minimum distance (ten yards in most levels of play) in an attempt to immediately regain possession of the ball.


slog-sweep

(cricket) a shot played, on one knee, with a horizontal bat, hitting the ball hard into the air on the leg side


slog-sweep

slog-sweep (third-person singular simple present slog-sweeps, present participle slog-sweeping, simple past and past participle slog-swept)

slog-sweeps (present singular third-person)
slog-sweeping (participle present)
slog-swept (participle past)
slog-swept (past)


lacrosse

Borrowed from Canadian French la crosse (“the stick”).

bor+

(sports) A sport played on a field between two opposing teams using sticks (crosses) and a ball, whereby one team defeats the other by scoring more goals within the allotted time.


slips

(cricket) the area of the field covered by fielders in the slip positions; the slip fielders collectively


pigskin

Compound of pig + skin.
The American football is a direct descendant of the ball used in the game of rugby. The rugby ball originally was made of a pig’s bladder with a leather cover; the earliest versions of the leather exterior sometimes were made of pigskin.

“We gotta find those pigskins!” Squat insisted. “Pigskins?” Diddly asked. With obvious disdain, Squat replied, “Yeah, you know, that is what they call footballs, dummy.”

2011, J. H. Holland, Dsi: Diddly Squat Investigation, page 35:


three-quarter

England's superior conditioning began to show in the final quarter and as the game began to break up, their three-quarters began to stamp their authority on the game. And when Foden went on a mazy run from inside his own 22 and put Ashton in for a long-range try, any threat of an upset was when and truly snuffed out.

2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport:

(rugby) A player positioned between the half-backs and the full-backs (properly a three-quarter back)


sticky wicket

(cricket) A pitch that has become wet because of rain and therefore on which the ball bounces unpredictably.


flamethrower

/ˈfleɪmˌθɹəʊ.ə/

From flame + thrower, calque of German Flammenwerfer.

"We allowed him to kind of orchestrate the whole offense, and he got comfortable early," George said. "He's a flamethrower. Once he gets hot, it's over."

2017 April 11, “Mike Conley Rewards Grizzlies’ Faith With a Career Season”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2018-01-27:

So when we see guys like that open, we gotta give them the ball. Especially Bryn [Forbes], he's a flamethrower. The guy is one of the best shooters I've been around, so to have him going in the game, it's much needed for us. We need him to get going. We need him to hit shots.

2021 June 15, Eric Nehm, quoting Khris Middleton, “How Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton manipulated the Nets' defense in Game 4”, in The Athletic, archived from the original on 2023-07-04:

Unlike steroids, these supposedly illegal substances were not used in secret. There was an understanding that it was in everyone's best interest — pitchers and hitters alike — for today's flamethrowers to have a good grip on the ball.

2021 June 15, Jesse Campigotto, “Baseball has a sticky situation on its hands”, in CBC News, archived from the original on 2023-07-04:

(basketball, baseball, slang) Someone who is extremely good at throwing or shooting balls.


marker

marker interface → marker interface pattern

(Philippines, informal, basketball, volleyball) A point, unit of scoring in a game or competition.


ding

en-verb

ding (third-person singular simple present dings, present participle dinging, simple past dinged or (obsolete) dang, past participle dinged or (obsolete) dung)

dings (present singular third-person)
dinging (participle present)
dinged (past)
dang (obsolete past)
dinged (participle past)
dung (obsolete participle past)

From Middle English dingen, dyngen (strong verb), from Old English *dingan (“to ding”), from Proto-West Germanic *dingwan, from Proto-Germanic *dingwaną (“to beat”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰen- (“to beat, push”).
Related to Old English denġan, denċġan (“to ding, knock, beat, strike”, weak verb) and Old Norse dengja (“to hammer”, weak verb); both from Proto-Germanic *dangijaną (“to beat, hammer, peen”), causative of *dingwaną.
Cognate with Icelandic dengja (“to hammer”), Swedish dänga (“to bang, beat”), Danish dænge (“to bang, beat”), German tengeln, dengeln (“to peen”).

cog

(transitive, golf) To mishit (a golf ball).


sandshoe crusher

en-noun

sandshoe crusher (plural sandshoe crushers)

The term refers to the ball crushing the foot of the batsman, if not played with their bat. Sandshoe is not literal though: batsmen wear sturdy boots, not sandshoes, when batting.

Tony Greig was Australia's main stumbling block to victory. 'Thommo' worked out a solution to the problem, dismissing Greig in the 2nd innings with his famous 'sandshoe crusher'!

2002, “Cricket in the 70s”, in ABC TV, archived from the original on 2003-12-10:

(cricket) A yorker bowled at the batsman's feet.


half-tracker

We'd got ourselves into a great position, and if I'd hit that half-tracker for six, we would've won the game.

2004 February 16, Darren Lehmann, “Blue boy Phelps goes blazing on a sunny afternoon”, in The Sydney Morning Herald:

(cricket) A ball bowled so as to pitch roughly half way down the wicket, ie. half-way between batsman and bowler. (From a slow bowler this is a poor delivery, likely to be hit to the boundary.)


cane toad

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

(Australia, slang, derogatory, humorous, especially used in rugby league) A person from Queensland; a Queenslander.


touchback

The ball sailed into the end zone for a touchback and the Eagles had possession on the 20-yard line. https://web.archive.org/web/20060111202354/http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/gameday/postGameArchive.jsp?id=16746

(American football) The result of a play (usually a kickoff or punt) in which the ball passes out the back of the end zone or a team otherwise gains possession of the ball in their own end zone.


number two

number two (countable and uncountable, plural number twos)

number one

especially regarding the defecation sense

(cricket) The batsman who opens alongside the number one, but does not face the first delivery.


packing

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

From Middle English pakkynge; equivalent to pack (“verb and noun senses”) + -ing.

(rugby) The forming of players into a scrum.

