bump

en-noun

bump (countable and uncountable, plural bumps)

From Early Modern English bump (“a shock, blow from a collision”), probably of North Germanic origin; compare Danish bump (“a thump”), Danish bumpe (“to thump”), Old Danish bumpe (“to strike with a clenched fist”), all probably of imitative origin.
Apparently related to Middle English bumben, bummen (“to make a hollow noise”), Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”), German Low German bumsen (“to bump, push”), German bummen (“to hum, buzz”), Icelandic bumba (“drum”). More at bum, bumble. Compare also bomb.

onom

imitative

cog

(rowing) The point, in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start, at which a boat begins to overtake the boat ahead.

pääseminen edelle

the point in a race in which boats are spaced apart at the start

(snooker, slang) The jaw of either of the middle pockets.


humiliate

en-verb

humiliate (third-person singular simple present humiliates, present participle humiliating, simple past and past participle humiliated)

humiliates (present singular third-person)
humiliating (participle present)
humiliated (participle past)
humiliated (past)

From Late Latin humiliatus, past participle of humiliare (“to abase, humble”), from Latin humilis (“lowly, humble”), from humus (“ground; earth, soil”); see humble.

(transitive, sports, games) To defeat overwhelmingly.


visitor

visitors (plural)
visitour (alternative)
visiter (alternative)

Partly from Middle English visiter, visitere, equivalent to visit + -er; and partly from Middle English visitour, from Anglo-Norman visitour, from Old French visetëor. By surface analysis, visit + -or.

But, somewhat against the run of play, Craddock fired the visitors ahead, volleying a low effort beyond Simon Mignolet after Sunderland twice failed to clear attempted crosses from Stephen Hunt.

2011 May 14, Peter Scrivener, “Sunderland 1-3 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport:

(sports, usually in the plural) Someone, or a team, that is playing away from home.


submit

submit (third-person singular simple present submits, present participle submitting, simple past and past participle submitted)

submits (present singular third-person)
submitting (participle present)
submitted (participle past)
submitted (past)

From Middle English submitten, borrowed from Latin submittere, infinitive of submittō (“place under, yield”), from sub (“under, from below, up”) + mitto (“to send”). Compare upsend.

"[Ronda] Rousey, a former U.S. Olympian in Judo, caps off a perfect year in which she submitted Liz Carmouche in the first-ever UFC female fight and coached opposite [Miesha] Tate in "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series."

Okamoto, Brett (2013 December 28) “Ronda Rousey wins with arm bar”, in ESPN.com, retrieved 2014-01-06

It was also the first time Goldberg has been submitted, enhancing Reigns even more than he already has been over the last two years.

Beaston, Erik (2022 February 19) “WWE Elimination Chamber 2022 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights”, in Bleacher Report, retrieved 2022-02-22

professional wrestling
professional wrestling

(transitive, mixed martial arts, professional wrestling) To win a fight against (an opponent) by submission.


ultra

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-
Latin uls
Proto-Indo-European *-teros?
Latin -ter
Latin -ā
Latin ultrābor.
English ultra
From Latin ultra.

etymon

A similar view is expressed by a Turin supporter in Segre's study, but in this case it is more specifically addressed to how powerful teams, such as Juventus, get preferential treatment in reports on the negative aspects of the ultras world.

2012, ALINA BERNSTEIN, Neil Blain, Sport, Media, Culture: Global and Local Dimensions, Routledge, →ISBN, page 183:

If a member of an official football club can be said to be a citizen of the football world, an ultra has to be considered as a militant.

2013, Richard Guilianotti, Football, Violence and Social Identity, Routledge, →ISBN, page 77:

Although the intention initially was to distribute tickets and arrange travel to away matches, ultras quickly became actively organised and developed an overtly passionate cultural and political identity inside each curva

2015, Jamie Cleland, A Sociology of Football in a Global Context, Routledge, →ISBN, page 30:

(soccer) An especially devoted football fan, typically associated with the intimidating use of extremist slogans, pyrotechnics and sometimes hooligan violence.

I've done more than forty marathons and ultras and have won a handful of small boutiquey races in mountainous, out-of-the-way places: the foothills of the Sierra Nevada; Mount Mitchell, North Carolina; Bozeman, Montana; and, on the third day of a 100-mile stage race, the Mount Everest Challenge Marathon in the Himalayas.

2008, Rachel Toor, Personal Record: A Love Affair with Running, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 69:

Blanca Peak is one of just three ultra-prominence peaks, or “ultras,” in the state and the highpoint of the Sierra Blanca Range, a massif that includes ranked 14ers Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak, and Mount Lindsey.

2008, Susan Joy Paul, Climbing Colorado's Mountains, Guilford, CT: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 141:


unbalanced

en-adj

unbalanced (comparative more unbalanced, superlative most unbalanced)

more unbalanced (comparative)
most unbalanced (superlative)

(American football) an offensive line with more players on one side of the center than on the other


puissance

en-noun

puissance (countable and uncountable, plural puissances)

puissances (plural)
Puissance (alternative)

From Middle English puissaunce, from Anglo-Norman puissance, pusaunce, and other forms, from Old French puissant (“powerful”).

It was in Dublin that San Lucas scored his first success in what has become something of a speciality for him, the puissance.

1969, G. H. S. Webber, Show Jumping International, London: Evans Brothers; New York, N.Y.: Van Nostrand Reinhold, →OCLC, page 126:

Pat [Moss] then went to Oxford to qualify for the Horse of the Year Show, and Danny was fourth in the Puissance, an event with very high jumps.

2011 April, Stuart Turner, Harnessing Horsepower: The Pat Moss Carlsson Story, Poundbury, Dorset: Veloce Publishing, →ISBN, page 23:

In a study of horses during a puissance competition that started at a height of 1.80 m and ended in the last round at 2.27 m, success was significantly positively correlated with the following variables at lift-off: vertical velocity of CM, height of CM, distance of CM from the fence; and was significantly negatively correlated with the distance of the leading hind limb to the CM.

2013, Hilary M. Clayton, P. René van Weeren, “Performance in Equestrian Sports”, in Willem Back, Hilary M. Clayton, editors, Equine Locomotion, 2nd edition, Edinburgh, New York, N.Y.: Saunders, →ISBN, page 332:

(equestrianism) The high-jump component of the sport of show jumping.


flank

From Late Middle English flanc, from Late Old English flanc (“flank”), from Old French flanc, of Germanic origin, probably Frankish *hlanca, from Proto-Germanic *hlankō (“bend, curve, hip, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *hlankaz (“flexible, sleek, bendsome”), from Proto-Indo-European *kleng- (“to bend”). Akin to Old High German hlanca (“loin”), Middle Low German lanke (“hip joint”) (German lenken (“to bend, turn, lead”)), Old English hlanc (“loose, slender, flaccid, lank”). More at lank.

cog

The hosts also had Paul Robinson to thank for a string of saves, three of them coming against Jerome Thomas, who gave Michel Salgado a torrid time down the left flank.

2011 January 23, Alistair Magowan, “Blackburn 2 - 0 West Brom”, in BBC:

(soccer) The wing, one side of the pitch.


var

en-noun

var (countable and uncountable, plural vars)

(bodybuilding, slang, uncountable) Clipping of Anavar.


hypertrophy

hypertrophy (countable and uncountable, plural hypertrophies)

From French hypertrophie, from Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over, excessive”) + τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”), equivalent to hyper- + -trophy.

der

(uncountable, bodybuilding) Increase in muscle size through increased size of individual muscle cells; a result of weightlifting, and other exercise. It differs from muscle hyperplasia, which is the formation of new muscle cells.


jumper

[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 shot in which the player releases the ball at the highest point of a jump; a jump shot.


fullback

(American football) An offensive back whose primary jobs are to block in advance of the halfback on running plays and for the quarterback on passing plays.

(rugby) A position behind the main line of backs in both rugby union and rugby league. In rugby union, they wear number 15 jersey at the start of play and are the last line of defence responsible for catching punts.

For long, awkward spells, City looked out of their depth. Dani Alves and Jordi Alba attacked like whippets from the full-back positions.

2015 February 24, Daniel Taylor, “Luis Suárez strikes twice as Barcelona teach Manchester City a lesson”, in The Guardian (London):

(soccer) A player who plays on the left or right side of defence.

һаҡсы

(soccer) a player who plays on the left or right side of defence


neutral zone

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

(American football) A zone between the defensive line of scrimmage and the offensive line of scrimmage.

zona neutral

football: zone between the lines of scrimmage

(ice hockey) A zone on the playing surface between the attacking zone and the defending zone as delineated by the two blue lines.

zona central

ice hockey: zone between the two blue lines

(cycling) A non-competitive segment of a bicycle race during which competitors have to stay behind the lead vehicles.


line of scrimmage

en-noun

line of scrimmage (plural lines of scrimmage)

(American football) Either of two imaginary lines across the football field touching one of the two apices of the football which point toward either the defensive side or the offensive side before the center is allowed to touch the ball before each play.


football field

(American football) A playing field on which the game of American football is played.


offensive line of scrimmage

offensive line of scrimmage (plural offensive lines of scrimmage)

(American football) The scrimmage line on the offensive side of the football field.


running back

(American football) An offensive back whose primary job is to be the ballcarrier.


ball carrier

ball carriers (plural)
ballcarrier (alternative)

(American football, Canadian football, rugby) A player who carries the football.


offensive back

(American football) A player for the team in possession of the ball who lines up behind the line of scrimmage at the start of a play.


one-minute warning

one-minute warning (plural one-minute warnings)

(American football) In the AFL, a warning given with one minute to go before the end of a half, after which special rules apply, eg, stoppage of the game clock after very first down.


AFL

Arena Football League
w:Arena Football League

(American football) Initialism of Arena Football League.

American Football League
w:American Football League

(obsolete, American football) Initialism of American Football League.


first down

(American football) The first play in a series that has a maximum of four downs.

(American football) The act of getting a first down by advancing the ball more than ten yards ahead of the field position where the team took possession.


football player

football player (plural football players)

football players (plural)
football-player (alternative)

association football
association football

(soccer, UK) One who plays association football, aka soccer.

(American football, US) One who plays American football.

(Canadian football, Canada) One who plays Canadian football.


flush

Probably from Etymology 1 according to the American Heritage Dictionary.

(skiing) A line of poles or obstacles that a skier must weave between.


quarterback

From quarter + back, in reference to position in front of the halfback position.

Standing 6-foot-6, 237 pounds, Herbert’s size and arm strength are consistent with a prototypical N.F.L. quarterback, and he led the Ducks to a Pac-12 championship and a victory at the Rose Bowl in January with not much talent at receiver.

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

(American football, Canadian football) An offensive back whose primary job is to pass the ball in a play.

(American football, historical) An offensive back who receives the snap (hike) and then blocks the defense from crossing the line of scrimmage; a blocking back.

