goal line

(rugby league, soccer, hurling, Gaelic football) the boundary of the field that runs along its width at each end, and across the front of the goal.

rugby league; hurling; Gaelic football; rugby league; hurling; Gaelic football

(American football) part of a vertical plane separating an end zone from the field of play when the ball is touched or is in player possession. The plane extends beyond the sidelines. A team’s goal line is that which it is defending.


free kick

a free-kick specialist

Australian rules football
Australian rules football

(American football, soccer, Australian rules football, rugby, other ballgames) a kick in which a player may kick the ball without interference from the opposition. Such a kick may be awarded for a foul by the opposition, or earned by a player such as by taking a mark.

Australian rules football; other ballgames; Australian rules football; other ballgames

goditje e lirë

kick played without interference of opposition


direct free kick

en-noun

direct free kick (plural direct free kicks)

(soccer) a free kick from which a goal may be scored directly


indirect free kick

indirect free kick (plural indirect free kicks)

(soccer) a free kick from which a goal may be scored only after the ball has been played by at least one other player


shut up shop

en-verb

shut up shop (third-person singular simple present shuts up shop, present participle shutting up shop, simple past and past participle shut up shop)

shuts up shop (present singular third-person)
shutting up shop (participle present)
shut up shop (participle past)
shut up shop (past)

(intransitive, cricket) To bat defensively in the last innings of a match in order to force a draw when winning is not possible.


scratch

scratch (third-person singular simple present scratches, present participle scratching, simple past and past participle scratched)

scratches (present singular third-person)
scratching (participle present)
scratched (participle past)
scratched (past)

From Middle English scracchen, of uncertain origin. Probably a blend of Middle English scratten (“to scratch”) and cracchen (“to scratch”). More at scrat and cratch.

scratch a liberal and you'll find a fascist

you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

Embarrassingly, he scratched on the break, popping the cue completely off the table.

(billiards) To commit a foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

(billiards, dated, US) To score, not by skillful play but by some fortunate chance of the game.


scratch

en-noun

scratch (countable and uncountable, plural scratches)

A foul in pool, as where the cue ball is put into a pocket or jumps off the table.

(archaic, US, slang) A shot which scores by chance and not as intended by the player; a fluke.


DH

designated hitter
designated hitter#English

(baseball) Initialism of designated hitter.


designated hitter

designated hitter (plural designated hitters)

(baseball) A batter who is permitted to substitute for a pitcher in the batting rotation for the duration of a baseball game.


hitter

From hit + -er (agent noun suffix) or -er (measurement suffix).

He struck out six of the last seven batters, striking out the side in the eighth and fanning two hitters in the ninth.

1994 June 24, The Associated Press, “BASEBALL; A's Witt, Nearly Perfect, Says It's Ump Who Wasn't”, in The New York Times:

Mike Flanagan (1-2) hurled a four-hitter in 50-degree weather made colder by wind gusting up to 25 miles an hour. […] Ross Baumgarten (2-1) combined with Lamarr Hoyt on a seven-hitter to hand Detroit its sixth straight loss.

1981 April 26, UPI, “Royals Top Brewers on Gura's 3-Hitter, 4-2”, in The New York Times:

Witt, who had thrown three two-hitters in his career, was in control throughout and showed no signs of fatigue.

You’ve never pitched a no-hitter or a one-hitter or a two-hitter or a three-hitter, because you’ve never pitched nine innings.

2021 May 5, Tyler Kepner, “With No-Hitter, John Means Opens Up a World of Possibilities”, in The New York Times:

(baseball, in combination) A game with a team making a specified number of hits.


up to bat

(baseball) Preparing to have or having one's turn to attempt to hit the ball.


supplier

Regular supplier Barton played in another teasing corner, which was headed on towards goal by the impressive Ameobi and flicked in by expert poacher Nolan.

2011 January 16, Saj Chowdhury, “Sunderland 1 - 1 Newcastle”, in BBC:

(soccer) Someone who assists (sets up) a goal.


runout

runout (countable and uncountable, plural runouts)

(cricket) The method of getting out (dismissed from play) in which a batsman, in making a run, has not reached the popping crease when a fielder breaks his wicket with the ball.


gridiron

gridiron (countable and uncountable, plural gridirons)

From resembling the shape of a gridiron (a square rectilinear grid).

(American football) The field on which American football is played.


DOGSO

The referees failed to spot the shirt pull from Jackson during play but after VAR review he was correctly awarded the DOGSO red card.

(soccer, US, Canada) Acronym of denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.


PECOTA

(baseball) Initialism of Player Empirical Comparison and Optimization Test Algorithm, a system for forecasting player performance.


cream puff

cream puffs (plural)
creampuff (alternative)

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

So instead of lobbing a cream puff, I kicked up my leg and brought the Ruttlemyer Express.

2000, W. P. Kinsella, Baseball Fantastic: Stories:

Joseph “Stretch” Suba, a batting-practice pitcher, served up “big, fat, medium fast cream puffs for the All-Star hitters […]

2011, Paul Dickson, Skip McAfee, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Third Edition), page 225:


spitball

(baseball) A pitch of a baseball that has been partly covered with saliva, illegal at most levels.


spitball

en-verb

spitball (third-person singular simple present spitballs, present participle spitballing, simple past and past participle spitballed)

spitballs (present singular third-person)
spitballing (participle present)
spitballed (participle past)
spitballed (past)

(baseball) To moisten the ball with saliva before pitching it.


ownage

Smith is just 1-27 lifetime against Jones. Jones has real ownage over him.

On August 23, 1993, the Braves came into San Francisco trailing the Giants by 7.5 games. The Braves swept the Giants in that pivotal series, and starting with that series, the Giants have won just 13 out of 51 games against the Braves. As Mike Krukow likes to say, "That's some serious ownage."

1998 August 9, Jack K, “Mesa = GAS CAN”, in alt.sports.baseball.sf-giants (Usenet), retrieved 2016-09-24, message-ID <35CE80E1.B14B2A97@pacbell.net>:

(baseball) The situation where one player has a history of domination over another player.


Hammers

(soccer) Someone who supports or plays for West Ham United F.C.


Lord's

(cricket) Lord's Cricket Ground, a cricket ground in London.


one-time

one-time (third-person singular simple present one-times, present participle one-timing, simple past and past participle one-timed)

one-times (present singular third-person)
one-timing (participle present)
one-timed (participle past)
one-timed (past)

Basel's good moment continued, and in stoppage time of the first half, Streller released Salah with a clever pass down the middle and the young Egyptian one-timed the ball over Čech.