The action of the verb.
The forming of players into a scrum.


brassie

(golf, dated) A wooden-headed golf club with a brass base plate, similar to a modern two wood.


mashie

Scottish English, from French massue (“club”)

Florence L. Harvey (1916-01) “Chilly Days and Muddy Courses”, in Golfers Magazine, volume 28, number 1, Chicago, page 9: “Do not think that is because I do not value a mashie, on the contrary it is my favorite club and one with which I am far surer than any other, in dry weather.”

(golf, dated) A metal-headed golf club with a moderate loft, the equivalent of a five iron in a modern set of clubs.


niblick

On this occasion he had just examined some notes of other mashie shots, had put the notebook back in his pocket, and had addressed his ball with a niblick that had an unusually roughened face and a head like a hatchet.

1924, Ford Madox Ford, Parade’s End, Random House, page 75:

(golf, dated) A metal-headed golf club with a large highly lofted head. Replaced by a sand iron or wedge in a modern set of clubs.


niblick

en-verb

niblick (third-person singular simple present niblicks, present participle niblicking, simple past and past participle niblicked)

niblicks (present singular third-person)
niblicking (participle present)
niblicked (participle past)
niblicked (past)

(golf, transitive, intransitive) To strike, or take a shot, with a niblick.


cleek

He had begun at four, playing with a miniature cleek and a found shilling ball over the municipal links.

1924, Ford Madox Ford, Some Do Not... (Parade's End), Penguin, published 2012, page 58:

(golf, dated) A metal-headed golf club with little loft, equivalent in a modern set of clubs to a one or two iron or a four wood.


cleek

cleek (third-person singular simple present cleeks, present participle cleeking, simple past and past participle cleeked)

cleeks (present singular third-person)
cleeking (participle present)
cleeked (participle past)
cleeked (past)

[…] ready to acclaim his exploits, and listen to volumes about every hole, and the marvellous way in which he cleeked his tee off the bogie.

1914, Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey, Lady Cassandra, page 71:

(golf, dated, transitive) To strike with the club called a cleek.


clipping

en-noun

clipping (countable and uncountable, plural clippings)

(uncountable, American football, Canadian football) Falling, rolling, or throwing one's body on the back of an opponent's legs after approaching from behind.


slow ball

(cricket) A ball that is deliberately bowled slower than normal in an attempt to deceive the batsman into making a mistimed shot.


soft hands

(chiefly sports) The hands in a relaxed state, especially for a batsman to play with a dead bat, or for a fielder to catch the ball without it bouncing out.


check-swing

(baseball) A swing in which a batter starts to swing for a ball but stops the swing shortly before the ball reaches home plate.


penthouse

From Anglo-Norman pentiz (“pentice”), from apendiz (“appentice”), ultimately from a suffixed form of Latin appendō (“I append”). Altered by folk etymology to appear to be a compound of house. Doublet of appentice and pentice.

2005, Tony Collins (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Traditional British Rural Sports, Routledge, page 262,
An odd derivative of real tennis lasted until the latter part of the eighteenth century at Rattray in Perthshire. It was played in the churchyard by two pairs of men, and the method for starting the play was to throw the ball onto the church roof, using it like the sloping penthouse of the tennis court.

(tennis) Any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court.

側斜屋頂 /侧斜屋顶

any of the sloping roofs at the side of a real tennis court


slow bowler

(cricket) a bowler who specializes in bowling (pitching a ball in cricket) relatively slowly, especially a spin bowler


square drive

(cricket) A shot played by swinging the bat down through the line of the ball, hitting it along the ground in the direction of point.


crossover

crossover (countable and uncountable, plural crossovers)


squad

From French escouade, from Italian squadra (“square”) (whence also French escadre). Doublet of squadra and square.

ջոկատ

small group of people organized for a purpose

A group of people organized for some common purpose, usually of about ten members.

(cricket, soccer, rugby) A group of potential players from whom a starting team and substitutes are chosen.


baff

en-verb

baff (third-person singular simple present baffs, present participle baffing, simple past and past participle baffed)

baffs (present singular third-person)
baffing (participle present)
baffed (participle past)
baffed (past)

Probably from Scots baff, beff, bauf, probably from West Flemish baf, baffe (“a blow, slap in the face”). Compare also Old French baffe (“slap in the face”) (Modern French baffe), of imitative origin.

(golf) To strike the ground with the bottom of the club when taking a stroke.


stab pass

(Australian rules football) A kick passing the ball to a teammate made so the ball travels low and fast through the air.


torpedo punt

(Australian rules football) A kick of the football made whereby the pointy ends of the ball are oriented lengthwise along its trajectory, thereby aiding aerodynamics. Some spin about the lengthwise axis is imparted to help keep that orientation in flight.


economical

en-adj

economical (comparative more economical, superlative most economical)

more economical (comparative)
most economical (superlative)

/ˌɛkəˈnɒmɪkəl/

/ˌɛkəˈnɑmɪkəl/


drop kick

(rugby, Australian rules football, American football, Canadian football) A kick made by dropping the ball on the ground and kicking it as it bounces up.


straight hit

(cricket) A fielding position close to the boundary directly behind the bowler; a fielder in this position.


stock ball

(cricket) the type of ball (such as an off break) that a particular bowler most frequently bowls


strike bowler

(cricket) A bowler having the ability to take wickets, though often conceding runs.


straight bat

(cricket) The bat when held vertically, or when swung through a vertical arc.


straight bat

en-verb

straight bat (third-person singular simple present straight bats, present participle straight batting, simple past and past participle straight batted)

straight bats (present singular third-person)
straight batting (participle present)
straight batted (participle past)
straight batted (past)

(cricket) To play (a delivery) with the bat held or swung in this manner.


tippity runs

(cricket, Australia, Victoria) A form of backyard cricket; the defining rule of the form, which requires the batsman to run if they hit the ball; the rule increases the pace of the game by creating more runout chances than in ordinary cricket.

tippy go tippy go run

parts of South Australia; Northern Territory


backyard cricket

My father and I evolved a game of backyard cricket which was a balance of intricate skills and high comedy.