(rugby football, historical) A position just behind the forwards, or one who plays this position.


quarterback

en-verb

quarterback (third-person singular simple present quarterbacks, present participle quarterbacking, simple past and past participle quarterbacked)

quarterbacks (present singular third-person)
quarterbacking (participle present)
quarterbacked (participle past)
quarterbacked (past)

(American football) To play the position of quarterback.


forward pass

(rugby and American football) A pass in the forward direction, advancing toward the goal, generally illegal except in American football, once per play, from behind the line of scrimmage.


neutral-zone infraction

en-noun

neutral-zone infraction (plural neutral-zone infractions)

(American football) an infraction in which a football player, on defense, gets into or crosses the neutral zone during the snap, causing an offensive player to false start. The penalty is against the defense, not the offense. It is a 5 yard penalty.


hand-off

hand-off (countable and uncountable, plural hand-offs)

(American football) A pass made in a backward direction.

(rugby) The act of pushing an opponent away with an open hand.


wide receiver

All season, the Chiefs have struggled on offense, in particular in the pass catching department. On multiple occasions throughout the regular season, Mahomes was burned by mental miscues from his wide receivers which cost the Chiefs wins.

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

(American football) An offensive football player whose position on the line of scrimmage is farthest from the ball and whose function is to principally to catch passes.

laitahyökkääjä

American football: offensive player position


pike

From Middle English pyke, pyk, pik, pike (“pike; sharp point, iron tip of a staff or spear, pointed toe of an item of footwear; sharp tool; mountain, peak”), from Old English pīc (“pointed object, pick axe”), and Middle French pique (“long thrusting weapon”), from Old French pic (“sharp point, spike”); both ultimately from Proto-West Germanic *pīk, from Proto-Germanic *pīkaz, *pīkō (“sharp point, pike, peak”), related to pick with a narrower meaning.
The word is cognate with Middle Dutch pecke, peke, picke (modern Dutch piek), German Pike, Norwegian pik, Danish pig, and possibly Old Irish pīk. It is a doublet of pique.
The diving or gymnastics position is probably from tapered appearance of the body when the position is executed.
The carnivorous freshwater fish is probably derived from the “sharp point, spike” senses, due to the fish’s pointed jaws.
The verb sense “to quit or back out of a promise” may be from the sense of taking up pilgrim's staff or pike and leaving on a pilgrimage; and compare Middle English pī̆ken (“to go, remove oneself”) and Old Danish pikke af (“to go away”).

cog

She sprang into the air and jack-knifed into a clumsy pike before following her hands into the water.

2000, J[ames] G[raham] Ballard, Super-Cannes, London: Flamingo, →ISBN; republished London: Fourth Estate, 2011, →ISBN, page 167:

Guo and Wu took a big lead after the second dive, a back dive in pike position, which the judges awarded three perfect tens for synchronization.

2008 August 10, “China Wins First Diving Medal at Beijing Olympics”, in The Sports Network, archived from the original on 2013-07-28:

(diving, gymnastics) A position with the knees straight and a tight bend at the hips with the torso folded over the legs, usually part of a jack-knife.


pike

en-verb

pike (third-person singular simple present pikes, present participle piking, simple past and past participle piked)

pikes (present singular third-person)
piking (participle present)
piked (participle past)
piked (past)

In the early stages he can do this by bending at the elbows (no more than 90) as he pikes the legs and straightens the arms in co-ordination with the upward swing of the cast, so that the whole body is extended as he reaches handstand.

1979, Peter Tatlow, editor, Gymnastics: All the Beauty and Skills of This Thrilling Sport, Auckland: McGraw-Hill, →ISBN:

At the front of her swing she pikes to wrap her legs under the low bar.

1980, Karen Folger Jacobs, The Story of a Young Gymnast: Tracee Talavera, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 98:

She stood on the block bending slowly; her hands now on the front of the blocks, she dove straight out. Piking, she came up doing the stroke she was famous for—the butterfly.

2012, Charles Fierro, “Tom”, in Dinkletown Road, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 50:

A diver jumps off the 3 m platform. She is in a stretched-out position (a layout) and barely rotating at first. Then she flexes at the hips and folds herself in half (she pikes), and her rotation speeds up as if by magic.

2013, Peter M[erton] McGinnis, Biomechanics of Sport and Exercise, 3rd edition, Champaign, Ill.: Human Kinetics, →ISBN, page 196:

(transitive, intransitive, diving, gymnastics) To assume a pike position.


zorb

Originally the trademarked name of a particular brand of sphere; perhaps from orb.

Uneven plains that are interspersed with pebbles and rocks are likely to cause punctures in the zorbs.

2006 March 25, Susmita Saha, quoting Anurag Mehra, “A different ballgame”, in Calcutta Telegraph:

There's even a kids' zorb for the under six.

2007, William Gray, “Wellington”, in Travel with Kids, →ISBN, page 309:

An Interlaken entrepreneur […] came across the activity in the Swiss canton of Valais (the Rhone Valley) and ended up buying the 'zorbs' from a German manufacturer.

2008, Katrin Blumberg, “Internationalisation in adventure tourism”, in Coles & Hall, editors, International Business and Tourism, →ISBN, page 175:

(sports) A large, transparent, inflatable ball, inside which a person may be secured and then rolled downhill.


zorb

zorb (third-person singular simple present zorbs, present participle zorbing, simple past and past participle zorbed)

zorbs (present singular third-person)
zorbing (participle present)
zorbed (participle past)
zorbed (past)

People who've zorbed in New Zealand, say Swiss mountains are too steep to allow the leisurely roll-out that's the real thrill.

2003, Damien Simonis et al., Switzerland, Lonely Planet, →ISBN, page 57:

We hadn't even zorbed. Not all bad news then.

2006, John Gisby, New Zealand with a Hobbit Botherer, →ISBN, page 41:

Vieira zorbed — that is, rolled down a hill within an inflatable ball.

2008 March 3, David Bauder, “What a way to start the day: TV morning hosts doing stunts”, in Seattle Times:

(sports) To roll downhill or engage in sports in a zorb ball.


airmail

airmail (third-person singular simple present airmails, present participle airmailing, simple past and past participle airmailed)

airmails (present singular third-person)
airmailing (participle present)
airmailed (participle past)
airmailed (past)
air mail (alternative)

(baseball) To (unintentionally) throw the ball well over a fielder's head where that fielder is unable to make a play on the ball.


breakdancing

From break + dancing.
Influenced by breakdown (the percussion break of songs chosen by a DJ for use in hip-hop music) -- breakdancers were originally those who danced to a breakdown.

break dancing (alternative)
break-dancing (alternative)

Hollywood made movies about breakdancing, dancers performed at the White House and the sky seemed the limit.

1998 July 6, Lola Ogunnaike, “NOTICED; Breakdancing Regains Its Footing”, in The New York Times:

(dance) An urban style of acrobatic street dance that originated in the hip hop culture of New York City in the late 20th century.


hypersphere

hyperspheres (plural)
hyper-sphere (alternative)

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

(sports) A zorb; the act of zorbing, entering a zorbing ball, strapping into a harness, and rolling down a hill.


keep wicket

keep wicket (third-person singular simple present keeps wicket, present participle keeping wicket, simple past and past participle kept wicket)

keeps wicket (present singular third-person)
keeping wicket (participle present)
kept wicket (participle past)
kept wicket (past)

(cricket, intransitive) To act as wicket-keeper.


king pair

(cricket) The score of zero runs, having been out on the first ball faced in each innings of a two-innings match; a golden duck in each innings


golden duck

(cricket) the score of zero runs after getting out on the first ball faced


knee roll

(cricket) the thick part of a batsman's pads that protects the knee


shuffle

Originally the same word as scuffle, and properly a frequentative of shove.

(dance) A dance move in which the foot is scuffed across the floor back and forth.


blue line

Coordinate term: red line

(ice hockey) Either of the two thick blue lines on the ice that separate an attacking zone or defending zone from the neutral zone.


goaltender

(sports) a designated player that attempts to prevent the opposing team from scoring by protecting a goal.


undercut

From Middle English undercutten, equivalent to under- + cut.

(motor racing) A pit stop strategy in which a driver seeks to gain an advantage over someone by pitting before them and using fresh tyres to make up time.


undercut

undercut (third-person singular simple present undercuts, present participle undercutting, simple past and past participle undercut)

undercuts (present singular third-person)
undercutting (participle present)
undercut (participle past)
undercut (past)

(motor racing) To employ the undercut strategy.


cleanup

en-noun

cleanup (countable and uncountable, plural cleanups)

cleanups (plural)
clean-up (alternative)

Jones will be batting cleanup in tonight's game.

The starting lineup for Newark consisted of Johnny Neun leading off at first base; the number two hitter was catcher Norman Kies; batting third and playing second base was Andy Cohen; at cleanup was "The People's Cherce," Dixie Walker; George Selkirk was hitting fifth and playing right field; Bob Barrett was at third base and hitting sixth; Jess Hill was the number seven batter in left field; Red Rolfe batted eighth and played shortstop; and the right-hander, George Miner, was on the mound.

1994, Ronald A. Mayer, The 1937 Newark Bears: A Baseball Legend, →ISBN, page 27:

There it was: McDougald at cleanup, and DiMaggio fifth.

2000, Richard Ben Cramer, Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life, →ISBN, page 528:

I had been getting hits off Jim Palmer and had a streak going and went from hitting 8th to 7th, to 6th, 5th, and then finally McKeon put me in at cleanup.

2010, Kenneth Hogan, Batting 10th for the Yankees, →ISBN:

(baseball) Fourth in the batting order; a cleanup hitter.


Barmy Army

An English football chant, in which supporters of a team would chant that they were the team manager's "barmy army", was applied to a particularly "barmy" group of supporters who followed the English cricket team to Australia in 1994–95 despite the team being seen as having little prospect of success.
The origin of "Barmy Army" was based on a soubriquet by Leeds United supporters for Howard Wilkinson, the team manager during the late eighties and early nineties. He was known as Sergeant Wilko - a skit on Sergeant Bilko, a well known comedy character portrayed by Phil Silvers a couple of decades earlier, but still at the time on TV. Sergeant Bilko's army became Sergeant Wilko's army, the barmy bit was added because it's Yorkshire and it makes a good chant. It was picked up by other teams, whereupon the Sergeant Wilko bit was dropped. Then by cricket people. The tune is the same though.

(cricket) An organised group of cricket fans which arranges touring parties of its members to follow the English cricket team on all of its overseas tours.


glide

From Middle English gliden, from Old English glīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *glīdan, from Proto-Germanic *glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰleydʰ-.
Cognate with West Frisian glide, glydzje, Low German glieden, Dutch glijden, German gleiten, Norwegian Nynorsk gli, Danish glide, Swedish glida, Finnish liitää.