2013 May 3, Werner Pichler, “Europa League 2012/13, Semifinal, 2nd Leg (R)”, in rec.sport.soccer (Usenet):

(soccer, ice hockey) To shoot (the ball or puck) directly from a teammate's pass.


night watchman

night watchmen (plural)
nightwatchman (alternative)

(cricket) A lower order batter to play the last overs in low light to save better batters for the next day's play.


kick-off

kick-offs (plural)
kickoff (alternative)

The atmosphere at Upton Park before kick-off reflected the palpable tension surrounding the club right now

2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC:

Alcohol consumption following football matches is fuelling domestic abuse in the hours after a game, according to new evidence suggesting that changing kick-off times could help reduce violence.

2021 July 4, Michael Savage, “Early kick-offs linked to more alcohol abuse and violence in the home”, in The Observer:

(soccer, American football) The opening kick of each half of a game of football.


set piece

set pieces (plural)
setpiece (alternative)
set-piece (alternative)

Roberto Carlos is deadly from set pieces.

(soccer) Any planned strategy that a team uses after play is restarted with a free kick, penalty kick, corner kick, goal kick, throw-in or kickoff.


wingback

(soccer) A player who doubles on either side of the center as a defender when their team is defending, and a winger when they are attacking.

carrilero

soccer: player who doubles as a defender and winger

(American football) A running back who is in formation near the line of scrimmage and outside the tackles, a slotback.


center field

(baseball) The part of a baseball field which is beyond the infield and straight ahead left if you stand on home plate and face the pitcher.

(baseball) The defensive position in the outfield in the middle, typically played by a player that can run fast.


right field

(baseball) The part of a baseball field which is beyond the infield and to your right if you stand on home plate and face the pitcher.

He's got a cannon out in right field.

(baseball) The defensive position in the outfield to the right, typically played by a player who can throw well.


catcher's mitt

en-noun

catcher's mitt (plural catcher's mitts or catchers' mitts)

catcher's mitts (plural)
catchers' mitts (plural)

(baseball) A large protective glove used by a catcher when playing baseball.


Cubs

Abbreviation of "Cub Scouts" or "Chicago Cubs".


rimless

Took aim and scored, a sure, rimless basket.

(basketball) Not touching the rim of the basket while passing through it.


retire the side

en-verb

retire the side (third-person singular simple present retires the side, present participle retiring the side, simple past and past participle retired the side)

retires the side (present singular third-person)
retiring the side (participle present)
retired the side (participle past)
retired the side (past)

[…] and that will retire the side [sportscaster patter]

Jones steps on first to retire the side.

(baseball) To get the third out of an inning, thus ending the turn of one team (side) for batting and signaling the next turn of the other team (side).


bat around

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

bats around (present singular third-person)
batting around (participle present)
batted around (participle past)
batted around (past)
bat about (alternative)

If the teams do not have the same number of players, the team with the greater number of players bats around once per inning, and the team with the smaller number of players will bat an equal number of times as the opposing team,[…].

1965, Recreation, National Recreation Association, page 498:

[…]the Braves knocked Bunning out, batting around and scoring six runs in the fourth inning. They then scored four more runs the next inning, batting around once again against Dallas Green[…].

2005, John P. Rossi, The 1964 Phillies: The Story of Baseball's Most Memorable Collapse, McFarland, →ISBN, page 128:

The Phillies thus batted around the lineup without a hit for the first time since July 17, 1992, a run that lasted more than 24 years, per ESPN Stats & Info. If not for the inning-ending double play, the Phillies might have even sent 10 or 11 batters to the plate without recording a single hit.

2016 July 31, Bleacher Report Milestones, “Phillies Bat Around in 8th Inning Without Recording a Hit”, in Bleacher Report:

(intransitive, baseball) To have each of a team's batting line-up positions complete an at-bat in the same half-inning.

To have a team's first batter of the inning come to bat for a second time (after all of the others in the batting line-up have batted). (See the usage note below.)


fourth official

en-noun

fourth official (plural fourth officials)

(soccer) The official who keeps things at the dugout in order, and displays substitutions and the amount of injury time


centre circle

centre circles (plural)
center circle (alternative)

Vardy should have equalled Dunne’s record nine minutes in, when he dispossessed Williams in the centre circle and sped clear.

2015 December 5, Alan Smith, “Leicester City back on top as Riyad Mahrez hat-trick downs Swansea City”, in The Guardian (London):

(soccer) The circle in the centre of the pitch which, at kick-off, the defending team may not enter until the attacking side has touched the ball.

cercle central

the circle in the centre of the pitch in soccer


six-yard box

Roman Sharonov rose unchallenged to head a corner wide, while diminutive winger Gokdeniz Karadeniz ghosted in with a diving header from the edge of the six-yard box that was acrobatically kept out by Gomes.

2011 October 20, Jamie Lillywhite, “Tottenham 1 - 0 Rubin Kazan”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) An enclosed area inside the penalty area, extending 6 yards (5.5 metres) from the goal, inside which a goal kick must be taken.


penalty area

Racing out of his penalty area after a poor clearance, Haimov was beaten to the ball by Jerome, who rolled it to the waiting Shotton to fire a low shot past the goalkeeper.

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

(soccer, futsal) An area of a pitch or field, inside which a penalty is given to the offensive team if a foul is made by the defensive team.


penalty arc

(soccer) An arc whose center is the penalty spot, extending from the top of the penalty area.


out-swinger

(soccer) A ball that curves away from the goal.


in-swinger

(soccer) A ball that curves towards the goal.

(cricket) A delivery that curves towards the batsman.


offside trap

offside trap (usually uncountable, plural offside traps)

He managed to beat the offside trap and clinch the winner.

But the visitors started the game in stunning fashion when Morten Gamst Pedersen dinked forward a clever looping pass and Kalinic beat the offside trap, surged into the box and beautifully placed the ball past goalkeeper Scott Carson.

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

(soccer) A defensive play intended to catch the attacking team offside, generally in such a way that the defense line suddenly and simultaneously moves forward.


man on

(soccer, basketball) An outcry warning a teammate of an approaching opponent, usually from the rear.


slide tackle

Christian Karembeu almost broke his supermodel wife's leg with a slide tackle during a football game in their back garden.