1982, Ted Walker, The High Path, page 100:

The babies sorted out, it was a rapid climb for Sunil Gavaskar; he went from backyard cricket to school, inter-school and inter-university cricket to Ranji Trophy and to Test fame with the same solid footwork that made him one of the most prolific run-getters of the century.

2003, Kersi Meher-Homji, Heroes of 100 tests: from Cowdrey and the Waughs to Warne, Tendulkar and Hooper, page 32:

How could it be possible to play in such a high-pressure Test, yet feel as though it was just a game of backyard cricket?

2008, Michael Hussey, Mr Cricket: Driven to Succeed, page 190:

(UK) Informal cricket played in the back yard of a private residence, or similar limited space.


stump camera

(cricket) a small television camera embedded inside one of the stumps, intended to give a shot of the action as seen by the batsman


third man

(cricket) a fielding position on the off side, behind square, near the boundary; a fielder in that position


third slip

(cricket) a fielding position to the off side of second slip; a fielder in that position


ten-for

(cricket) The feat of a bowler taking ten wickets in a match.


third umpire

(cricket) A match official who uses TV replays to assist the two umpires in the case of close decisions.


take a wicket

take a wicket (third-person singular simple present takes a wicket, present participle taking a wicket, simple past took a wicket, past participle taken a wicket)

takes a wicket (present singular third-person)
taking a wicket (participle present)
took a wicket (past)
taken a wicket (participle past)


timed out

(cricket) Describing the method of getting out in which the batsman takes longer than two minutes to appear on the field.


timed out

(cricket) Describing a wicket that has fallen by this means.


throw away

throw away (third-person singular simple present throws away, present participle throwing away, simple past threw away, past participle thrown away)

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

(American football, slang) To intentionally throw an incomplete pass.


diamond cutter

(baseball) A ball hit up the middle of the diamond over the pitching mound reaching the outfield.


DM

en-noun

DM (countable and uncountable, plural DMs)

(soccer) Initialism of defensive midfielder.


gardening

gardening (usually uncountable, plural gardenings)

(cricket) The act of a batsman prodding at the pitch with their bat, typically in order to flatten any bumps.


on the fly

Jones caught the ball on the fly.

(baseball, of the ball) While in the air, without having touched the ground.


wind-up

He's into his wind-up. Here comes the pitch. Strike on the inside corner!

1975: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (movie)

(baseball) The phase of making a pitch where the pitcher moves his or her arm backwards before throwing the ball.


up front

But, rather than make a change up front, Hughes shuffled his defence for this match, replacing Carlos Salcido with Baird, in a move which few would have predicted would prove decisive.

2010 December 28, Marc Vesty, “Stoke 0 - 2 Fulham”, in BBC:


crowd catch

(cricket) A catch of a ball which was played into the ground near the batsman and bounced up to a fielder. Spectators who could not see from a distance that it was played into the ground may incorrectly think that the batsman is out.


rushed behind

In another Friday-night match, in Round 15, the Western Bulldogs crushed us by sixty-four points; we managed just two rushed behinds in the last half-hour, while the Dogs piled on six goals.

Every one of those rushed behinds was either kicked, handballed, walked through or deliberately pushed across the line by a Hawthorn player.

2016, Martin Blake, Mighty Fighting Hawks:

(Australian rules football) A behind (one-point score) made when the ball passes through the goal posts or behind posts not from the foot of the attacking team, i.e. either spilled off hands or deliberately carried through by the defenders.


beaner

From bean + -er; see bean (“(slang) head”).

(baseball) A pitch deliberately thrown at the head (the bean) of the batter.


polocrosse

A team sport that is a combination of polo and lacrosse.


underarm

From under- + arm. The armpit sense is not old, historically speaking (1920s), and it is believed to have arisen as a euphemism in advertising.

(cricket) Old-fashioned and now outlawed style of bowling in which the arm is not swung over the shoulder.


hippodrome

en-verb

hippodrome (third-person singular simple present hippodromes, present participle hippodroming, simple past and past participle hippodromed)

hippodromes (present singular third-person)
hippodroming (participle present)
hippodromed (participle past)
hippodromed (past)

/ˈhɪpəˌdɹəʊm/

Borrowed from French hippodrome, from Latin hippodromos, from Ancient Greek ἱππόδρομος (hippódromos), from ἵππος (híppos, “horse”) + δρόμος (drómos, “course”). By surface analysis, hippo- + -drome.

(US, slang, sports, especially baseball) To stage a sporting contest to suit gamblers.


tour match

(cricket) a cricket match played between a touring side and a local side


top-spinner

(cricket) a type of ball, bowled by a leg spin bowler, that spins forward and, when bouncing off the pitch, bounces higher than expected and slows down


top hand

(cricket) The batsman's hand that is further up the handle; used for control rather than power.


triple century

en-noun

triple century (plural triple centuries)

(cricket) three hundred runs scored by a single batsman in one innings, or by two batsmen in a partnership


touring squad

(cricket) the group of players who go on a tour as a pool from which teams are selected for individual matches


top order

(cricket) the batsmen who bat in the first few positions


offload

en-verb

offload (third-person singular simple present offloads, present participle offloading, simple past and past participle offloaded)

offloads (present singular third-person)
offloading (participle present)
offloaded (participle past)
offloaded (past)


offload

en-noun

offload (countable and uncountable, plural offloads)

Toeava went over unopposed to stretch his side's lead but Japan got on the scoreboard on 56 minutes, wing Hirotoki Onozawa intercepting an attempted offload from Slade, who had a rather flaky game, and running in from the All Blacks' 10m line.

2011 September 16, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport:

(rugby) The act of passing the ball to a team mate when tackled.


tonk

(cricket, colloquial) A resounding strike of the ball; a powerful hit of the ball with the bat.


tonk

en-verb

tonk (third-person singular simple present tonks, present participle tonking, simple past and past participle tonked)

tonks (present singular third-person)
tonking (participle present)
tonked (participle past)
tonked (past)

Then your dad would step up and spend 45 minutes repeatedly tonking the ball over the shower block […]

2012, Iain Macintosh, Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Cricket But Were Too Afraid to Ask:

Moments later, Sehwag tonked the ball and it travelled some distance.