(fencing) An attack or preparatory movement made by sliding down the opponent’s blade, keeping it in constant contact.


kickback

kickback (countable and uncountable, plural kickbacks)

kickbacks (plural)
kick-back (alternative)
kick back (alternative)

(countable, bowling) The board separating one bowling lane from another at the pit end.


peekaboo

peekaboo boxing

a peekaboo guard

(boxing) Being or using a style of boxing with the hands kept close to the face to defend it.


engagement

engagement (countable and uncountable, plural engagements)

After engagement it quickly became clear which of the fencers was going to prevail.

(fencing, countable) The point at which the fencers are close enough to join blades, or to make an effective attack during an encounter.


barrage

Unadapted borrowing from French barrage (“barrage, barrier”) c. 1859. Compare barrier.

ubor

(fencing) A "next hit wins" contest to determine the winner of a bout in case of a tie.


scoreboard

(cricket) A similar board that also displays each batsman's score, and many statistics and pieces of information.


tandem

en-noun

tandem (countable and uncountable, plural tandems)

PIE word
 *téh₂m
The noun is borrowed from Latin tandem (“of time: at last, at length, finally”), applied humorously in English to two horses harnessed “at length” (that is, in a single line) instead of side-by-side. Tandem is derived from tam (“so, to such an extent”) + -dem (demonstrative suffix).
The adjective, adverb, and verb are derived from the noun.

tandem

carriage pulled by two or more draught animals harnessed one behind the other; two draught animals harnessed one behind the other

tandem-

A thing with two components arranged one behind the other.

(specifically, cycling) Short for tandem bicycle (“a bicycle or tricycle in which two people sit one behind the other, both able to pedal but only the person in front being able to steer”).


all-star

→ Japanese: オールスター (ōrusutā)

→ Korean: 올스타 (olseuta)

(sports) A member of a team of star players.


ceilidh

ceilidhs (plural)
ceilidhean (plural)
céilidh (alternative)
cèilidh (alternative)
ceilidhe (alternative)
céilidhe (alternative)

The noun is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidh (“a pilgrimage; a social call, visit; a sojourn; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”) and Irish célidhe (archaic), céilí (“a social call, visit; a social gathering with dancing, etc., ceilidh”), both from Old Irish célide (“social call, visit”), from céile (“companion, fellow; neighbour”) (ultimately from Proto-Celtic *kēiliyos (“companion; servant”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱey- (“to settle”)) + -ide.
The plural form ceilidhean is borrowed from Scottish Gaelic cèilidhean.
The verb is derived from the noun.

der

Looking for the Possible Dance [by Alison Louise Kennedy] sets up the 'dance', the ceilidh, as a site of personal and possibly national salvation, but one plagued by insecurities.

2009, Michael Gardiner, “Arcades – The 1980s and 1990s”, in Ian Brown, Alan Raich, editors, Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-century Scottish Literature, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 188:

'Traditional' British dance is a rather woolly genre; its bounds drawn without much discrimination and inclusive of folk dancing, ceilidh, country dancing and pretty much anything pre-20ᵗʰ century that didn't involve a tutu.

2009, “Performing Arts”, in Andrew Whittaker, editor, Britain: Be Fluent in British Life and Culture (Speak the Culture; 3), London: Thorogood Publishing, →ISBN, page 208:

We asked guests to bring something to share: poems, songs, short stories, music, even juggling—whatever they wanted to perform. Afterwards, we all danced the ceilidh, […]

2015, Jodie Gould, quoting “Clark”, “#4: Create: Expressing and Expanding the Inner Self”, in High: Six Principles for Guilt-free Pleasure and Escape, Center City, Minn.: Hazelden Publishing, →ISBN, Part 2 (The Six Pleasure Principles), page 174:


ceilidh

en-verb

ceilidh (third-person singular simple present ceilidhs, present participle ceilidhing, simple past and past participle ceilidhed)

ceilidhs (present singular third-person)
ceilidhing (participle present)
ceilidhed (participle past)
ceilidhed (past)

Nightly the scratch of fiddles and the thud of a reel-set staccatoed the timbers [of the ship sailing from Londonderry to Boston], as the peasant Irish ceilidhed their way to 'Amerikay'.

2001, Brendan Graham, chapter 5, in The Element of Fire, London: HarperCollins Publishers, →ISBN, page 27:


steroid

(bodybuilding, sports) Any anabolic hormone used to promote muscle growth or athletic performance.


resurrectionist

From resurrection (“the act of rising from the dead and becoming alive again”) + -ist (“forms agents of cause; forms adherents of a belief”), coined alongside resurrection man.

af

There is a class of horses called ‘resurrectionists’... and they either recover early form... or... become animated, when they were supposed to be gone altogether, with... life and vigour.

(equestrianism, humorous, obsolete) A racehorse that (once or numerously) suddenly recovers its stamina midrace.


blindside

blindsides (plural)
blind side (alternative)
blind-side (alternative)

(rugby) The space on the side of the pitch with the shorter distance between the breakdown/set piece and the touchline; compare openside.


singles

(sports, plural only) a game between individual players

(cycling, Australia) Synonym of tubulars


medley

From Middle English medle, from Anglo-Norman medlee, Old French medlee, from the feminine past participle of early Medieval Latin misculō (“to mix”). Compare meddle. Doublet of melee.

(swimming) A competitive swimming event that combines the four strokes of butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.


backbencher

backbenchers (plural)
back-bencher (alternative)

During 1994, the national team players were away for a game in January and again during the season-ending league championship tournament in April. The “backbenchers” won all these games.

2000, Nancy Theberge, Higher Goals: Women's Ice Hockey and the Politics of Gender, →ISBN, page 39:

The plucky backbencher began his life in hockey as a player, breaking into the professional game with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association's Portland Rosebuds in 1916– 17, but turned amateur again the following season.

2009, Doug Lennox, Now You Know Big Book of Sports, →ISBN, page 35:

By the second scrimmage of the season he was a backbencher, suspended from the game for disciplinary reasons.

2014, Paul Gionfriddo, Losing Tim: How Our Health and Education Systems Failed My Son with Schizophrenia, →ISBN:

(sports) A member of a team who does not usually play, but who is held in reserve.


guppy

→ Danish: gubbi

→ Dutch: guppie

Robert John Lechmere Guppy
guppy (disambiguation)

From a name mistakenly assigned, Girardinus guppii, after biologist Robert J. L. Guppy, to previously assigned Poecilia reticulata.

(climbing) A hold across the palm of the hand rather than the fingertips.


BMX

en-noun

BMX (countable and uncountable, plural BMXs or BMXes)

(uncountable, cycling) Bicycle motocross, a form of cycling on BMX bikes, originating in California in the 1970s.

In the end, why not be happy with both, with the BMXes and the pentathlons, with the swans of synchro and the Quasimodos of wrestling? Sweet.

2008 August 21, “The old school survives at the Olympics, amid new events”, in The New York Times:


BMX

en-verb

BMX (third-person singular simple present BMXs or BMXes, present participle BMXing, simple past and past participle BMXed)

BMXs (present singular third-person)
BMXes (present singular third-person)
BMXing (participle present)
BMXed (participle past)
BMXed (past)

I BMXed from 1978 (my first race) till not too long ago. Although I don't see too many freestylers in the net, I get in touch with quite a few ex-BMXers like myself on rec.bicycles.off-road (I'm cross-posting to it).

1995 February 21, Joao de Souza, “Re: B.M.X... Flatlanders and Freestylers”, in rec.bicycles.misc (Usenet):

Yeah, flippity trick things are fun. I've got a friend who has BMXed for 15-16 years! He rules, and he used to be sponsored.

1997 June 17, KrUtCh [username], “Re: Skate-boarders...losers?”, in alt.skate-board (Usenet):

(intransitive, cycling) To ride a BMX bike.


crunch time

crunchtime (alternative)
crunch-time (alternative)
time crunch (alternative)

(basketball) The last few minutes of play in the fourth quarter.


shimmy

shimmy (third-person singular simple present shimmies, present participle shimmying, simple past and past participle shimmied)

shimmies (present singular third-person)
shimmying (participle present)
shimmied (participle past)
shimmied (past)

A back-formation from chemise (mistaken for a plural).

She wondered would he think her awful, and try to get fresh if she shimmied. Fellows often did. But he was so cute. And a girl had to something about that, and if she didn't shimmy, she might do something worse.

1934, James T. Farrell, chapter 13, in The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan:

(dance) To perform a shimmy (dance movement involving thrusting the shoulders back and forth alternately).


bail out

bail out (third-person singular simple present bails out, present participle bailing out, simple past and past participle bailed out)

bails out (present singular third-person)
bailing out (participle present)
bailed out (participle past)
bailed out (past)
bale out (alternative)

(transitive, idiomatic, skateboarding) To fail badly; to fall off a skateboard.

(intransitive, idiomatic, surfing) To abandon one's surfboard when faced with a large or perilous wave.


comeback

→ Dutch: comeback m

→ Finnish: comeback

→ French: comeback m

→ German: Comeback n

→ Norwegian Bokmål: comeback m or n

→ Norwegian Nynorsk: comeback n

→ Persian: کامبک (kâmbak)

→ Russian: камбэ́к m (kambɛ́k)

→ Swedish: comeback c

→ Ukrainian: камбе́к m (kambék)

Newcastle produced a stunning comeback from 4-0 down to earn a draw that shocked title hopefuls Arsenal.

2011 February 5, Paul Fletcher, “Newcastle 4 - 4 Arsenal”, in BBC:

(sports) An occurrence of an athlete or sports team in a competition overcoming a substantial disadvantage in points to win or draw.

remuntada

sports: overcoming a substantial disadvantage


loop

From Middle English loupe (“noose, loop”), earlier lowp-knot (“loop-knot”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse hlaup (“a run”), used in the sense of a "running knot", from hlaupa (“to leap”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną (“to leap, run”). Compare Swedish löp-knut (“loop-knot”), Danish løb-knude (“a running knot”), Danish løb (“a course”). More at leap. The verb is derived from the noun.

der

Arellano formerly cavorted for the Galicias in the fast-paced National-American Soccer loop.

1963 September 27, “Italias Vie In Bayonne On Sunday”, in The Jersey Journal, page 17:

(Canada, US, dated, sports) A sports league

(cricket) The curved path of the ball bowled by a spin bowler.


repetition

en-noun

repetition (countable and uncountable, plural repetitions)

/ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.ən/

[ˌɹɛp.əˈtɪʃ.n̩]

/rɪˈpiːʈɪʃən/

Borrowed from Latin repetitionem (accusative singular of repetitio; cf. French répétition). Doublet of repetitio.