2002 February 27, “Cruncher Karembeu takes it out on his wife”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) a tackle to get the ball by sliding on the ground feet-first


Cruyff turn

Cruyff turns (plural)
Cruijff turn (alternative)

Named after Dutch football player Johan Cruyff (1947–2016).

(soccer) A piece of footwork where, instead of passing or crossing the ball directly by kicking it, the player drags the ball behind his planted foot with the inside of his crossing foot, turns through 180 degrees, and accelerates away from the defender.


diving header

To that end, the home supporters were in good voice to begin with, but it was Newcastle who started the game in the ascendancy, with Barton putting a diving header over the top from Jose Enrique's cross.

2011 April 10, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) A ball struck near ground level by the head of a diving player.


drop-ball

(soccer) A method of restarting play in a game where the referee drops the ball between two players of opposing teams.


backheel

[Bendtner was central to it at all, firstly firing home, via a deflection off Gareth McAuley, after being teed up by Sebastien Larsson's neat backheel, and then a minute later crossing for Elmohamady to head in an equaliser.

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

(soccer) A kick played by the heel which typically travels in the opposite direction from which the player is facing.


backheel

en-verb

backheel (third-person singular simple present backheels, present participle backheeling, simple past and past participle backheeled)

backheels (present singular third-person)
backheeling (participle present)
backheeled (participle past)
backheeled (past)

Mount’s low cross deflected, Olivier Giroud backheeled for Pulisic and Arsenal’s defenders seemed to react in slow motion.

2020 August 1, David Hytner, “Aubameyang at the double as Arsenal turn tables on Chelsea to win FA Cup”, in The Guardian:


one-two

A Ricketts and Stuart Holden one-two around the box then created a decent chance for an almost instant equaliser - but Welsh full-back Ricketts blasted over when a calmer finish could have been rewarded.

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

Kane had dropped off to spread the play with a diagonal and, when he darted for the far post, Saka curled the ball back towards him – call it a long-range one-two.

March 26 2023, David Hytner, “Kane and Bukayo Saka combine against Ukraine for England’s perfect Euros start”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A quick one-touch play between two players.

narážečka

soccer: quick one-touch play between two players


FCK

It came down to the penultimate game of the year, FCK away at Brondby, and Brondby blew it.

2003, David Goldblatt, World Soccer Yearbook 2003-2004, →ISBN:

This did not deter Flemming Østergaard, a charismatic businessman that led the takeover of FC Copenhagen (FCK) in 1997, from embarking on a similar diversification strategy (Storm, 2009). FCK went on to purchase the Danish national stadium, Parken, took up property investments, a bought a chain of fitness centres (fitness.dk) and two large vactations resorts, one of them close to the LEGOLAND Theme Park in Billund.

2011, Hallgeir Gammelsæter, Benoit Senaux, The Organisation and Governance of Top Football Across Europe, →ISBN:

An FCK soccer scarf was draped over a chair.

2012, A.J. Kazinski -, The Last Good Man, →ISBN, page 426:

It's therefore worth spending time at the website of FC København. You can browse FCK TV, OM FCK, which is presumably a Zen-like activity that Sting and Trudie Styler would enjoy, and have a MIT FCK. There are FCK highlights, KlubFCK, and FCK Away. There's something for everyone.

2014, Luke Dempsey, Club Soccer 101, →ISBN:

(soccer) Initialism of FC København (“FC Copenhagen”).

Sportarztebund Rheinland/Pfalz (chmn. since 1964), assn. and team med. doctor for 1st FCK Kaiserslautern (football club).

1983, Karl Strute, Theodor Doelken, Who's Who in Germany 1982-1983 - Part 1, →ISBN, page 1253:

This was my first opportunity to meet FCK supporters, and I was intoxicated by their merch table before I even entered the stadium.

2014, Tanya H. Keith, Passionate Soccer Love: A Memoir of 20 Years Supporting Us Soccer, →ISBN:

FC Kaiserslautern (FCK) was the first football club in the Bundesliga (German Federal Football League) to create a team, initially, and then a section for women's football.

2018, Gertrud Pfister, Stacey Pope, Female Football Players and Fans: Intruding into a Man's World, →ISBN:

1. FC Kaiserslautern
w:1. FC Kaiserslautern

(soccer) Initialism of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.


send down

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

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

After performing poorly for the first month of the season, he was sent down to the minor leagues.

(baseball) To demote a player within the levels of professional baseball.


Mendoza line

After shortstop Mario Mendoza, whose lifetime batting average is taken to define the threshold of minimally competent hitting.

His recent slump has put him perilously close to the Mendoza line; he may be headed to AAA soon.

(baseball) A .200 batting average, which is around the minimum batting average a player with strong defensive skills can have and still stay in the major leagues. Named for Mario Mendoza.


pinch runner

pinch runners (plural)
pinch-runner (alternative)

(baseball) A substitute runner, usually brought in to replace a slow runner to increase the chance of that runner scoring.


quick pitch

Following some confusion the pitcher immediately attempted a quick pitch but was called for a balk.

(baseball) A pitch thrown without any of the normal setup routine to try and catch a batter off guard.


Ruthian

en-adj

Ruthian (comparative more Ruthian, superlative most Ruthian)

more Ruthian (comparative)
most Ruthian (superlative)

From "Babe" Ruth, holder of the record for number of home runs in a season from 1919 to 1961, and for home runs in a career from 1921 to 1974.

Jones launches a Ruthian blast; it lands high in the upper deck.

(baseball) Prodigiously accomplished with respect to batting, typically describing the flight of a long home run.


halftime

en-noun

halftime (countable and uncountable, plural halftimes)

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(American football) The halftime show, the primary light entertainment of a game, after the second quarter, when players can physically recover, coaches can give players a pep talk, bets can be doubled, etc.


go up

en-verb

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

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

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


time out

time out (third-person singular simple present times out, present participle timing out, simple past and past participle timed out)

times out (present singular third-person)
timing out (participle present)
timed out (participle past)
timed out (past)

(transitive, cricket) To declare (the batsman) out for having taken longer than two minutes to appear on the field.


pay-off

The bases are loaded, so he'd better make the pay-off count.


on the back foot

(cricket, of a batsman) Having the weight on the back foot in order to play a defensive stroke


coordinator

coordinators (plural)
coördinator (alternative)
co-ordinator (alternative)

→ Japanese: コーディネーター (kōdinētā)

en:assistant coach or similar role in sports

(sports, chiefly American football) An assistant coach responsible for a particular facet of the game, such as defense.


short stop

(baseball) Alternative spelling of shortstop


on deck

Jones is the on-deck batter.