2014, Makarand Waingankar, Guts & Glory:

(cricket, colloquial, transitive) To knock or strike (a ball) so that it flies through the air.


full house

→ Japanese: フルハウス (furu hausu)

→ Portuguese: full house

→ Russian: фул-ха́ус (ful-xáus)

(rugby union) A single player scoring a try, conversion, penalty goal and drop goal in the same match


two-way

From two + way. Compare Old English twiweġ (“intersection, junction of two roads”).

cog

(American football) Playing both offense and defense in the same game.


inside-the-park homer

en-noun

inside-the-park homer (plural inside-the-park homers)

(baseball) A home run that does not leave the stadium.


see red

en-verb

see red (third-person singular simple present sees red, present participle seeing red, simple past saw red, past participle seen red)

sees red (present singular third-person)
seeing red (participle present)
saw red (past)
seen red (participle past)

Possibly from the red flag used in some historic armies to signal the imminence of battle, or from the red cloth used to enrage bulls in Spanish bullfighting, or more generally from the idea of red as a colour of warning and danger. Compare corresponding idioms in several European languages: Danish se rødt, German rotsehen, French voir rouge, etc.

Diop, sometimes criticized for passive play, saw red once this season when he lashed out at a foe who kicked away his legs.

2005 January 26, Rob Hughes, “Soccer: Trio from Senegal is having a ball”, in New York Times, retrieved 2013-11-14:

Kalinic later saw red for a rash tackle on Paul Scharner before Gabriel Tamas was dismissed for bringing down Diouf.

2010 December 28, Kevin Darlin, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC:

(idiomatic, soccer) To receive a red card, and be dismissed from the playing field.


bosey

Named after English cricketer Bernard Bosanquet who toured Australia for the 1903/4 summer; + -y. (Reference: Sidney J. Baker, The Australian Language, second edition, 1966, chapter XI section 4, page 248.)


cow shot

The cow shot is regarded as inelegant, and indeed risky, but can be very effective for a batsman with strength and a good eye.

(cricket, slang) A batting stroke played across the line and aiming to hit the ball towards cow corner.


birdie

He scored ten birdies during the tournament.

The heat brought one blessing. It baked the 7,053-yard par 35-35—70 course to concrete hardness and gave some added roll to the drives. Birdie, which have been at a premium, came easier.

1964 June 16, “All Eyes On Lema At U.S. Open This Week”, in The Indianapolis Star, volume 62, number 11, Indianapolis, Ind., page 22:

(golf) The completion of a hole one stroke below par.

birdie

golf: completion of a hole one stroke below par


birdie

birdie (third-person singular simple present birdies, present participle birdieing or birdying, simple past and past participle birdied)

birdies (present singular third-person)
birdieing (participle present)
birdying (participle present)
birdied (participle past)
birdied (past)

Sörenstam birdied to take the lead.

Sörenstam birdied the seventeenth hole to take the lead.

(transitive, golf) To score a birdie at (a hole).


chin music

(folk music): The name jokingly refers to "playing" the mouth as if it were an instrument.

Jones backed Smith off the plate with a little chin music.

(baseball, informal) A fastball thrown near the batter's chin, often to set up a subsequent pitch thrown low and outside.

(cricket, informal) A bouncer aimed near the batsman's chin.


center fielder

The center fielder made a spectacular sliding catch.

(baseball) the outfield defensive player who stands in the middle of the field


left fielder

The left fielder made a fine running catch.

(baseball) The outfield defensive player that stands to the left of the center fielder as viewed from home plate.


buzzer

→ Japanese: ブザー (buzā)

(cricket, slang) A run scored from an overthrow.


right fielder

The right fielder nailed the runner at the plate with a perfect throw.

(baseball) The outfield defensive player that stands to the right of the field as viewed from home plate.


finishing

That guy's a slow and lazy player, but he's got excellent finishing.

Benítez's team had been subjected to some intense pressure and will be grateful that Benfica's finishing was not as refined as their buildup play. Jorge Jesus's side pinned them back at times but they were guilty of being too elaborate in front of goal.

2013 May 15, Daniel Taylor, The Guardian:


yardage

en-noun

yardage (countable and uncountable, plural yardages)

Aiyuk a junior college transfer excels in grabbing yardage after the catch. No, like, really excels. In mid-October, according a story by The Athletic, Aiyuk was averaging more yards after the catch (13.6) than Jerry Jeudy was averaging per catch

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


sitter

From Middle English sitter, sittere, syttare, equivalent to sit + -er.

How could he miss that? It was an absolute sitter!

Aaron Ramsey, a hero last season against Hull, missed a sitter at the end of normal time that would have made the game safe and must have been relieved that his shot against a post from four yards out did not cost his side more dearly.

2015 April 18, Paul Wilson, The Guardian:

(soccer, snooker, cricket, slang) A very easy scoring chance.


gopher ball

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(baseball) A pitched ball hit for a home run.


platoon

en-verb

platoon (third-person singular simple present platoons, present participle platooning, simple past and past participle platooned)

platoons (present singular third-person)
platooning (participle present)
platooned (participle past)
platooned (past)

From obsolete French plauton, variant of peloton, from Middle French pelote + -on. Doublet of peloton. Compare pellet.

Taylor has been hitting poorly against left-handers, and Morgan has been hitting poorly against right-handers, so they will platoon.

(baseball) To alternate starts with a teammate of opposite handedness, depending on the handedness of the opposing pitcher


two-footed

From Middle English two-foted, equivalent to two + footed. Compare Old English twifēte (“two-footed”), Old Norse tvífættr (“two-footed”).

Villa full-back Alan Hutton was perhaps fortunate to stay on the field when his two-footed challenge on Shane Long went unpunished by referee Phil Dowd.

2011 October 22, Sam Sheringham, “Aston Villa 1 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:


shooter

From Middle English schoter, schuter, schotter, scheter, schetare, scheotere, from Old English sċēotere (“shooter”), equivalent to shoot + -er. Compare Dutch schieter, schutter (“shooter”), German Schießer (“shooter”), Swedish skjutare, West Frisian sjitter (“shooter”).