(weightlifting): The act of performing a single, controlled exercise motion. A group of repetitions is a set.


summit

en-verb

summit (third-person singular simple present summits, present participle summiting or summitting, simple past and past participle summited or summitted)

summits (present singular third-person)
summiting (participle present)
summitting (participle present)
summited (participle past)
summited (past)
summitted (participle past)
summitted (past)

PIE word
 *upó
The noun is derived from Late Middle English somet, somete (“head, top”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman sumet and Middle French sommet (masculine), somete, sommette (“top of a thing; highest point of a mountain”) (feminine) (modern French sommet), from Old French somet, sommette, from som, sum (“highest point, summit”) + -et (suffix forming diminutive masculine nouns), -ete, -ette (suffix forming diminutive feminine nouns). Som, sum are derived from Latin summum (“top, summit”), a noun use of the neuter of summus (“greatest, highest; top, uppermost”, adjective) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upó (“below, under”) + *-m̥mós, *-tm̥mós (“suffix forming superlative adjectives”)). The modern English spelling was influenced by summity (“height or top of a thing; utmost degree, perfection”) (obsolete).
The verb is derived from the noun.

päästä huipulle

(transitive) to reach the summit of (a mountain)

Of the range's 12 peaks, Mount Saskatchewan is the only one that has yet to be summited.

2012 July–August, Kenza Moller, “Eyes on the North”, in Canadian Geographic, volume 132, number 4, Ottawa: Royal Canadian Geographical Society, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10:

(transitive, climbing, informal) To reach the summit (noun sense 1.1) of (a mountain).

(intransitive, climbing, informal) To reach the summit of a mountain.

päästä huipulle

(intransitive) to reach the summit of a mountain


bear hug

(wrestling) A hold with the arms around the opponent.


under wraps

(horse-racing) Of a horse: restrained from performing at its best in a race, so as to mislead others regarding its potential.


receiver

From Anglo-Norman receverre, receivour et al., later also reformed as receive + -er. Compare recevor, rescaivour.

curator

person appointed to settle financial affairs

прыёмнік

electronic device that receives and converts signal

(American football) An offensive player who catches the ball after it has been passed.

(racquet sports) A person who attempts to return the serve.


claw

From Middle English clawe, from Old English clawu, from Proto-Germanic *klawō. Compare West Frisian klau, Dutch klauw, German Klaue, Danish klo, Norwegian klo, and Swedish klo.

(juggling) The act of catching a ball overhand.


claw

en-verb

claw (third-person singular simple present claws, present participle clawing, simple past and past participle clawed)

claws (present singular third-person)
clawing (participle present)
clawed (participle past)
clawed (past)

From Middle English clawen, from Old English clawan, clāwan, *clēn, clawian, from Proto-Germanic *klawjaną.


pedal

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-pedal (noun, verb).wav

Borrowed from French pédale, Latin pedāl(is). By surface analysis, ped- + -al.


EGR

(gymnastics) Initialism of element group requirements.


peeler

From Middle English peler, piller, pyllare, pilour, pelure, pelour, equivalent to peel + -er.

Fancy a wave, one of those little peelers?

2010, Sam Bleakley, Surfing Brilliant Corners, →ISBN, page 174:

If he could ride a trend as well as he could ride a First Point Malibu peeler—well, that's how the game was played.

2011, Matt Warshaw, The History of Surfing, →ISBN, page 465:

As the next five-foot peeler rolled by, Lee grasped his board and clenched his teeth.

2016, William Povletich, Some Like It Cold: Surfing the Malibu of the Midwest, →ISBN:


pipeline

→ Japanese: パイプライン (paipurain)

→ Korean: 파이프라인 (paipeurain)

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

(surfing) The inside of a wave that a surfer is riding, when the wave has started closing over it.


rundown

→ Spanish: rondón

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

Smith is caught in a rundown, but Jones will come around to score.

(baseball) A defensive play in which the runner is caught between two fielders, who steadily converge to tag the runner out.


hummer

Branca, concentrating so intently that he didn't hear the braying crowd, threw a hummer down the middle.

2015, Andrew Goldblatt, The Giants and the Dodgers, page 115:


set up

set up (third-person singular simple present sets up, present participle setting up, simple past and past participle set up)

sets up (present singular third-person)
setting up (participle present)
set up (participle past)
set up (past)

Just past the hour Agbonlahor set up the second, crossing for Bent to net.

2011 October 1, John Sinnott, “Aston Villa 2 - 0 Wigan”, in BBC Sport:

On 71.05, Portu brilliantly set up Yangel Herrera, only for Marc-André ter Stegen to make a sensational save.

2024 May 6, Sid Lowe, “Portu’s brilliant burst seals Girona’s top-four fairytale in the perfect way”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

(sports, transitive) To create a goalscoring opportunity (for).

When you make an opening you merely cause an opponent to uncover a target somewhere on his person. But when you set up an opponent, you knock him off balance with one punch so that he should be an open target for a following punch. Unless he's knocked off balance, he's not set up.

1950, Jack Dempsey, chapter 23, in Championship Fighting: Explosive Punching and Aggressive Defense:

Writer Danny Wamboldt of Ring magazine said, "Only Willie knew how to set up his opponents masterfully and then move in." Wamboldt, a former New England bantamweight champion and current national president of the Veteran Boxers Association, said that one of Pep's opponents said of his dazzling speed: "It was the first time he had been surrounded by one man."

1997 September 24, Joe Duffy, “TRIBUTES TO THE MAN AND THE BOXER”, in Hartford Courant:

(boxing) To deceive an opponent and capitalize on their reactions with a certain technique or maneuver.


setup

The jab is most commonly used as a setup for other strikes.

(boxing) A move or set of moves which are meant to draw out a reaction which leaves an exploitable opening in defense.


under the wire

Lying forward flattened along Sunfish's hard-muscled shoulders, Bud was gaining and gaining—one length, then two lengths as he shot under the wire, slowed and rode back to find a silent crowd watching him.

1921, B. M. Bower, chapter 15, in Cow-Country:


shoestring

The noun is derived from shoe + string. The adjective is derived from the noun, while the verb is derived from terms such as shoestring catch and shoestring tackle.

(US, chiefly American football, baseball) Of a catch or tackle: made near the ground, close to a player's shoes.

jalka-

of a catch or tackle: made near the ground, close to a player’s shoes


shoestring

shoestring (third-person singular simple present shoestrings, present participle shoestringing, simple past and past participle shoestringed)

shoestrings (present singular third-person)
shoestringing (participle present)
shoestringed (participle past)
shoestringed (past)

shoestring tackle
shoestring tackle#English

(transitive, American football) To tackle (a player) using a shoestring tackle (“one made near the ground, close to a player's shoes”).

taklata alas

to tackle (a player) using a shoestring tackle

We didn't score in our half of the eighth, but it was only because Ernie's line drive was shoestringed by the Giant left fielder, with Rusty Howarth on second.

1976, Paul R. Rothweiler, The Sensuous Southpaw […], New York, N.Y.: Putnam, →ISBN, page 104:

Most outfielders say that short-hopping a ball so that it looks as if it was caught is more an accident than an art form, but Coach Joe Nossek of the Indians actually tells his charges to hold up the ball after shoestringing it on the off chance that the umpire might be fooled.

1981 April 13, Steve Wulf, “Tricks of the Trade”, in Sports Illustrated Baseball: Four Decades of Sports Illustrated’s Finest Writing on America’s Favorite Pastime (Collector’s Library), Birmingham, Ala.: Oxmoor House, published 1994, →ISBN, page 275:

shoestring catch
shoestring catch#English

(transitive, baseball) To catch (a ball) using a shoestring catch (“one made near the ground, close to a player's shoes”).

ottaa koppi matalalta

to catch (a ball) using a shoestring catch


throw someone a curve

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

throws someone a curve (present singular third-person)
throwing someone a curve (participle present)
threw someone a curve (past)
thrown someone a curve (participle past)
throw someone a curveball (alternative)

From the curve ball in baseball, where a spin is employed to adjust the path of the ball unexpectedly.

(baseball) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: To pitch a curve ball.


connections

(sports, usually preceded by definite article) The people financially involved with a racehorse or racing greyhound.


displacement

From French déplacement. Morphologically displace + -ment.

водоизместимост

the quantity of anything, as water, displaced by a floating body, as by a ship

there is no replacement for displacement

(fencing) Moving the target to avoid an attack; dodging.


bowl a googly

bowl a googly (third-person singular simple present bowls a googly, present participle bowling a googly, simple past and past participle bowled a googly)

bowls a googly (present singular third-person)
bowling a googly (participle present)
bowled a googly (participle past)
bowled a googly (past)

(transitive, intransitive, cricket) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bowl, googly.


flick

→ Afrikaans: fliek

From Middle English flykke (“light blow or stroke”). Later uses apparently interpreted as a back-formation from flicker.
The use of flick to mean a film or movie derives from the fact that early films had a low frame rate, thus causing the film to "flick" rapidly when projected onto a screen.

inh

(fencing) A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.

flikki

a cut that lands with the point (fencing)

The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.

2011 June 28, David Ornstein, “Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters”, in BBC Sport:

(tennis) A powerful underarm volley shot.


specialist

Borrowed from French spécialiste, equivalent to special + -ist.

(sports) A player on a team who primarily employs one particular skill or takes one particular role.


overplay

en-verb

overplay (third-person singular simple present overplays, present participle overplaying, simple past and past participle overplayed)

overplays (present singular third-person)
overplaying (participle present)
overplayed (participle past)
overplayed (past)

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

The first few shots went wonderfully, but Robin overplayed the last and lost.

(transitive, golf) To accidentally hit (one's golf ball) beyond "the green".

uitslaan

To accidentally hit (one's golf ball) beyond the green


lightweight

lightweights (plural)
light-weight (alternative)

From light (“not heavy”, adjective) + weight (noun).

liggewig

bodybuilding: competitive weight division between bantamweight and welterweight

(rowing) A particular weight category as prescribed by the rules, separate from an open or heavyweight class.

(weightlifting) A competitive weight division as prescribed by the rules, between the heavier middleweight and the lighter featherweight.


rotation

en-noun

rotation (countable and uncountable, plural rotations)

/ɹoʊˈteɪʃən/

Borrowed from Latin rotatiō. By surface analysis, rotate + -ion.

(baseball) The set of starting pitchers of a team.


make sense

en-verb

make sense (third-person singular simple present makes sense, present participle making sense, simple past and past participle made sense)

makes sense (present singular third-person)
making sense (participle present)
made sense (participle past)
made sense (past)

→ Dutch: sense maken

→ Icelandic: meika sens

→ Swedish: mejka sense

If you want to grow spinal erectors that don’t make sense, you have to do a lot of bent-over compound lifts.