(baseball) Being the batter who will be up next, typically when that player is waiting on the field.


on deck circle

Jones warms up in the on deck circle.

(baseball) The circle drawn or painted on the field where the next batter to hit waits.


hit parade

That’s going to do it for Smith as Jones joins the hit parade off him.

(baseball) Many hits in a row scored by one team.


backside throw

Good backside throw leads to good hip speed which leads to good bat speed.

(baseball) The rotation of the knee and lower body of the side of the batter away from the pitcher during a swing.


hip speed

en-noun

hip speed (countable and uncountable, plural hip speeds)

Good hip speed leads to good bat speed.

(baseball) The speed of rotation of the hips of a batter during a swing.


bat speed

Good hip speed leads to good bat speed.

(baseball) The speed of the bat during a swing.


golden sombrero

golden sombrero (plural golden sombreros)

Jones got a golden sombrero last night; he had a hat trick (three strikeouts) going into the ninth inning, then struck out for the fourth time.

(baseball) A humorous verbal "award" given to a batter who has struck out four times in a single game.


platinum sombrero

platinum sombrero (plural platinum sombreros)

Mike had to witness his dad achieve a platinum sombrero last night.

(baseball) A humorous verbal "award" given to a batter who has struck out five times in a single game.


set point

(tennis, volleyball) A situation where if one of the two players wins the next point, (s)he will win the set (but not the match).


double play depth

The infield is at double play depth with one out and a man at first.

(baseball) A shift in the defensive alignment of the infielders towards home plate when there is a baserunner on first base, to increase the possibility of getting a double play.


four fingers

Four fingers are up for Jones because the weak-hitting Smith will follow.

(baseball) The sign made by the manager directing the pitcher to issue an intentional walk.


keystone corner

keystone corner (plural keystone corners)

Jones takes the toss at the keystone corner, on to first... double play.

(baseball) Second base, because it is often the key to scoring and defense.


tools of ignorance

Jones straps on the tools of ignorance.


worm burner

From the humorous notion that any worms on the ground might be burned by the rapid passage of the ball.

Jones smashes a worm burner to mid on.

Jones smashes a worm burner between third and short.

(baseball, cricket) A hard-hit ground ball.


bare hand

en-verb

bare hand (third-person singular simple present bare hands, present participle bare handing, simple past and past participle bare handed)

bare hands (present singular third-person)
bare handing (participle present)
bare handed (participle past)
bare handed (past)

Jones bare hands the bunt and throws to first... out!

(transitive, baseball) To field the ball without one's glove in one's hand.


Azzurri

(soccer) the Italy national football team


shootout

shootouts (plural)
shoot-out (alternative)


the sticks

Possibly derived from 1800s Chinook Jargon stick (“tree, forest”), from English stick.

They gained just enough on that play to move the sticks and continue the drive.

(American football) The set of yardage markers used by a chain crew to indicate the ten yards between the line of scrimmage from the previous first down and the line to gain, which the offense must reach in their series of four downs in order to retain possession of the ball.


catenaccio

Borrowed from Italian catenaccio, literally "bolt (for a door)".

(soccer) A system of defensive play focused on nullifying opponents' attacks and preventing goal-scoring opportunities, typically using a libero.


Chelsea

From Old English Celchyth, from cealc (“chalk”) + hȳþ (“landing place”).

association football
association football

(soccer) Chelsea FC, an English association football club.


duster

desc

→ Cebuano: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

→ Indonesian: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

→ Tagalog: daster (“type of loose dress worn at home”)

(baseball) A high pitch toward the batter.


Pilgrim

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


dropper

(cricket, historical) A delivery by lob bowling (no longer legal).

(cricket, historical) A bowler who makes such deliveries.


hoik

en-noun

hoik (countable and uncountable, plural hoiks)

Possibly originally a form of hike (itself of unclear etymology).

(cricket, countable) A wild hook shot played without style.


hoik

en-verb

hoik (third-person singular simple present hoiks, present participle hoiking, simple past and past participle hoiked)

hoiks (present singular third-person)
hoiking (participle present)
hoiked (participle past)
hoiked (past)
hoick (alternative)


Soca Warriors

(soccer) The Trinidad and Tobago national football team.


footballer

/ˈfʊtbɔːləɹ/

It is footballers though, rather than commentators, presenters or pundits, who when interviewed have provided some of the best Colemanballs.

2004, George Best, Scoring At Half-Time: Adventures On and Off the Pitch, →ISBN, page 259:

(soccer, UK) One who plays association football.


screening

en-noun

screening (countable and uncountable, plural screenings)

→ German: Screening

→ Spanish: screening

due diligence

performing the work needed to uncover latent problems

(volleyball) Action done by the serving team to prevent the opposing team from seeing the server and the flight path of the ball.


nub

en-verb

nub (third-person singular simple present nubs, present participle nubbing, simple past and past participle nubbed)

nubs (present singular third-person)
nubbing (participle present)
nubbed (participle past)
nubbed (past)

Either directly from Middle Low German, or from knub, from a Middle Low German word (compare Low German Knubbel, Knobbel (“knot; lump”)). Compare knob.


snapper

snappers (plural)
schnapper (alternative)

(American football) The player who snaps the ball to start the play.


plunk

en-verb

plunk (third-person singular simple present plunks, present participle plunking, simple past and past participle plunked)

plunks (present singular third-person)
plunking (participle present)
plunked (participle past)
plunked (past)

The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.

(transitive, baseball) To intentionally hit the batter with a pitch.


cush

(colloquial, sports, billiards, snooker, pool) The cushion, the soft lip around the edge of the table that allows the balls to bounce cleanly.


jump shot

(basketball) A shot in which the player releases the ball at the highest point of a jump.


air out

air out (third-person singular simple present airs out, present participle airing out, simple past and past participle aired out)

airs out (present singular third-person)
airing out (participle present)
aired out (participle past)
aired out (past)

(American football, slang) To throw passes, especially long and high passes.


rover

From Middle English roven (“to wander, to shoot an arrow randomly”) + -er.

inh

I went to Coach Beamer and, because we had a lot of outside linebackers, ask him if I could play rover.