(cricket) A delivery that skids after pitching, instead of bouncing.


arena football

A form of American football played on a smaller field, and in an indoor arena.


clearance

en-noun

clearance (countable and uncountable, plural clearances)

Bolton were then just inches from taking the lead, but the dangerous-looking Taylor drilled just wide after picking up a loose ball following Jose Bosingwa's poor attempted clearance.

2010 December 29, Chris Whyatt, “Chelsea 1 - 0 Bolton”, in BBC:

(soccer) The act of kicking a ball away from the goal one is defending.

изчистване

soccer: the act of kicking a ball away from the goal one is defending

(Australian rules football) The first disposal in a chain that leaves the area of a stoppage, or a disposal that leaves the area of a stoppage itself.

(Australian rules football) The act of leaving the area of a stoppage.


NBDL

(basketball, historical) Initialism of National Basketball Association Development League, former name of an organization within the National Basketball Association.


run over

en-verb

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

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

Andrew Bishop then ran over in the closing stages, but it was too late.

2010 December 31, “Magners League: Cardiff Blues 27-25 Osprey”, in BBC:


upfront

He's a poor defender, so we always play him upfront.


doubles

→ Japanese: ダブルス (daburusu)

A sandwich of Trinidad and Tobago, made with two bara (flat fried bread) filled with curried chickpeas.


whites

A set of white clothes, especially as a uniform.


dogballs

From dog + balls, since a figure eight on its side resembles a male dog's genitalia.

(slang, golf) A score of eight on any one hole, generally regarded as a very poor score, because the maximum number (par) for any golf hole is five.


slugger

That will bring up the slugger, Jones.

(baseball) A batter who has a high percentage of extra base hits.


racquetball

en-noun

racquetball (countable and uncountable, plural racquetballs)

(uncountable) A certain sport, similar to squash, but played with a bigger ball.


putty

putty (countable and uncountable, plural putties)

Borrowed from French potée (“polishing powder", originally "the contents of a pot, potful”), from French pot (“pot”). More at English pot.

bor

(golf, colloquial) A golf ball made of composition and not gutta-percha.


twirl

en-verb

twirl (third-person singular simple present twirls, present participle twirling, simple past and past participle twirled)

twirls (present singular third-person)
twirling (participle present)
twirled (participle past)
twirled (past)

Of Scandinavian origin, akin to Norwegian Nynorsk tvirla, Old High German dweran (German zwirlen, quirlen), Dutch dwarrelen and Icelandic þyrill; all from Proto-Germanic *þwirilaz (“stirring-stick, whisk”), *þweraną (“to stir”). Or, an alteration of tirl (“to twist”), with influence from whirl.

der

When the batteries were announced, however, and Herb Pennock of the Boston Red Sox, probably the best pitcher in all baseballdom, was named to twirl for the invading team, we felt we had been tricked.

1949, Mark Raymond Murnane, Ground Swells: Of Sailors, Ships, and Shellac, page 302:


dodgeball

en-noun

dodgeball (countable and uncountable, plural dodgeballs)

A team sport whose main objective is to dodge or catch balls thrown by the opposition.


soccer ball

(soccer) A ball that is designed for use in the sport of soccer; a football.


golf ball

A small, usually white ball that is designed for use in the game of golf.


blocker

→ Polish: bloker, blokers

From Middle English blocker, blokker, bloker, blokkere, equivalent to block + -er.

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Agent noun of block (“obstruct or prevent”); something that blocks something else.

(cricket) A defensive or low-scoring batter.


headhunter

→ German: Headhunter m

Thankfully, there aren't many headhunters in the modern game.

(baseball) A pitcher who throws at the batter's head.


pile-up

(colloquial) A pile, a group of people or things which have piled up on one another, especially

(American football) A pile of tackling players.


number one

England number one Hart produced a magnificent moment to deny Van Persie once more just after the hour mark, leaping across his goal to fingertip the Dutchman's crashing 25-yard, top corner-bound drive away.

2011 January 5, Jonathan Stevenson, “Arsenal 0 - 0 Man City”, in BBC:

(soccer) The main goalkeeper of a team, so-called because they wear the number 1 on the back of their kit.

(cricket) The batsman who opens the batting.


aerial ping pong

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A reference to the football going up and down the ground by long high kicks. (Reference: Australian National Dictionary Centre at the Australian National University).

'Australian Rules draws bigger crowds in Melbourne than Rugby in Sydney.' 'What?' Sydney Sam would say, 'that's not football, mate, it's aerial ping-pong.'

1965, Frank Hardy, The Yarns of Billy Borker, page 43:

(sometimes derogatory, sometimes humorous) Australian rules football.


niggerball

niggerball (countable and uncountable, plural niggerballs)

It's easy to see how Amerika's so easily turning into a police state, give the unwashed masses their television and some niggerball and they'll ignore the fact that they're slaves.

2002, Lieberal Death, “Your TV viewing for This Evening”, in rec.sport.pro-wrestling (Usenet):

[…] two-hundred dollar tennis shoes named after some niggerball player […]

2004, H. A. Covington, A Distant Thunder:

(uncountable, derogatory, offensive, ethnic slur) The sport of basketball.


laser beam

Ramirez hit a laser beam home run into the right center field seats leading the 10th inning off Boston closer Ken Ryan

1995, Russell Schneider, Glorious Indian Summer of 1995: Season of Dreams...Cleveland, →ISBN, page 44:

The batter hit a laser-beam to right field. A run for Cincinnati! Now the score was five to three.

2005, Dallas Woodburn, 3 A.m.: A Collection of Short Stories, iUniverse, →ISBN:

When in doubt, so I threw my best fastball. Mantle hit a laser beam past my right knee.

2009, P.J. Dragseth, Eye for Talent: Interviews with Veteran Baseball Scouts, McFarland, →ISBN, page 37:

The way he warmed up his famous arm by throwing laser beams out of a sleepy, feline half-windup to some bullpen lackey armed with the added protection of a catcher's mitt.