(generally negated, bodybuilding slang) To be in the realm of the ordinary, to be not particularly developed.


coverage

en-noun

coverage (countable and uncountable, plural coverages)

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *ḱe-?
Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm
Proto-Italic *kom
Old Latin com
Latin cum
Latin con-
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi
Proto-Indo-European *h₂wer-
Proto-Indo-European *-yeti
Latin operiō
Latin cooperiō
Old French covrirbor.
Middle English coveren
English cover
Proto-Italic *-ātos
Latin -ātus
Proto-Italic *-kos
Latin -cus
Latin -icus
Latin -āticus
Latin -āticum
Old French -agebor.
Middle English -age
English -age
English coverage
From cover + -age. First attested in 1912. Compare Middle English coverage (“a charge for having or stall or booth at a fair”).


technical knockout

en-noun

technical knockout (plural technical knockouts)

technical knockouts (plural)
TKO (alternative)
R.K.O (alternative)

(martial arts) A knockout declared by a referee in cases where a participant is sufficiently injured, unbalanced, or confused and unable to continue the fight


spearhead

From Middle English spere-hed; equivalent to spear + head.

England played at a tempo in attack that was too much for Bulgaria, with width provided at various times by Walcott, Young and Stewart Downing and Rooney acting as the potent spearhead.

2011 September 2, Phil McNulty, “Bulgaria 0-3 England”, in BBC:

(sports) A player who initiates attacking moves.


eggplant

eggplant (countable and uncountable, plural eggplants)

eggplants (plural)
egg-plant (alternative)

From egg + plant, originally applied only to the white-colored, egg-shaped variety.

(skateboarding, snowboarding) A 180 backside rotated invert in which the front hand is planted on the lip of the halfpipe wall


header

His header for the goal followed a perfect corner kick.

The Black Cats had a mountain to climb after James Morrison's header and Shane Long's neat side-foot finish gave Albion a 2-0 lead five minutes in.

2011 October 1, Phil Dawkes, “Sunderland 2 - 2 West Brom”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) The act of hitting the ball with the head.

رَأْسِيَّة

soccer: act of hitting the ball with the head


header

en-verb

header (third-person singular simple present headers, present participle headering, simple past and past participle headered)

headers (present singular third-person)
headering (participle present)
headered (participle past)
headered (past)
hdr (alternative)

(sports, transitive) To strike (a ball) with one's head.


ERA

en-noun

ERA (countable and uncountable, plural ERAs)

earned run average
earned run average#English

(baseball) Initialism of earned run average, a baseball statistic.


QPR

Queens Park Rangers
w:Queens Park Rangers F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Queens Park Rangers: a British football club based in London.


tied

en-adj

tied (comparative more tied, superlative most tied)

more tied (comparative)
most tied (superlative)

Southern US, African-American Vernacular

That tied score will require a “sudden death” round where Barnes can deliver a finishing move on Daniel.

2013, Larry Powell, Tom Garrett, The Films of John G. Avildsen, →ISBN, page 181:

(sports or games) That resulted in a tie.


rings

(gymnastics) A gymnastics apparatus and discipline consisting of two rings suspended from a bar.

(post-mid century) Ellipsis of still rings.


downtown

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

That shot came from way downtown!

(basketball) Outside the three-point line, or generally far from the basket.


flare

→ Italian: flare

Origin unknown, first recorded in the mid 16th century, probably related to Latin flagrō (“I burn”). Norwegian flara (“to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire”) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it. Possibly related to Middle High German vlederen (“to flutter”), represented by modern German flattern.
The noun is derived from the verb.

unknown

Origin unknown

ярка светлина

source of brightly burning light or intense heat

Stulp

widening of an object with otherwise roughly constant width

разкрояване

widening of the lower legs of trousers and jeans

Jones hits a little flare to left that falls for a single.

An observant base runner checks the outfield defense and easily goes from first to third when the batter hits a flare to right field. A base runner who does not observe the depth of the outfield must turn to watch the ball, see it drop, and then run. He probably doesn't make it to third base.

2008, Mark Gola, “Character”, in Baseball’s Sixth Tool: Playing the Mental Game to Get the Competitive Edge, New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill, →ISBN, page 7:

(baseball) A low fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.

(American football) A route run by the running back, releasing toward the sideline and then slightly arcing upfield looking for a short pass.


interference

en-noun

interference (countable and uncountable, plural interferences)

/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈfɪəɹəns/

From interfere + -ence. The sense in physics was likely introduced by English polymath Thomas Young, which he used as early as 1801 in a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

They were glued to the TV, as the referee called out a fifteen yard penalty for interference.

(sports) The illegal obstruction of an opponent in some ball games.


slick

From Middle English slicke, slike, slyke, from Old English slīc (“sleek, smooth; crafty, cunning, slick”), from Proto-Germanic *slīkaz (“sleek, smooth”),
from Proto-Indo-European *sleyg-, *sleyǵ- (“to glide, smooth, spread”). Akin to Dutch sluik, dialectal Dutch sleek (“even, smooth”), Old Norse slíkr (“sleek, smooth”), Old English slician (“to make sleek, smooth, or glossy”).

cog

You'll go much faster if you put on slicks.

(sports, automotive) A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.


WRC

(motor racing) Initialism of World Rally Championship.


cuttie

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


loaded

en-adj

loaded (comparative more loaded, superlative most loaded)

more loaded (comparative)
most loaded (superlative)

It's bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded and there are two outs.

(baseball) Pertaining to a situation where there is a runner at each of the three bases.

täynnä

baseball: when there is a runner at each of the three bases


duffer

Cognate with duff, which see (origin is uncertain).

(sports) A player having little skill, especially a golfer who duffs.


charity

en-noun

charity (countable and uncountable, plural charities)

From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās.

(US, Philippines, basketball, informal) A free throw.


groove

From Middle English grov, grove, groof, grofe (“cave; pit; mining shaft”), from Old English grōf (“trench, furrow, something dug”), from Proto-West Germanic *grōbu, from Proto-Germanic *grōbō (“groove, furrow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to dig, scrape, bury”). Cognate with Dutch groef, groeve (“groove; pit, grave”), German Grube (“ditch, pit”), Norwegian grov (“brook, riverbed”), Serbo-Croatian grèbati (“scratch, dig”). Directly descended from Old English grafan (“to dig”). More at grave.

der

(motor racing) A racing line, a path across the racing circuit's surface that a racecar will usually track on. (Note: There may be multiple grooves on any particular circuit or segment of circuit)


frisbee

en-noun

frisbee (countable and uncountable, plural frisbees)

A genericization of the trademark Frisbee.

(uncountable, sports) Alternative form of Frisbee (a sport)


hospital pass

His first touch was horrid – a hospital pass to Juliano Belletti – but from that moment on his eye-catching football was wonderful to witness.

2009 (23 November), Mark Fleming "Kakuta puts rare talent on display", The Independent (London)

Flood popped out a careless off-load deep in the French 22 to allow a clearing kick to snuff out the danger, and when Nick Easter tried to rumble from deep within his own 22 his hospital pass to Tuilagi triggered another knock-on.

2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France:

Brian Maguire is booked for the challenge on Leo McLoone, who was chasing a hospital pass from Mark McHugh.

2012 (5 August), As It Happened - SFC quarter-finals RTÉ

(figuratively, sports, British, Australia, Ireland) A poorly executed pass to a team-mate, who is likely to lose the ball as a result. (Originally rugby union, where the recipient of a hospital pass is a sitting duck for a hard tackle.)


sit out

en-verb

sit out (third-person singular simple present sits out, present participle sitting out, simple past and past participle sat out)

sits out (present singular third-person)
sitting out (participle present)
sat out (participle past)
sat out (past)

(wrestling) To escape a hold while face down by swinging one's legs around into the sitting position.


cherry-pick

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

cherry-picks (present singular third-person)
cherry-picking (participle present)
cherry-picked (participle past)
cherry-picked (past)
cherry pick (alternative)
cherrypick (alternative)

A metaphor, from the idea of picking through a bowl of cherries and seeking the best for oneself, or the idea of picking off the cherries for oneself from a cake or dessert.

(US, idiomatic, sports) To position oneself near the opponent's goal to attempt to receive an errant or intentional pass for an easy score, as in basketball or versions of soccer where offsides are not enforced.

kärkkyä

in sports, to position oneself near the opponent's goal


not out

(cricket, of a batsman at the end of an innings) not dismissed and having not retired.


leg bye

(cricket) A run scored by a batting side arising from the ball striking any part of the batsman's body (other than the hand) without touching the bat.


catch-as-catch-can

In Lancashire and the north of Ireland, the catch-hold or catch-as-catch-can system still finds favour.

1980, Walter Armstrong, Wrestling, page x:

(wrestling) Relating to catch wrestling, a form of amateur freestyle wrestling.


biter

From Middle English biter, bitere, equivalent to bite + -er. Cognate with West Frisian biter (“biter”), Dutch bijter (“biter”), German Low German Bieter (“biter”), German Beißer (“biter”).

(curling) A stone that barely touches the outside of the house.


chancery

en-noun

chancery (countable and uncountable, plural chanceries)

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹi/

From French chancellerie, from Late Latin cancellaria, from Latin cancellarius, from Latin cancellus (“lattice”) (English chancel), from Latin cancelli (“grating, bars”), from the lattice-work that separated a section of a church or court.
See related chancellor and chancellery, and the more distantly related incarcerate (“put behind bars”), from carcer (“prison”).
The adverbial form is an allusion to the condition of a person involved in the chancery court.

The Chicken himself attributed this punishment to his having had the misfortune to get into Chancery early in the proceedings, when he was severely fibbed by the Larkey one, and heavily grassed.

1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

(boxing, slang) The position of a boxer's head when under his adversary's arm.


chancery

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃænsəɹɪ/

/ˈt͡ʃɑːnsəɹi/

[Round] 9. This was a scientific round on both sides; Acton got away well; and also parried some tremendous blows. The latter, however, received a chancery nobber; but he contended every inch of ground till he went down.

1823 May 14, “Sporting Intelligence”, in The Literary Humbug, number 1, page 15, Between Peter Crawley and Dick Acton:

15th round. Chancery. Fibbing. Biggs makes dreadful work with his left. Break away. Rally. Biggs down. Betting still six to four on the gown-boy.

1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “The Fight at Slaughter House”, in Men's Wives, page 17:

(boxing) With the head of an antagonist under one's arm, so that one can pommel it with the other fist at will.


sniper

Alexander Ovechkin is often regarded as the greatest sniper of his generation.

(ice hockey slang) A player who specializes in scoring goals.


hose

en-verb

hose (third-person singular simple present hoses, present participle hosing, simple past and past participle hosed)

hoses (present singular third-person)
hosing (participle present)
hosed (participle past)
hosed (past)

From Middle English hose (“leggings, hose”), from Old English hose, hosa (“hose, leggings”), from Proto-West Germanic *hosā, from Proto-Germanic *husǭ (“coverings, leggings, trousers”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kewH- (“to cover”).
Cogante with West Frisian hoas (“hose”), Dutch hoos (“stocking, water-hose”), German Hose (“trousers”); also, Tocharian A kać (“skin”), Russian кишка́ (kišká, “gut”), Ancient Greek κύστις (kústis, “bladder”), Sanskrit कोष्ठ (koṣṭha, “intestine”). More at sky.

cog

(transitive, sports) To cause an unfair disadvantage to a player or team through poor officiating; especially, to cause a player or team to lose the game with an incorrect call.


jump the gun

en-verb

jump the gun (third-person singular simple present jumps the gun, present participle jumping the gun, simple past and past participle jumped the gun)

jumps the gun (present singular third-person)
jumping the gun (participle present)
jumped the gun (participle past)
jumped the gun (past)

Unperturbed when an overanxious opponent jumped the gun in the women's 60-yd. dash, willowy Wilma Rudolph exploded perfectly from the starting blocks.