2011, Frank Beamer, Always a Hokie: Players, Coaches, and Fans Share Their Passion for Virginia Tech Football:

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

(baseball) The tenth defensive player in slow-pitch softball.


green top

en-noun

green top (countable and uncountable, plural green tops)

(cricket, countable) A pitch with abundant visible grass.


back pass

back passes (plural)
backpass (alternative)

(soccer) An intentional pass to the goalkeeper by a teammate.


goalpost

/ˈɡəʊlpəʊst/

(sports, American football) The tall Y-shaped upright, now usually of fiberglass, at either end of the playing field, through which a football must go in order for a field goal to be scored. (They were originally H-shaped, with one wooden post on either side.)


goalbound

Liverpool did have one moment of danger in the first half when Chelsea failed to clear Glen Johnson's cross and Branislav Ivanovic blocked Craig Bellamy's goalbound shot.

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

(soccer) Likely to enter the goal, but for the intervention of defenders and the goalkeeper.


black spot

black spot (countable and uncountable, plural black spots)

black spots (plural)
blackspot (alternative)

(snooker) The spot on a snooker table where the black ball is normally placed.


box out

en-verb

box out (third-person singular simple present boxes out, present participle boxing out, simple past and past participle boxed out)

boxes out (present singular third-person)
boxing out (participle present)
boxed out (participle past)
boxed out (past)

(basketball) To position oneself between an opposition player and the basket in anticipation of getting a rebound.


circuit slugger

en-noun

circuit slugger (plural circuit sluggers)

Gil Hodges became the greatest circuit slugger ever to wear Dodger flannels.

(baseball, idiomatic) A talented baseball batter who hits home runs.


interception

interception (countable and uncountable, plural interceptions)

Borrowed from Latin interceptiō; compare French interception.

(American football) A passing play where the ball is caught by the opposing team.

(rugby) A pass that is intercepted by an opposing player.


town ball

(softball) A non-varsity softball game, typically played by youths (usually girls) under the age of 18. Frequently played in small cities and towns, sponsored by a local business and coached by volunteers.


rough up the bullpen

en-verb

rough up the bullpen (third-person singular simple present roughs up the bullpen, present participle roughing up the bullpen, simple past and past participle roughed up the bullpen)

roughs up the bullpen (present singular third-person)
roughing up the bullpen (participle present)
roughed up the bullpen (participle past)
roughed up the bullpen (past)

The strong baseball team really roughed up the bullpen in their 34-0 rout against their foes; the coach used nine relievers and they still couldn't get anybody out.

(baseball, of the offensive team) To manage easily to hit pitching by the starting and relief pitchers of the opposing team, despite the types of pitches thrown or the skill of the pitchers.


Gunners

(informal, soccer) Arsenal football club.


cheaply

en-adv

cheaply (comparative more cheaply, superlative most cheaply)

more cheaply (comparative)
most cheaply (superlative)

(cricket, by extension) For a low score.


run-on

(soccer, rugby, etc.) An amount of time spent playing on the field during a game, especially so as to evaluate a player's abilities.


in hand

(snooker, billiards, pool) Of the cue ball: not on the table; able to be positioned by the current player.


tailback

(American football) A running back or halfback who lines up furthest to the rear in an I formation.


tap in

(soccer) A simple shot into the goal from close range, and without opposition.


tap in

en-verb

tap in (third-person singular simple present taps in, present participle tapping in, simple past and past participle tapped in)

taps in (present singular third-person)
tapping in (participle present)
tapped in (participle past)
tapped in (past)
tap-in (alternative)

Bent was again left with the simplest of finishes when Rooney picked out Young and he unselfishly crossed for Bent to tap in from inside the six-yard area.

2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England:

(soccer) To kick a simple shot, without opposition, from close range into the goal.


tee off

tee off (third-person singular simple present tees off, present participle teeing off, simple past and past participle teed off)

tees off (present singular third-person)
teeing off (participle present)
teed off (participle past)
teed off (past)

Reyes teed off on a hanging curve to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead.

(baseball, by extension) To hit the ball very hard, especially for a home run.


Bharat Army

The Bharat Army—with around 30 in Gandhi topis, 51 tricolour T-shirts and Sachin Tendulkar posters—continually cheered the Indians […]

2004, Boria Majumdar, J A Mangan, Cricketing Cultures in Conflict: Cricketing World Cup 2003:

Every Barmy Army chant was countered by the British Bharat Army. India batted first. […]

Fan involvement was the main 90's phenomena, and the Barmy Army were the fore-runners and leaders in this (and have since been followed by the Bharat Army (India), the Aussie Cricket Family, etc).

2011, Pete Christopher, Barmy Days and Balmy Nights, page 319:

[…] loyalists such as England's Barmy Army and India's Bharat Army, who follow their national cricket team […]

2014, Rob Steen, Floodlights and touchlines:

(cricket) The group composed of Indian cricket fans who travel, sporadically, around the world to watch and support the Indian cricket team in action.


tuck in

tuck in (third-person singular simple present tucks in, present participle tucking in, simple past and past participle tucked in)

tucks in (present singular third-person)
tucking in (participle present)
tucked in (participle past)
tucked in (past)

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

And although Steven Fletcher cut the deficit for Wolves, tucking in Stephen Hunt's cross, the home side held on.

2011 September 24, Arindam Rej, “Liverpool 2 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport:

(transitive, soccer) To score from with a casual motion


uppishly

en-adv

uppishly (comparative more uppishly, superlative most uppishly)

more uppishly (comparative)
most uppishly (superlative)

[…] the tall left-hander slapped a short ball from Adil Rashid wearily and uppishly to extra cover.

2010 June 30, Andy Wilson, “Kyle Hogg’s bat buoys Lancashire and halts Yorkshire in their tracks”, in The Guardian:

(cricket, of a ball, hit by a batsman) In an upward direction, with the chance of being caught.


WR

(American football, Canadian football) Initialism of wide receiver.


push off

en-verb

push off (third-person singular simple present pushes off, present participle pushing off, simple past and past participle pushed off)

pushes off (present singular third-person)
pushing off (participle present)
pushed off (participle past)
pushed off (past)

(intransitive, basketball) to commit a foul by pushing against an opponent to both accelerate more quickly and push the opponent in the opposite direction.