2010, Josh Wilker, Cardboard Gods: An All-American Tale Told Through Baseball Cards, Seven Footer Press, →ISBN:

Just as he finished that sentence, Evan Longoria hit a laser beam over the left field fence. The Red Sox season was over in a flash.

2012, Paul Kocak, Baseball's Starry Night: Reliving Major League Baseball's 2011 Wild Card Night of Shock and Awe, Digitature, →ISBN, page 152:

One reason the rookies weren't catching too many was that Bradshaw was throwing laser beams.

2013, Roy Blount Jr., About Three Bricks Shy...And the Load Filled Up, Ballantine Books, →ISBN:

The Bloomer Girls played a respectable brand of baseball, to be sure, but they didn't throw 350-foot laser beams from deep center, or chew Red Man during ballgames.

2014, Scott Simkus, Outsider Baseball: The Weird World of Hardball on the Fringe, 1876–1950, Chicago Review Press, →ISBN, page 116:

(baseball) A low, hard-hit or -thrown ball.


lifter

When he dismissed Keith Miller, caught at short leg off a lifter, I turned round to Tony Lock[.]

1990, Ashes: Battles and Bellylaughs, Byron Bay: Swan Publishing, page 148:

(cricket) A delivery that bounces well off the pitch.


chip in

en-verb

chip in (third-person singular simple present chips in, present participle chipping in, simple past and past participle chipped in)

chips in (present singular third-person)
chipping in (participle present)
chipped in (participle past)
chipped in (past)

He chipped in from 20 yards for a birdie.

(intransitive, golf) To put a chip shot in the hole.


Toblerone

Brand name, from a blend of Tobler (“surname of one of the creators”) + Italian torrone (“form of nougat”).

(cricket, slang) A length of soft sponge shaped like a triangular prism, usually printed with advertising, that can be placed over the boundary rope.


leadoff

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The leadoff batter began the inning with a double, setting a good example for the following players.

(chiefly baseball) Beginning something by leading the way.


cleanskin

(cricket) A cricket bat with no maker's logo


no man's land

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Originally from Middle English Nomanneslond, which first appears c. 1350. Revived with new senses in a dispatch printed in the Times newspaper by Colonel Ernest Dunlop Swinton writing as "Eyewitness".

(tennis) The area between the backcourt and the space close to the net, from which it is difficult to return the ball.

(cricket) An area of the field where a fielder cannot save a single, nor stop a boundary.


loosehead

(rugby) prop who plays on the left hand side of the front row of the scrum, such that in a scrum, their head is not tightly bound (unlike that of the tighthead)


RT

en-noun

RT (countable and uncountable, plural RTs)

(American football, Canadian football) Initialism of right tackle.


beach volleyball

beach volleyball (countable and uncountable, plural beach volleyballs)

(uncountable) An outdoor variant of volleyball played on sand.


smother

en-verb

smother (third-person singular simple present smothers, present participle smothering, simple past and past participle smothered)

smothers (present singular third-person)
smothering (participle present)
smothered (participle past)
smothered (past)

From Middle English smothren, smortheren, alteration (due to smother, smorther (“a suffocating vapour, dense smoke”, noun)) of Middle English smoren (“to smother”), from Old English smorian (“to smother, suffocate, choke”), from Proto-Germanic *smurōną (“to suffocate, strangle”), probably related to *smallijan (“to burn”) or Old English smoca (“smoke”).
Cognate with Middle Low German smoren, smurten (“to choke, suffocate”), West Flemish smoren (“to smoke, reek”), Dutch smoren (“to suffocate, smother", also "to stew, simmer”), German schmoren (“to stew, simmer, braise”).

cog

Emmanuel Adebayor's touch proved a fraction heavy as he guided Van der Vaart's exquisite long ball round John Ruddy, before the goalkeeper did well to smother Bale's shot from Modric's weighted pass.

2011 December 27, Mike Henson, “Norwich 0 - 2 Tottenham”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) To get in the way of a kick of the ball.

(Australian rules football) To get in the way of a kick of the ball, preventing it going very far. When a player is kicking the ball, an opponent who is close enough will reach out with his hands and arms to get over the top of it, so the ball hits his hands after leaving the kicker's boot, dribbling away.


smother

en-noun

smother (countable and uncountable, plural smothers)

From Middle English smother, smorther (“a suffocating vapour, dense smoke”), from Old English smorþor (“smoke”, literally “that which suffocates”), from smorian (“to suffocate, choke”) + -þor (instrumental suffix).

inh

That which smothers or appears to smother, particularly

(Australian rules football) The act of smothering a kick (see verb section).


stopper

He's the number one stopper in the country.

And just before the interval, Kolarov, who was having one of his better games in a City shirt, fizzed in a cracker from 30 yards which the Wolves stopper unconvincingly pushed behind for a corner.

2011 January 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Man City 4 - 3 Wolves”, in BBC:


steal

en-verb

steal (third-person singular simple present steals, present participle stealing, simple past stole, past participle stolen or (nonstandard, colloquial) stole)

steals (present singular third-person)
stealing (participle present)
stole (past)
stolen (participle past)
stole (colloquial nonstandard participle past)

From Middle English stelen, from Old English stelan, from Proto-West Germanic *stelan, from Proto-Germanic *stelaną.
Compare West Frisian stelle, Low German stehlen, Dutch stelen, German stehlen, Danish stjæle, Swedish stjäla, Norwegian Bokmål stjele, Norwegian Nynorsk stela, Sanskrit स्तेय (steya); see below for more.
For the meaning development compare with Russian красть (krastʹ, “to steal”) and Russian кра́сться (krástʹsja, “to stalk, to prowl, to slink”).
etymology notes
Proposed etymologies beyond Germanic are numerous and include
* Proto-Indo-European *ster-: compare Welsh herw (“theft, raid”), Ancient Greek στερέω (steréō, “to deprive of”)
* Proto-Indo-European *stel(H)- (“to stretch”): compare Albanian pë/mbështjell (“I confuse, mess up, mix, wrap up”), Old Church Slavonic стєлѭ (steljǫ, “I spread out (bed, roof)”), Ancient Greek τηλία (tēlía, “playing table”)
* Proto-Indo-European *tsel- (“to sneak”): compare Sanskrit त्सरति (tsárati, “creep, sneak up on”) and other forms under Pokorny 5. *sel- "schleichen, kriechen"

cog

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

don't teach your grandmother to steal sheep

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

(transitive, baseball) To advance safely to (another base) during the delivery of a pitch, without the aid of a hit, walk, passed ball, wild pitch, or defensive indifference.