1961 February 24, “Sport: Higher & Farther”, in Time:

(sports) To begin a race too soon, before the starting gun goes off.


cut in

cut in (third-person singular simple present cuts in, present participle cutting in, simple past and past participle cut in)

cuts in (present singular third-person)
cutting in (participle present)
cut in (participle past)
cut in (past)

(surfing) To begin riding a wave in front of someone else whose legitimate turn it is.


trim

en-noun

trim (countable and uncountable, plural trims)

From Middle English trimen, trymen, trümen, from Old English trymman (“to make firm; strengthen”), from Proto-West Germanic *trummjan, from Proto-Germanic *trumjaną (“to make fast; strengthen”), from Proto-Germanic *trumaz (“firm; strong; sound”).

varustelutaso

the manner in which something is equipped

(uncountable, underwater diving) The horizontal position of an underwater water


toggle

Of uncertain origin. Possible alteration of tug (“to pull”) + -le

(skydiving) A loop of webbing or a dowel affixed to the end of the steering/brake lines of a parachute providing the pilot with a means of control.


privateer

/ˌpɹaɪ.vəˈtɪə/

/ˌpɹaɪ.vəˈtɪɚ/

From private + -eer, probably after volunteer.

(motor racing, chiefly Canada, US) A private individual entrant into a race or competition who does not have the backing of a large, professional team.

yksityiskuski

motor racing: private individual entrant

(motor racing, elite championships) A racing team that is not a subsidiary of a large conglomerate, or automotive or vehicle manufacturer.


camel toe

When contacting the ball with one hand, it must be cleanly hit with the heel or palm of the hand (a roll shot), with straight, locked fingertips (a cobra), knurled fingers (a camel toe), or the back of the hand from the wrist to the knuckles.

1997, Steven Boga, Volleyball, Stackpole Books, →ISBN, page 83:


give in

en-verb

give in (third-person singular simple present gives in, present participle giving in, simple past gave in, past participle given in)

gives in (present singular third-person)
giving in (participle present)
gave in (past)
given in (participle past)

(boxing, of a pugilist) To droop the head.


steady

From Middle English stedy, studi, stidiȝ, perhaps continuing Old English stæþþiġ, ġestæþþiġ (“steadfast, stable, firm, staid”), equivalent to stead + -y; or calquing Middle Low German or Middle Dutch stēdig. Cognate with Saterland Frisian stoadig (“constant, continual”), West Frisian stadich (“slow”), Danish stedig, stadig, steeg, Swedish stadig, Icelandic stöðugur, German stätig, stetig.
Sense 8 of the adjective is a semantic loan from Hokkien 在 (chāi, “steady, confident”).

sl

steddy (alternative)
stedy (alternative)

After the sprint pieces, we rowed steady for the rest of practice.

(rowing, informal) To row with pressure at a low stroke-rating, often 18 strokes per minute.


ninjutsu

(martial arts) A Japanese martial art that is a collection of techniques originally practiced for Japanese espionage purposes, and includes methods of gathering information, nondetection, avoidance, and misdirection techniques. Used by ninja (忍者).


false start

(sports) The act of an athlete starting a race before being signaled to do so.

(American football) The act of an offensive player moving across the line of scrimmage prior to the snap.


gyroball

(sports) A spinning pitch thrown most commonly by Japanese baseball players.


fruit salad

en-noun

fruit salad (countable and uncountable, plural fruit salads)

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

(cricket) A bowler's strategy of using a different delivery each time.


man-mark

en-verb

man-mark (third-person singular simple present man-marks, present participle man-marking, simple past and past participle man-marked)

man-marks (present singular third-person)
man-marking (participle present)
man-marked (participle past)
man-marked (past)

In the most extreme form of man-marking, each player has a pre-established opponent to be followed and to be man-marked, from a more or less short distance, wherever he goes. The main objective of the defender is to steal the ball from his opponent if he receives it, or to place him in a threatened condition, thus forcing him to immediately get rid of the ball.

2003, Floriano Marziali, Vincenzo Mora, “The Factors in a Soccer Player’s Performance”, in Bryan R. Beaver, editor, The Zone, Spring City, Pa.: Reedswain Publishing, →ISBN, page 34:

No, and I still hate him. This is for you. He's going to be man-marked. He won't be allowed anywhere near you. I'll rip him to pieces if he tries anything funny, […]

2010, Lars Husum, translated by Mette Petersen, My Friend Jesus Christ, London: Portobello Books, →ISBN:

Our manager Don Megson had given me the job of man-marking George Best, so we were both a little disappointed, shall we say, that he scored after only 71 seconds.

2012, Ivan Ponting, quoting Frankie Prince, George Best: The Extraordinary Story of a Footballing Genius, London: Simon & Schuster UK, →ISBN:

It was my last round up against Noel O'Leary. He was rolled out to man-mark me again at the last minute. […] While the Cork manager might have felt he was negating my influence on the game by man-marking me with a secret last-minute selection, in reality we were always using the arrangement to our advantage.

2014, Paul Galvin, “The Start of Something”, in In My Own Words: The Autobiography, London: Transworld Ireland, Transworld Publishers, →ISBN; Transworld Ireland paperback edition, London: Transworld Ireland, Transworld Publishers, 2015, →ISBN, page 207:

When the team might have tired from that hard-running style they have had days to rest. When first Sam Allardyce and then José Mourinho exposed a certain weakness against a two-man attack, and also when the "supply" players, [Eden] Hazard and Pedro, were man-marked, [Antonio] Conte had a week to drill his team and patch this up.

2017 May 13, Barney Ronay, “Antonio Conte’s brilliance has turned Chelsea’s pop-up team into champions”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2017-09-09:

If Rangers want to put someone on me, fine. If a team man-marks you that just pulls people out of position. I can go in and sit at centre-half which suits me. If my man-marker wants to play centre-forward, it's fine.

2018 April 29, Scott McDermott, “‘They told me I was finished’: Celtic skipper Scott Brown having the last laugh at his critics”, in Daily Record:

(transitive, sports) To mark an opposition player closely.


linesman

A linesman replaced injured referee Rebecca Welch after 50 minutes and with no other official present, qualified referee Pattison, 60, ran the line.

2015 November 18, “Steven Pattison: Carlisle United director runs line in FA Youth Cup”, in BBC Sport:

As the linesman raised his flag, Neville played on, crossing for Piovaccari to net.

2015 November 13, “Western Sydney Wanderers romp to victory at hapless Melbourne City”, in (Please provide the book title or journal name):

(ice hockey) An official whose primary task is to watch the blue line and determine when there has been an offside.

linjatuomari

ice hockey: official whose primary task is to watch the blue line

(American football) An official whose primary task is to determine whether there has been a line of scrimmage violation.

linjatuomari

American football: official who determines if there has been a line of scrimmage violation


lineman

(American football) A player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage.


overhead

en-adj

overhead (comparative more overhead, superlative most overhead)

more overhead (comparative)
most overhead (superlative)

From Middle English owerheved, over-hed, over hede (adverb), from Old English oferhēafod (adverb), equivalent to over- + head. Compare German Low German overhoopt, överhoopt, German überhaupt.

It was Rooney, however, who produced a moment of inspiration to score a stunning overhead kick that will live forever in the memory of United's fans and extended City's dismal sequence of only one league win in their last 27 visits to Old Trafford.

2011 February 12, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 2 - 1 Man City”, in BBC:

despeses generals

of, or relating to the operating expenses of a business


overhead

en-noun

overhead (countable and uncountable, plural overheads)

computational overhead| digital overhead

(juggling, by ellipsis) An overhead throw.


assistant referee

assistant referee (plural assistant referees)

Maccabi's Yoan Ziv also saw red in the second half for kicking a boot at the assistant referee.

2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3 - 0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, British): One of the two officials at an association football match, previously known as linesmen, who assist the referee.


ferrule

From Middle English verel, virel, virole (“ferrule; metal pivot on the end of an axle”), altered under the influence of Latin ferrum (“iron”), from Old French virole (“ferrule”), from Latin viriola (“little bracelet”), diminutive of viria (“bracelet worn by men”), from Gaulish, from Proto-Celtic *weiros (“crooked”) (compare Middle Irish fiar (“bent, crooked”), Welsh gŵyr, Breton gwar (“curved”)), from Proto-Indo-European *weyh₁ros (“threaded, turned, twisted”), from *weyh₁- (“to turn, twist, weave”).

refn

From the collection of the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand.

kování

band or cap placed around a shaft to reinforce it or to prevent splitting

příruba

He [Larry Penberthy] feels metal ice axes are the only safe ones. […] If you do purchase a wood-shafted ax, examine the grain carefully. It should be straight, free of knots and flaws, and continue unbroken from head to ferrule. Rub it often with linseed oil.

1978 August 28, Bill March et al., “Choosing an Ice Ax”, in William Kemsley, Jr., editor, Backpacker, volume 6, number 4, Bedford Hills, N.Y.: Backpacker, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 54, columns 2–3:

A band or cap (usually metal) placed around a shaft to reinforce it or to prevent splitting.

(specifically, climbing) The metal spike at the end of the shaft of an ice axe.

During a short break he clamped the tenon machine to the countertop; then he took a few cues that were in need of repair and began replacing their ferrules. […] By two-thirty, a dozen cues had new white ferrules and leather tips.

1984 August, Walter Tevis, chapter 6, in The Color of Money, New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, →ISBN; republished New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, October 1986, →ISBN, pages 150–151:

A band holding parts of an object together.

(billiards) The plastic band attaching the tip to the cue.

virolla

(billiards) plastic band attaching the tip to the cue


grommet

grommets (plural)
grummet (alternative)
gromet (alternative)

From obsolete French gromette (“curb chain”) (modern spelling gourmette).

(slang, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding) A young or inexperienced surfer, skateboarder, or snowboarder.


left wing

The wing on the left side of some body, most commonly one half of a pair:

(sports) The left-hand side of a sports field.

(ice hockey) The offensive player who plays to the center's left.


right wing

The wing on the right side of some body, most commonly part of a pair:

(sports) The right-hand side of a sports field.

(ice hockey) The offensive player who plays to the center's right.


stat

en-verb

stat (third-person singular simple present stats, present participle statting, simple past and past participle statted)

stats (present singular third-person)
statting (participle present)
statted (participle past)
statted (past)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-stat.wav

"I went back and statted that match," Shondell said. "Seventy percent of the points, we either finished them with a kill or making an error. So we were in control, it's just that we weren't in control the way we needed to be on a regular basis."