APG

(basketball) Abbreviation of assists per game.


kicky

en-adj

kicky (comparative kickier, superlative kickiest)

kickier (comparative)
kickiest (superlative)

(cricket) Describing a wicket that sometimes causes the ball to kick (bounce unevenly).


uppercut

(cricket) A cut shot that sends the ball over the wicket-keeper's head.


inbound

en-verb

inbound (third-person singular simple present inbounds, present participle inbounding, simple past and past participle inbounded)

inbounds (present singular third-person)
inbounding (participle present)
inbounded (participle past)
inbounded (past)

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

Smith inbounds the ball to Johnson.

(basketball) To pass a ball inbounds; to throw the ball in.


poacher

Regular supplier Barton played in another teasing corner, which was headed on towards goal by the impressive Ameobi and flicked in by expert poacher Nolan.

2011 January 16, Saj Chowdhury, “Sunderland 1 - 1 Newcastle”, in BBC:

(soccer) An attacker with good movement inside the penalty box, see Wikipedia:Goal poacher.


in touch

Kick the ball in touch.

And when scrum-half Ben Youngs, who had a poor game, was burgled by opposite number Irakli Abuseridze and the ball shipped down the line to Irakli Machkhaneli, it looked like Georgia had scored a try of their own, but the winger's foot was in touch.

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

(rugby, of a ball or a player) outside the playing area or touching the touchlines of the playing area.


rainmaker

esőcsináló

someone or something that causes or attempts to cause rain to fall

The slugger is known for hitting rainmakers.

His #Boomstick helped [Nelson] Cruz earn a spot as the second-longest Statcast™-rated homer of the 2016 season, coming up just shy of Giancarlo Stanton's 504-foot rainmaker in August.

2016 September 24, Adrian Garro, “Nelson Cruz’s 493-foot monster homer in Minnesota is Statcast’s second-longest of 2016”, in Cut4, MLB.com, Major League Baseball, archived from the original on 2018-09-09:

(baseball, informal) A batted ball that is hit very high into the air.


day-nighter

limited overs cricket
limited overs cricket

(cricket) A limited overs cricket match that starts in the afternoon and continues into the evening under floodlights.


SFA

Scottish Football Association
w:Scottish Football Association

(soccer) Initialism of Scottish Football Association.


England's formation was a rigid 4-4-2 against a Norway side of surprisingly limited ambition and on one of the rare occasions James Milner got in the action he forced a save from Jarstein.

2012 May 26, Phil McNulty, “Norway 0-1 England”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) A popular football formation with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers.


setter

→ Czech: setr

→ Danish: setter

→ Finnish: setteri

→ French: setter

→ German: Setter

→ Italian: setter

→ Russian: сеттер (setter)

→ Swedish: setter

From Middle English settere, equivalent to set + -er. Compare West Frisian setter, Dutch zetter, German Low German Setter, German Setzer.
The hunting dogs are so named because when they scent the game, they set (that is, strike a certain stance).

(volleyball) The player who is responsible for setting, or passing, the ball to teammates for an attack.


shielding

en-noun

shielding (countable and uncountable, plural shieldings)

(soccer) Action done by the person with the ball to protect the ball from the defender; the person concerned keeps his body between the ball and the defender.


switch-hitter

switch-hitters (plural)
switch hitter (alternative)

The average ball player can become an effective switch hitter only if he has switched hit from the time he commenced playing.

1961, National Association of Basketball Coaches of the United States, American Football Coaches Association, Athletic Journal, volume 46, page 23:

(baseball) A person who can bat either as a right-hander or a left-hander; an ambidextrous batter.

(cricket) A batsman who performs switch-hits.


chest pass

(basketball) A pass played with the ball at chest-height.


scorer

(cricket) Either of a pair of people, one provided by each side, who record in a specially formatted book, every ball bowled, every run scored, and every wicket that falls


4-2-4 (countable and uncountable, plural 4-2-4s)

(soccer, uncountable) A popular football formation with 4 defenders, 2 midfielders and 4 strikers


hot stove

the hot stove report

(baseball, attributive) The baseball off-season where trades take place and teams look to sign free agents.


burn off

en-verb

burn off (third-person singular simple present burns off, present participle burning off, simple past and past participle burned off or burnt off)

burns off (present singular third-person)
burning off (participle present)
burned off (participle past)
burned off (past)
burnt off (participle past)
burnt off (past)

Slick use of the resulting turnover ball gave Koroibete the space to burn off Daly, only the third try England have so far conceded in this tournament.

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


switch-hit

switch-hit (third-person singular simple present switch-hits, present participle switch-hitting, simple past and past participle switch-hit)

switch-hits (present singular third-person)
switch-hitting (participle present)
switch-hit (participle past)
switch-hit (past)
switch hit (alternative)

His ability to switch-hit left the manager with a tough decision whether to bring in a left-handed or a right-handed relief pitcher.

(baseball, softball) To bat both left and right-handed.

(cricket) To face the bowler with a left or right-handed batting stance, and then switch to the opposite stance as the ball is bowled.


switch-hit

switch-hits (plural)
switch hit (alternative)

(cricket) An instance of switch-hitting.


Euros

(soccer) the UEFA European Football Championship


backfield

(sports) The rear part of the field of play, particularly

(American football) The area behind the line of scrimmage occupied before the snap by the team on offense.

Moving the ball directly out of the backfield is the greatest form of attack there is.

2000, Derek Smethurst, Soccer Offense for Winning, →ISBN, page 1:

Cheryl Salisbury[…]moved back to defense, and became a veteran force on the backfield. By 2003 she was captain of the Matildas, but still found enough time to hone her skills for the WUSA[…]

2012, Barbara Stewart, Helen Stoumbos, Women's Soccer: The Passionate Game, page 92:

“Like you should talk about good soccer, Ethan,” said Joshua, the team's starting keeper. “I bet every girl on the soccer team knows not to go charging on goal from the backfield, ignoring her teammates.”

2017, Jake Maddox, Eric Stevens, Soccer Stand-off, page 56:

(soccer, US) The area behind either the offensive or defensive line.


run-up

run-ups (plural)
runup (alternative)
run up (alternative)

(cricket) The approach run of a bowler before delivering the ball.

aanloop

(cricket) the approach run of a bowler before delivering the ball


rusher

(American football) The fast defensive position whose objective is to sack the offensive team's quarterback.


guarder

From guard + -er.
School slang relates to Stonyhurst College in the United Kingdom.

The Hodder Football is very good this year, and we have an excellent team. Hammond is a good guarder and can save some very difficult shots.