偷垒

baseball: to advance safely during the pitch


steal

(basketball, ice hockey) A situation in which a defensive player actively takes possession of the ball or puck from the opponent's team.


scorcher

/ˈskɔɹ.t͡ʃɚ/

-ɔː(ɹ)t͡ʃə(ɹ)

From scorch + -er (agent noun suffix) or -er (descriptive suffix).

What a scorcher! See the net reverberate!

(soccer) A very good goal, notably made with a very hard shot.


mixed doubles

(sports) A game played between two teams, each consisting of a female and a male.


nineteenth hole

en-noun

nineteenth hole (plural nineteenth holes)

From an extension of the golf course hole-numbering system, wherein a (normal) full-length course consists of eighteen holes.

The incident occurred at the "University Bar," Sinclair Road, the public house now styled the "Nineteenth Hole."

1972, The Diced Cap: The Story of Aberdeen City Police, page 79:

Many golfers enjoy the tradition associated with the nineteenth hole. This tradition usually involves a trip to the clubhouse bar, or something serving its reasonable approximation, [... for] a few drinks. On occasion, some golfers get carried away at the nineteenth hole, sometimes in handcuffs.

2007, John H. Minan, The Little Green Book of Golf Law: The Real Rules of the Game of Golf, →ISBN, page 145:

As it was told to me in the nineteenth hole, a cracking pub in the center of town, […]

2009, Tom Coyne, A Course Called Ireland: A Long Walk, →ISBN, page 50:

(golf) A pub/bar where golfers go for drinks after a game of golf, usually in the clubhouse at the course; equivalent to après-ski.


tetherball

tetherball (usually uncountable, plural tetherballs)

/ˈtɛðəˌbɔːl/

A two-person sport where players hit a ball on the end of a tether attached to the top of a pole in opposite directions, and the winner is the one who manages to make the tether wrap all the way round the pole.


BHA

Brighton & Hove Albion
w:Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Brighton & Hove Albion.


engine room

(figurative) The source of power in a team or other group.

(rugby union) The pair of locks in a team.


corner kick

(soccer) A kick awarded to the attacking team when the ball leaves the field of play by wholly crossing the goal line without a goal having been scored, having last touched a player from the defending team. For the kick, the ball is placed within the corner arc closest to where it went out of play.


kickball

kickball (countable and uncountable, plural kickballs)

(sports, uncountable) A sport similar to baseball, where a ball similar to a soccer ball, is pitched at a kicker, and is kicked rather than hit.


tweenie

(tennis) A shot that is hit between the legs; a tweener.


chalky

en-adj

chalky (comparative chalkier, superlative chalkiest)

chalkier (comparative)
chalkiest (superlative)

It’s funny — even though the bracket has been so chalky, several of the top seeds have looked suspect at times.

(US, sports, chiefly basketball) Of a tournament: in which the favorites win, or expected to win, most of the games.


enforcer

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

(ice hockey, rugby, Australian rules football) A player who physically intimidates or confronts the opposition.


goal attack

(netball) A player allowed in the centre third, goal third including the shooting circle.


goal shooter

(netball) A player allowed in the goal third including the shooting circle.


wing attack

(netball) A player allowed in the centre third and goal third, but not the shooting circle.


goal defence

defensive goal third
defensive goal third

(netball) A player allowed in the centre third and the defensive goal third, including the shooting circle.


centre third

(netball) The central third of a netball court.


shooting circle

en-noun

shooting circle (plural shooting circles)

(netball) One of two semicircles in the goal thirds, radius 4.9 metres, in which the goal shooter and goal attack can shoot.


wing defence

(netball) A player allowed in the centre third, defensive goal third, but not the shooting circle.


goal third

The playing court is divided into thirds, a 'centre third' sandwiched between two 'goal thirds', with a D shaped area in both of the goal thirds and restrictions on which players are allowed in each section.

2012, Sandy Green, Encouraging Early Sports Skills, page 16:

(netball) One of two thirds of a netball court nearest the goal ring.


goal kick

(soccer) A set piece taken from the goal area after an attacker touches the ball out of play over the goal line.

հարված դարպասից

a set piece taken from the goal area after the ball has gone out of play


korfball

korfball (countable and uncountable, plural korfballs)

Borrowing from Dutch korfbal. Equivalent to corf + ball.

(uncountable) A non-contact unisex team sport originating from the Netherlands, similar to netball, where players attempt to throw a ball into a basket atop a pole.


carrying violation

carrying violation (plural carrying violations)

(basketball) The violation that occurs when a player places the palm of his hand under the ball while dribbling. As long as a player's hand is on top of the ball, he can dribble it above his shoulder.


netball

netball (countable and uncountable, plural netballs)

Some excellent photographs are taken of [...] members of the athletic club, "net-ball," "foot-ball," etc., [...]

1913 January 15, “Personal and Official”, in C. W. Hastings, editor, The Gas Engineer’s Magazine and Gas Industries, volume XXIX, number 441, London: J. G. Hammond & Co., →OCLC, page 13, column 2:

The next events were ones in which selected members of squads participated while the other members watched and cheered. These were net ball, hockey, tennis, and swimming, and followed in the order given.

1928 February, “News Notes. A Successful College Play Day.”, in James Huff McCurdy, editor, American Physical Education Review, volume XXXIII, number 2 (number 234 overall), Springfield, Mass.: American Physical Education Association, →OCLC, page 124, column 2:

In addition to the above prominent clubs, there are a number of cricket, tennis, net-ball, and football clubs in the Colony.