2014 September 16, Sam King, “Purdue volleyball notes: Madness in Mackey Arena”, in Journal & Courier:

The most important part of the collection, however, is Howe’s folders of stats. […] All up, he reckons he’s statted over 10,000 Australian matches at all levels. It’s all been digitised now, of course, but to this day Howe maintains a hand-written record.

2015 July 27, Joe Gorman, “The stats guru helping keep alive football history in Australia”, in The Guardian:

(transitive, chiefly sports, informal) To collect or interpret statistics related to (a match etc.).


breakthrough

breakthroughs (plural)
breakthru (alternative)

From break + through. Compare German Durchbruch and Dutch doorbraak (“breakthrough”, literally “through-break”).

gennembrud

(engineering) penetration of a physical barrier

But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.

2011 September 29, Jon Smith, “Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Rovers”, in BBC Sport:

(sports) The penetration of the opposition's defence.

trouée

(sports) penetration of the opposition defence


tights

→ Japanese: タイツ (taitsu)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-tights.wav

(dance) A similar, non-sheer garment worn by dancers of either sex, especially by ballet dancers.

(wrestling) A garment, similar to briefs, worn chiefly by professional wrestlers.


scramble

en-verb

scramble (third-person singular simple present scrambles, present participle scrambling, simple past and past participle scrambled)

scrambles (present singular third-person)
scrambling (participle present)
scrambled (participle past)
scrambled (past)

Origin uncertain. Perhaps from earlier dialectal scramble, scrammel (“to collect or rake together with the hands”), from scramb (“to pull or scrape together with the hands”) + -le (frequentative suffix) (compare Dutch schrammen (“to graze, brush, scratch”)); or alternatively from a nasalised form of scrabble (“to scrape or scratch quickly”).

lähettää

to quickly enter vehicles and proceed to destination

(intransitive, sports) To partake in motocross.


scramble

(golf) A statistic used in assessing a player's short game, consisting of a chip or putt from under 50 yards away that results in requiring one putt or less on the green.

(golf) A variant of golf in which each player in a team tees off on each hole, and the players decide which shot was best. Every player then plays their second shot from within a club length of where the best ball has come to rest, and the procedure is repeated until the hole is finished.


chicane

en-noun

chicane (countable and uncountable, plural chicanes)

On lap 23, Hamilton got a run on Leclerc into the second chicane after the two had overtaken Nico Hulkenberg's out-of-stop-sequence Renault down the main straight.

2019 September 8, Andrew Benson, BBC Sport:

(motor racing) A sharp double bend on a racecourse, designed to prevent unsafe speeds; an obstacle creating a curve.

xicana

motor racing: double bend or obstacle designed to prevent unsafe speeds


serpentine

From Middle English serpentine, from Old French serpentin, from Latin serpentīnus, from serpēns (“serpent”), equivalent to serpent + -ine.

(equestrianism) In dressage, a winding walk across on the arena.


Ajax

(soccer) The Amsterdam football club AFC Ajax


intermediate

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-intermediate (adj, noun).wav

From Medieval Latin intermediatus, past participle of intermediare, from inter + Late Latin mediare (“to mediate”); also Latin intermedius.

междинен продукт

any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product

(motor racing) A kind of tyre with relatively light grooving, used for conditions between fully dry and fully wet.


run and gun

en-verb

run and gun (third-person singular simple present runs and guns, present participle running and gunning, simple past ran and gunned, past participle run and gunned)

runs and guns (present singular third-person)
running and gunning (participle present)
ran and gunned (past)
run and gunned (participle past)

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

This team likes to run and gun.

They're really running and gunning now.

This coach likes to play a run-and-gun offense.

(basketball, often attributive) To move the ball quickly and shoot often.


banjo hitter

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

From the twanging sound of the batter's swing, like that of a banjo.

Aluminum bats, which had replaced wood in the college game in 1974, were so potent they made Babe Ruths out of banjo hitters.

(baseball) a batter who lacks power, usually hits bloop singles, and would have a low slugging percentage.


completion

en-noun

completion (countable and uncountable, plural completions)

termination

antonym(s) of “making complete, accomplishment”

Borrowed from Latin completio, completionem, from complere (“to fill up, complete”); comparable to English complete + -ion.

(American football) A forward pass that is successfully caught by the intended receiver.


Angel

Smith became an Angel as a result of a pre-season trade.

(baseball) A player on the team the "Los Angeles Angels" or one of its predecessor "Angels" teams.


Argentine

From Old French argentin (“silvery”), from Latin argentum (“silver”).


Argonaut

/ˈɑːrɡənɔːt/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀργοναύτης (Argonaútēs).

(Canadian football) A team member for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.


Athletic

Smith became an Athletic as a result of a pre-season trade.

(baseball) A player on the team Oakland Athletics.

(soccer, uncountable) Short for Athletic Club, a Spanish professional club more often known in English as Athletic Bilbao.


Athletics

(baseball) The team The Oakland Athletics, previously Kansas City Athletics and Philadelphia Athletics.

(US, sports) Nickname for many athletic teams whose full name includes "Athletics".


Aztec

From Spanish azteca, from Classical Nahuatl aztēcah, plural of aztēcatl (“inhabitant of Aztlán”).

(American football) A hybrid defensive back position combining aspects of the safety, nickelback and linebacker positions.


B

From abbreviations of various terms beginning with or containing the letter ‘B’.
* (billion): abbreviation of billion
* (cricket): abbreviation of balls
* (bitch): abbreviation of bitch

(cricket) The number of balls faced by a batsman.


Barca

2000 April 19, BBC Online, "Football News":

There's only one Barca

Chelsea and Barca clash once again

Giovani committed to Barca

(informal, soccer) FC Barcelona, a prominent Spanish association football club.


Batman

en-verb

Batman (third-person singular simple present Batmans, present participle Batmanning, simple past and past participle Batmanned)

Batmans (present singular third-person)
Batmanning (participle present)
Batmanned (participle past)
Batmanned (past)

From bat + man; originally the Bat-Man. By surface analysis, Bat- + man.

He laughed, Batmanned back up to his last piece of gear and hammered a 5/8-inch angle piton into the crack with an ascending ring like any nail met with a hammer.

2014, Ken Wylie, Buried, →ISBN, page 140:

(slang, mountaineering) Alternative form of batman (etymology 3)


Blues

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin venetī (“Sea-Blues”) or factio veneta (“the sea-blue faction”) and Byzantine Greek Βένετοι (Bénetoi, “Blues”).

bor

(informal) Any of several sports teams whose uniform is predominantly blue, such as:


Brewer

(soccer) A player, supporter or other person connected with Burton Albion Football Club.

(baseball) A player for the Milwaukee Brewers.


Cardinal

Smith became a Cardinal as the result of a pre-season trade.

(baseball) A player on the St. Louis Cardinals team.

(American football) A player on the Arizona Cardinals team.


Cherry

(soccer) someone connected with AFC Bournemouth, as a fan, player, coach etc.


City

City will reportedly look to have a fee for Aguero.

(soccer, informal) Manchester City Football Club, an English football club.


Cub

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

(baseball) A player on the team the "Chicago Cubs".


D

From the shape of the upper case letter "D".

(snooker) The semicircle on the baulk line, inside which the cue ball must be placed at a break-off.

Johnson, a late substitute, applied the finishing touch but it was move kickstarted by the again-impressive Neco Williams, who skedaddled forward from halfway with the ball in tow before feeding Aaron Ramsey on the edge of the D.

2022 June 11, Ben Fisher, “Brennan Johnson’s late goal denies Belgium and extends the Wales party”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) The penalty arc on a football pitch.


Elk

(Canadian football) A team member of the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Elks (formerly known as the Eskimos).


Euro

England could have met world and European champions Spain but that eventuality was avoided by Sweden's 2-0 win against France, and Rooney's first goal in a major tournament since scoring twice in the 4-2 victory over Croatia in Lisbon at Euro 2004.

2012 June 19, Phil McNulty, “England 1-0 Ukraine”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, usually followed by the year) The UEFA European Football Championship, a European football competition held between the international teams of Europe every four years.


Fred

Here we have several World Championships every week. There is 'Hill Worlds', and then some other ones. What happens a lot of time^([sic]) is that only a few people who race show up, and you can have your way with the majority of Freds who do the ride (Hill Worlds is fun because people can't wheelsuck).

2001, Andrew Albright, “World Championships (was Re: What is John Eustice cycling backround? ^([sic])”, in rec.bicycles.racing (Usenet):

They called them 'Freds', a pejorative term that implied they were middle-aged and dowdy, and sniped that their only talent was staying awake for long periods. After it had been running for a couple of years, one of Jock's friends challenged him to put the Freds in their place. Jock, his competitive spirit pricked, agreed.

2014, Tim Lewis, Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team:

(cycling, slang, derogatory) A novice cyclist.


Frisbee

en-noun

Frisbee (countable and uncountable, plural Frisbees)

Frisbees (plural)
frisbee (alternative)
frisbie (alternative)

1957, brand name Frisbee was trademarked in 1959 by Fred Morrison, later acquired by Wham-O. From an alteration of frisbie, applied to the disk game by U.S. college students who tossed pie plates from Mrs. Frisbie's Pies, Frisbie Bakery, Bridgeport Ct., since the 1930s. From the English family name Frisby attested 1226, from the toponym attested 1086 in Frisby on the Wreak, Leicestershire, from Old Danish Frisby (“Frisian village”).

(sports, uncountable) frisbee: the sport involving Frisbees.


G

G (countable and uncountable, plural Gs)

(sports, baseball) Games (the statistic reporting the number of games that a player has participated in).

(sports) Abbreviation of goals (a sports statistic).


Giant

(baseball) A player for the San Francisco Giants.

(American football) A player for the New York Giants.


Gill

* As an English surname, converged from variants of Giles (sometimes through Dutch), Julian, and William.
* As a northern English surname, from Middle English gil (“ravine, glen”), from Old Norse gil. The Old Norse is also a source of the Norwegian surname.
* As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McGill.
* Also as an Irish surname, variant of Gall.
* As a Jewish/Israeli surname, from Hebrew גיל (“joy”).
* As a German surname, variant of Gilger.
* As an Indian/Sikh/Punjabi surname, from ਗਿੱਲ (gill, “moisture”).

(soccer) Someone connected with Gillingham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Hammer

Shortened West Ham + -er, with a pun on hammer.

(soccer) someone connected with West Ham Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


J

Js (plural)
J's (plural)
JJ (plural)
J. (alternative)
j. (alternative)
j (alternative)

And Durant had a front seat for just how much work DeRozan was putting in during their time together in Rio. "I watched him man," Durant said. "His footwork in the post is flawless. His jump shot in the mid-range is incredible. That is the type of stuff I look at as a basketball guy, his footwork, his mechanics on his J, his handle. At first he was a dunker and he barely dunks now. He’s a finesse player but he can play power forward. I’m a big fan."