1914 February 21, “Hodder Notes”, in The Stonyhurst Magazine, volume 13, number 192, page 819:


sextuple

Formed (in imitation of quadruple) from Latin sextus (“sixth”): compare French sextuple.

(sports, soccer) A team that wins 6 titles in the same year or season.

Sextuple

a team that wins 6 titles in the same year or season


warning track

Fly ball to deep center. Shelby goes back and makes the catch on the warning track.

(softball, baseball) The dirt or other material on the edge of a baseball or softball field that warns a player that he or she is approaching the fence, especially the portion in the outfield.


streaky

en-adj

streaky (comparative streakier, superlative streakiest)

streakier (comparative)
streakiest (superlative)

Although the two added thirteen important runs, including four byes let through by Mongia and a streaky outside edge cum late-cut by Pollock for four, one didn't need to be blessed with gifts of insight to realise that Pollock's days at the crease were numbered.

2001, Luke Alfred, Lifting the Covers: Inside South African Cricket:

...rather than hitting it with the middle of the bat, I jagged it off the inside edge and French-cut it over the top of the stumps for another four. That was the only streaky shot I can remember.

2005, Michael Slater, Slats: The Michael Slater Story:

Compton troubled Bradman with his Chinaman, and one streaky shot was edged past Crapp at slips.

2011, Roland Perry, Bradman's Invincibles: The Inside Story of the Epic 1948 Ashes Tour:

(cricket) Used to describe a shot where the ball deflects off the edge of the bat, but is not caught by the slips or wicket-keeper and instead results in runs for the batsman.

Two goals from Alexis Sánchez, the second a little streakier than the first, were enough to send Arsenal into a second successive FA Cup final, once again following extra time after being held over 90 minutes by a Championship side.

2015 April 18, Paul Wilson, The Guardian:

(soccer) Not well-executed, due to luck more than skill.


sailer

From Middle English sailer, sayler, saylere, equivalent to sail + -er.

(baseball) A fastball that skims through the air.


AMF

en-noun

AMF (countable and uncountable, plural AMFs)

attacking midfielder
attacking midfielder#English

(soccer) Acronym of attacking midfielder.


chicken-wing

en-verb

chicken-wing (third-person singular simple present chicken-wings, present participle chicken-winging, simple past and past participle chicken-winged)

chicken-wings (present singular third-person)
chicken-winging (participle present)
chicken-winged (participle past)
chicken-winged (past)

Don't chicken-wing it!

(volleyball, humorous) To pass a hard-hit ball with the upper arm extended out from the body. This usually has the lower arm pulled in toward the body and is reminiscent of a chicken's wings when trussed.


off base

off-base (alternative)
offbase (alternative)

The hippo heard us, and, like a baseball player caught off base, tried to get back to the river.

1907, Richard Harding Davis, chapter 5, in The Congo and Coasts of Africa:

(not comparable, baseball, of a baserunner) Positioned somewhere between the bases, and hence vulnerable to being caught out.


the bigs

He played AA ball for years, but never made it to the bigs.


run in

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

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

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

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


bench jockey

As verbal jousting is frequently called "riding", the "rider" sitting on a bench came to be known as the "bench jockey".

(US, idiomatic, slang, baseball) A player, coach or manager who verbally annoys and distracts opposition players and umpires from his team's dugout bench.


Super Bowl

From super + bowl, from bowl games such as the Rose Bowl Game and Orange Bowl.

(American football) The championship game of the NFL played in early February played between two teams, one each in the American Football Conference and National Football Conference.

Jooł Yitalíjí Akéeʼdi Ahąąh Honinééhígíí


move the yardsticks

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

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

The phrase originates from American football, where every ten yards of forward progress by the offense moves the yardsticks ahead to measure the next ten yards of progress.


Junior Circuit

(baseball) The American League, the younger of Major League Baseball's two leagues.


Senior Circuit

(baseball) The National League, the older of Major League Baseball's two leagues.


Rover

(sports) Someone connected with any number of teams called the Rovers, as a fan, player, coach etc.

(soccer) someone connected with Blackburn Rovers FC, as a fan, player, coach etc.


blackwash

en-noun

blackwash (countable and uncountable, plural blackwashes)

From black + -wash or black + wash (depending on sense).

(slang, cricket) A whitewash victory for the West Indies cricket team. Started in the 1984–86 "Blackwash" series of the West Indian cricket team in England in 1984.


WFC

(soccer) Initialism of women's football club.


time of pitch

(baseball) The moment when the pitcher begins the motion of pitching the ball and, by the rules of the game, has committed himself to throwing the pitch.


baserunner

baserunners (plural)
base runner (alternative)

(baseball, softball) A player who is on base and is thus trying to advance to the next base.


seeing eye ball

seeing eye ball (plural seeing eye balls)

Jones hit a seeing eye ball between third and short for a single his last time up.

(baseball) A batted ball that gets between several fielders.


shoestring catch

shoestring catch (plural shoestring catches)

Jones races in... and makes a fine shoestring catch in shallow center.

(baseball) A fielding play, typically made by an outfielder, who catches a ball near his shoes, often after a long run.


squeeze play

squeeze plays (plural)
squeeze-play (alternative)

The squeeze play is on! Jones bunts, and Smith scores from third.

(baseball) The tactic of bunting the ball to help a runner at third base score.


fungo bat

The fielding coach used his fungo bat to help Jones work on his first step.

(baseball) A specially designed small-diameter bat used to hit fly balls for fielding practice.


reducer

Koulibaly flattens Steven Bergwijn with a reducer from behind but avoids a booking. Bergwijn gets to his feet and blows his cheeks in frustration. I think that really hurt but he doesn’t want to show it.

21 November 2022, Barry Glendenning, Live Feed: Senegal v Netherlands, The Guardian

(soccer) The reduction of the contribution to a football game of a more talented opponent by intimidation using a brutal tackle.


curler

The captain sent a curler into the top corner of the net.

Lampard was replaced by Kalou but the substitute immediately gave the ball to Jonas, whose 25-yard curler was tipped wide by Cech.

2011 September 28, Jon Smith, “Valencia 1-1 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:

Liverpool were energised at the start of the second half, with Curtis Jones shaping a curler just past the far post.

2024 February 4, David Hytner, “Arsenal ignite title hopes as Gabriel Martinelli punishes Liverpool error”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A pass or a shot of the ball which swerves.


utility man

(baseball) Alternative form of utilityman


freeball

Just about every play in the game, service reception, general play and freeball, involves the use of the front A and/or back A, although they are not always set.