1946–1947, “[Windward Islands.] St. Lucia.”, in The West Indies Year Book: […], London: Thomas Skinner & Co., →OCLC, page 389, column 2:

Outcome goals are related directly to end results – e.g. a netball player wants to score more goals / Performance goals are measured against past performance, e.g. a netball player wants to score more goals than in the previous match.

1999, Michael Hill, “Training Methods”, in PE for You: Teacher Resource Pack, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Stanley Thornes Publishers, →ISBN, part 3 (Health, Safety and Training), page 83, column 2:

[W]hen I asked each person to nominate the best thing about netball, the overwhelming response was the friendships they had made. Netball friendships have carried people through form slumps, heartbreaking losses and personal tragedies, and it is these friendships that make the wins and the highs so much sweeter.

2005, Liz Ellis, “A Few Words from Liz”, in Netball Heroes, Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 1:

Another key skill in netball is the art of dodging; a quick, decisive change of direction to out-manoeuvre or wrong-foot a defender and be free to receive a pass or create a space to move into.

2010, Anna Sheryn, Chris Sheryn, “Movement and Footwork”, in 101 Youth Netball Drills: Age 12 to 16, 2nd edition, London: A & C Black, published 2012, →ISBN, page 35:

It may be that this situation arose because of differential investment or more competent coaching in girls' as opposed to boys' sports in that school, but it is even more likely that it arose because of the composition, coaching, commitment, and so on of all other net ball teams in their league on the one hand, and all other soccer teams in their league on the other.

2012, Roger Gomm, “Qualitative Causal Analysis and the Fallacies of Composition and Division: The Example of Ethnic Inequalities in Educational Achievement”, in Barry Cooper, Judith Glaesser, Roger Gomm, Martyn Hammersley, Challenging the Qualitative–Quantitative Divide: Explorations in Case-focused Causal Analysis, London, New York, N.Y.: Continuum International Publishing Group, →ISBN, part I (Problems with Quantitative and Qualitative Research), page 119:

[A]round half the boys were of the view that roles in netball were suitable for both genders while one-third of boys indicated that all roles in netball were for girls only, with the exception of the warm-up coach. Girls were mostly of the view that only the equipment manager was more suitable for boys in netball.

2012, Gary D. Kinchin, “Learning Sport Education through Reflective Inquiry: Four Case Studies”, in Peter Hastie, editor, Sport Education: International Perspectives (Routledge Studies in Physical Education and Youth Sport), Abingdon, Oxfordshire, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 171:

(uncountable) A (usually women's) team sport derived from basketball, with seven players on each side who attempt to score goals by passing a ball and throwing it into the opponent's goal, which is a raised hoop with a net at one end of the playing area. Unlike basketball, a player in possession of the ball cannot move until the ball is passed to another player.


fadeaway

He taunted the Knicks instead with hanging jumpers, impossible fadeaways and layups in traffic.

2009 February 3, Howard Beck, “Bryant Puts on a Show, Setting Garden Records”, in New York Times:

[Markieff] Morris isn’t quite the post-up threat that [Enes] Kanter is, and he can play both the 4 spot and 5 spot instead of just center, like Kanter. He is capable of playing a similar way, backing defenders down in the post. He prefers getting his buckets there with a bevy of fade-aways and jumpers. He’s a heat checker. And he can get hot on the block.

2019 February 25, Brett Dawson, Fred Katz, “How power forward Markieff Morris might fit in with the Thunder”, in The Athletic:

(basketball) A jump shot made while jumping backwards, away from the basket, with the goal to create space between the shooter and the defender, making it much harder to block.


batboy

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

(baseball, softball) A boy employed to watch over the bats, and assist the players in retrieving them during play.


screamer

But then he came around the wicket again, I slashed at one, and Strauss, at full stretch diving to his left at second slip, took an absolute screamer. It was the catch of the summer, and it happened to me.

His screamer into the right field bleachers in the sixth with Scarborough and Viau on base put Hickory out in front 9 to 8 and the lead held for the rest of the game.

2006, R. G. Utley, Tim Peeler, Aaron Peeler, Outlaw Ballplayers: interviews and profiles from the Independent Carolina Baseball League:

Virtually every other facet of the game is shared by other sports, but the sight of a player taking a fingertip ‘screamer’ whilst perched on the shoulders of an opponent is unique to footy, and players who perfect this ability are among the code’s most celebrated and well remembered.

2008, John Devaney, Full Points Footy's WA Football Companion:

(sports, Australian rules football) A particularly high mark (clean catch of a kicked ball).

Kasper Schmeichel brilliantly denied Marouane Chamakh before Bacary Sagna thumped home a second, though Bradley Johnson's screamer halved the deficit.

2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal”, in BBC:


at the double

2016, FourFourTwo staff, “Arsenal 0 Barcelona 2: Messi at the double to down brave Gunners” at FourFourTwo


cutline

(squash) A line on the front wall, above which the ball must hit for a serve


get over

en-verb

get over (third-person singular simple present gets over, present participle getting over, simple past got over, past participle (UK) got over or (US) gotten over)

gets over (present singular third-person)
getting over (participle present)
got over (past)
got over (UK participle past)
gotten over (US participle past)

Ireland got their second try not long before half-time with O'Leary, an injury doubt all week with a stiff back, just about getting over for a try which was confirmed by the video referee.

2011 February 13, Lyle Jackson, “Ireland 22-25 France”, in BBC:

But when a side plays for almost 20 of the first 40 minutes with only 14 men, you have to make that advantage count in your favour. Credit must go to the three-time champions for keeping the world champions from getting over for five points.

2023 October 28, Leighton Koopman, “YES!!! The Springboks beat the All Blacks to win another Rugby World Cup title”, in Independent Online:


Pompey

(slang, soccer) Portsmouth Football Club.


Spurs

en-proper noun

Spurs (countable and uncountable, plural Spurses)

(soccer) Tottenham Hotspur Football Club


back row

(rugby) The row of players in a scrum, consisting of two flankers and a number eight.