2017 February 18, Mike Gantner, “Durant a big admirer of DeRozan and his work ethic”, in Toronto Sun:


K

Abbreviations.
# (stenoscript) Abbreviation of counter, prefix counter-, sequence contr.

ng

prefix <i class="Latn mention" lang="en">counter-</i>, sequence contr.

(baseball) Abbreviation of strikeout. On a baseball scorecard, a frontwards K signifies striking out while swinging the bat, while a backwards K signifies striking out while looking.


L

en-noun

L (countable and uncountable, plural Ls)

(sports) Abbreviation of losses (statistic).


Lion

(American football) A player for National Football League's Detroit Lions.

(Canadian football) A player for Canadian Football League's B.C. Lions.

(soccer) A player for the England football team.


M

M (countable and uncountable, plural Ms)

(cricket, in batting figures) the number of minutes a player spent at the crease

(cricket, in bowling figures) the number of maiden overs bowled


Mariner

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

(baseball) A player on the team the Seattle Mariners.


Met

(baseball) A player for the New York Mets.


O

O (countable and uncountable, plural Os)

(soccer) Someone associated with Leyton Orient Football Club, as a player, coach, supporter etc.


Oval

Alternative form: The Oval

(cricket) A cricket ground in South London.


PK

PK (countable and uncountable, plural PKs)

(American football) Initialism of placekicker.

(US, soccer) Initialism of penalty kick.

(ice hockey) Initialism of penalty kill(ing).


Padre

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

(baseball) A player for the San Diego Padres.


Patriot

(American football, NFL) A member of the New England Patriots professional football team.


Q

Q (countable and uncountable, plural Qs)


R

(baseball, cricket) runs, the statistic reporting the number of runs scored by a player


Ram

From ram the animal of the mascot for the sports team.

(UK, soccer) Someone connected with Derby County Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Robin

* (masculine given name): From Middle English Robin, from Old French, diminutive of Robert
* (feminine given name): From the bird, robin
* (given name): From Germanic

(soccer) Someone connected with any number of sports teams known as the Robins, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Saint

In 1971, during Archie Manning's first game as a New Orleans Saint and the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams, […]

2008, Monica M. Dalide, 683 Things About New Orleans, Outskirts Press, page 88

Former New Orleans Saint and current blues historian at Tulane University, Nick Travers becomes involved in a case related to the mysterious death […]

2008, David Rife, Jazz Fiction: A History and Comprehensive Reader's Guide, Scarecrow Press, →ISBN, page 86:

Their prayers were answered when future New Orleans Saint and Super Bowl champion Jabari Greer intercepted Croyle's pass. In the fourth overtime, ...

2015, Craig T. Smith, 100 Things Tennessee Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, Triumph Books, →ISBN:

(sports) Someone connected with any of the sports teams known as the Saints, such as a player or coach, or sometimes a fan.


Spur

English surname, variant of Spurr. Compare the noun spur.

(soccer) someone connected with Tottenham Hotspur FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Swan

The Swans will doubtless recover, but they will head home this evening knowing that they didn't do themselves justice in a game that means so much to supporters.

2013 November 3, Delme Parfitt, “Cardiff City 1 - 0 Swansea City: Steven Caulker heads Bluebirds to South Wales derby win”, in Wales Online:

(soccer) someone connected with Swansea City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


Sweet Sixteen

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

(basketball, US, informal) The sixteen teams participating in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Division I tournament, one of whom will become the national champion.

(basketball, US, informal) The round of the NCAA Division I basketball tournament where all but 16 teams have been eliminated.

The new coach has just led the Nimrods to their first Sweet Sixteen.

(basketball, US, informal) An appearance in the Sweet Sixteen.


T

T (countable and uncountable, plural Ts)

(sports) Abbreviation of ties (statistic).


Tiger

(soccer) Someone connected with Hull City Football Club, as a fan, player, coach etc.


Tour

(cycling, by ellipsis) The Tour de France.


Tyke

Perhaps a derogatory nickname from Old Norse tík, 'bitch, female dog' (compare English tyke, Icelandic tík). Less likely to be from Old Norse þýzkr, 'of one's nation' or an Old English cognate (compare German deutsch, Swedish tysk).

(slang, soccer) someone connected with Barnsley Football Club, as a fan, player, coach, etc.


U

An abbreviation of a word or term beginning with the letter U. Adjective sense 1 (“characteristic of the upper classes”) was coined by British linguist Alan S. C. Ross (1907–1980) in a 1954 article, and popularized by the English journalist and writer Nancy Mitford (1904–1973).

In 1992 Susan Lockhart was Captain of the England U16 Hockey Squad.

2013, Pam Mansell, The Girls of Southend High School 1913-2013: A Century for Women:


Villa

Olsson and Herd tussled off the ball at a free-kick before Olsson fell to the ground. Assistant referee Darren Cann signalled for a penalty and Dowd sent Herd off to the amazement of the Villa faithful.

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

(soccer) Aston Villa Football Club, a football club based in Birmingham


W

Abbreviations of various words beginning with W.

(sports) Abbreviation of wins (statistic).


Wanderer

(soccer) someone connected with any number of soccer clubs known as the Wanderers.


Will

Shortened from William or, less often, from other given names beginning with Wil-, such as Wilfred or Willard.

Will linebacker drops to turn-in, QB dropping dumps the ball off to HB.

1997, F Henderson, M Olson, Football's West Coast Offense, page 7:

Our Will linebacker, because he is away from the formation or to the split end, should be a great pursuit man and pass defender.
Will covers the back side hook zone on the weak side.

2000, American Football Coaches Association, Defensive Football Strategies, page 25:

(American football) A weak-side linebacker.


DB

(American football, Canadian football) Initialism of defensive back.


sideline

sidelines (plural)
side line (alternative)
side-line (alternative)

touchline

in rugby union, rugby league and association football

(sports) A line defining the side boundary of a playing field. Used in Canadian football, field lacrosse and basketball.

línia de banda

(sports) side boundary of a playing field

The coach stood on the sidelines and bellowed commands at the team.

(sports, usually in the plural) The area outside the playing field beyond each sideline.


sideline

en-verb

sideline (third-person singular simple present sidelines, present participle sidelining, simple past and past participle sidelined)

sidelines (present singular third-person)
sidelining (participle present)
sidelined (participle past)
sidelined (past)
side line (alternative)
side-line (alternative)

The coach sidelined the player until he regained his strength.

Gomez got his chance with Gary Cahill sidelined and took it superbly with an assured performance as part of a three-man defence Southgate now looks certain to use at the World Cup.

2017 November 14, Phil McNulty, “England 0-0 Brazil”, in BBC News:

(sports, transitive) To place on the sidelines; to bench or to keep someone out of play.


contact juggling

Coined by James Ernest in a book of the same name.

(juggling) The art of moving a ball or balls over one's body by rolling them, with very few throws.

jonglerie de contact

The art of moving a single ball or multiple balls, as by rolling or spinning


juggle

From Middle English jogelen, partly a back-formation of Middle English jogeler (“juggler”), and partly a borrowing from Old French jogler, jongler (“to have fun with someone”), a conflation of Latin joculāri (“to jest; joke”) and Old French jangler (“to regale; entertain; have fun; trifle with; tease; mess around; gossip; boast; meddle”), from Frankish *jangalōn (“to chit-chat with; gossip”), akin to Middle Dutch jankelen (“to murmur; whisper; mumble; grumble”), frequentative of Middle Dutch janken (“to moan; groan; complain”). Related also to Middle Low German janken (“to sigh; moan; lament”), Dutch jengelen (“to whine; whimper”) Dutch janken (“to whine; wimper”).

cog

(juggling) The act of throwing and catching each prop at least twice, as opposed to a flash.


relegation

en-noun

relegation (countable and uncountable, plural relegations)

Borrowed from Latin relēgātiō, relēgātiōnis.

(sports) Moving from one division to a lower one, due to finishing the season with fewer points than others.

descens

sports: moving from one division to a lower one


napoleon

napoleon (countable and uncountable, plural napoleons)

napoleons (plural)
Napoleon (alternative)

/nəˈpəʊlɪən/

Borrowed from French Napoléon (“given name, usually in reference to Napoleon Bonaparte”). In reference to coins, via French napoléon (“(slang) a coin that originally had the appearance of Napoleon's face in the obverse”). In reference to guns and possibly cards, in reference to Napoleon III.

bor

(rare UK horse racing slang, obsolete) Alternative form of nap: a horse to go nap on, a sure thing, a certain winner; a prediction of such a horse; a bet on such a horse.


CB

en-noun

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

(soccer) Initialism of centre-back, a defensive position

(American football, Gaelic football, hurling) Initialism of cornerback.

Gaelic football; hurling; Gaelic football; hurling


bloodbath

bloodbaths (plural)
blood bath (alternative)

/ˈblʌdˌbɑːθ/

From blood + bath, the latter used referring to a metaphorical deluge. Compare West Frisian bloedbad (“bloodbath”), Dutch bloedbad (“bloodbath”), German Blutbad (“bloodbath”), Danish blodbad (“bloodbath”), Norwegian Bokmål blodbad (“bloodbath”), Swedish blodbad (“bloodbath”), Icelandic blóðbad (“bloodbath”).

Although the Hampden Park blood bath of '94 caused Yale and Harvard to break off football relations for the next two years, they kept close watch on each other.

1951, Tim Cohane, “Be Each, Pray God, a Gentlemen!”, in The Yale Football Story, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, page 93:

(sports) An aggressive or very violent contest or confrontation.


Bengal

Borrowed from Portuguese Bengala, from Classical Persian بَنْگَالَه (bangāla), from Middle Bengali বাঙ্গালা (baṅgala), said to be from the Vanga Kingdom, of uncertain ultimate origin. Vangalam has been attested in medieval South India. Doublet of Bangla.

Jones became a Bengal in a trade for Smith.

(American football) A player on the team The Cincinnati Bengals.


CG

(baseball) Initialism of complete games; the statistic reporting the number of games thrown by a pitcher.


DD

DD (countable and uncountable, plural DDs)

(sports) Initialism of degree of difficulty.


mop up

en-verb

mop up (third-person singular simple present mops up, present participle mopping up, simple past and past participle mopped up)

mops up (present singular third-person)
mopping up (participle present)
mopped up (participle past)
mopped up (past)

(baseball) To pitch the final innings especially of a game that is no longer close.


hit up

hit ups (plural)
hitup (alternative)
hit-up (alternative)

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

(rugby) The act of taking a pass from the dummy half and running straight into the opposition's defensive line without looking to pass.


hole in one

en-noun

hole in one (plural holes in one or hole in ones)

holes in one (plural)
hole in ones (plural)

(golf) A hole that is completed by sinking the ball in a single shot or attempt, with one hit.