1981, National Volleyball Coaches Association Technical Journal:

Areas of emphasis can be: team blocking, serve reception, attack combinations, freeball execution, and spiker coverage.

1985, Bob Bertucci Tina Kogut Bertucci, Ralph Hippolyte, Championship Volleyball Drills: Combination and complex training, page 99:

By serving tough, using effective downball placement, not giving easy freeballs and simply attacking smartly and in a tough manner.

1998, The American Volleyball Coaches Association, Coaching Volleyball, page 34:

(volleyball) A ball that has been hit from below the top of the net.


freeball

en-verb

freeball (third-person singular simple present freeballs, present participle freeballing, simple past and past participle freeballed)

freeballs (present singular third-person)
freeballing (participle present)
freeballed (participle past)
freeballed (past)

But we can't just freeball it to them because they will kill it right back at you.

2017 September 6, Josh Seguin, “Hodsdon nets 500th career kill as STA sweeps Hilltoppers”, in Seacoastonline:


Proteas

(cricket) The South African cricket team


dewdrop

dewdrops (plural)
dew-drop (alternative)
dew drop (alternative)

From Middle English deu drop, dew droppe, dewe droppe, equivalent to dew + drop. Compare Dutch dauwdruppel (“dewdrop”), German Tautropfen (“dewdrop”), Danish dugdråbe (“dewdrop”), Swedish daggdroppe (“dewdrop”), Faroese døggdropi (“dewdrop”).

(baseball, slang, dated, 1800s) A slow pitch.


tighthead

(rugby) prop who plays on the right-hand side of the front row of the scrum, such that in a scrum, their head is tightly bound between those of the opposing hooker and loosehead


front row

(British, rugby) The row of players who participate in a scrum with direct contact with the opposing scrum.


outside centre

(rugby) A player who is positioned between the inside centre and the right wing


inside centre

(rugby) A player who is positioned between the fly-half and the outside centre


number eight

But Ireland dug out a gutsy response and applied pressure which resulted in number eight Heaslip diving over in the corner to revive home hopes.

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

(rugby) A player in the scrum, who controls the movement of the scrum, and can pick up the ball exiting the scrum; eighthman.

vazač

rugby player who controls the movement of the scrum


flanker

Audio (US)

From flank + -er. The verb is from the noun (sense 3).

(rugby) A player who plays in the back row of the scrum.

rváček

rugby player in the back row of the scrum

(American football) A wide receiver who lines up behind the line of scrimmage.


break one's duck

break one's duck (third-person singular simple present breaks one's duck, present participle breaking one's duck, simple past broke one's duck, past participle broken one's duck)

breaks one's duck (present singular third-person)
breaking one's duck (participle present)
broke one's duck (past)
broken one's duck (participle past)

From cricket, where duck means a score of zero.

(cricket) To score one's first run in an innings.


granny shot

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


granny style

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

(basketball) A method of shooting baskets, especially foul shots, in which the ball is thrown underhand, with both arms, from below or anterior to the pelvis.


ring up

ring up (third-person singular simple present rings up, present participle ringing up, simple past rang up, past participle rung up)

rings up (present singular third-person)
ringing up (participle present)
rang up (past)
rung up (participle past)

(baseball) To strikeout a batter and thereby send him or her back to the dugout.


shirtfront

(cricket) A pitch that is easy to bat on.


nightcap

nightcaps (plural)
night cap (alternative)
night-cap (alternative)

(US, sports, baseball) The final match of a sporting contest, especially the second game of a baseball doubleheader.


scudetto

The race to the scudetto is on in Italy at the halfway point of the Serie A season.

2009 January 21, Jack Bell, “Juventus Putting Pressure on Inter”, in New York Times:

(soccer) The Italian Serie A Championship title.


finisher

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

[Eddie] Jones has used his bench as finishers and repeated last year’s ploy that helped overcome France when he brought on Ben Te’o for [George] Ford. [Dylan] Hartley and [Mike] Brown had already gone off, along with [Nathan] Hughes, whose replacement Sam Underhill was making an impact at the breakdown when he was sent to the sin-bin for a no-arms tackle on Barclay.

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

(rugby) A substitute player who plays at the end of the game.


forkball

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

From fork + ball, since it is held between the first two fingers.

(baseball) A baseball pitch, much like the sinker.


suicide squeeze

en-noun

suicide squeeze (plural suicide squeezes)

(baseball) A play by the team at-bat where with a runner at third base, the batter puts down a sacrifice bunt with the aim of allowing the runner to score. In contrast to a safety squeeze, the runner sets off from third as soon as the pitch is made, allowing him or her to start running much earlier than on a safety squeeze.


take sign

(baseball) A sign from the third base coach, or whoever the batter receives signals from, telling the batter that no matter what he will not swing at the next pitch.


stolen base

The catcher caught the wild pitch and threw the ball to second, just in time, preventing another stolen base.

(baseball, softball) A play where a runner on any base runs to the next base, usually while the pitcher pitches to a batter. Such a runner is liable to be put out if tagged with the ball while not in contact with any base.

when a runner is unsuccessful and is thrown out

when the runner is not credited with a stolen base because the team playing the field did not try to stop the steal


power play

power plays (plural)
powerplay (alternative)
power-play (alternative)

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(curling) A play used to move the stones to the side of the sheet.


nurdle

en-verb

nurdle (third-person singular simple present nurdles, present participle nurdling, simple past and past participle nurdled)

nurdles (present singular third-person)
nurdling (participle present)
nurdled (participle past)
nurdled (past)

(cricket) To score runs by gently nudging the ball into vacant areas of the field.


spray

spray (third-person singular simple present sprays, present participle spraying, simple past and past participle sprayed)

sprays (present singular third-person)
spraying (participle present)
sprayed (participle past)
sprayed (past)

From Middle Dutch sprāien, sprayen, spraeyen (“to spray, sprinkle, spread”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *sprēwijaną (“to spray, sprinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)per- (“to sow, scatter”).
Cognate with Middle High German spræjen, spræwen (“to squirt, spray, dust, splash, straw”), Danish dialectal språe (“to open up, burst forth”), Swedish dialectal språ (“to sprout, shoot forth, burst”), Norwegian dialectal spra, spræ (“to splash, splatter, spout, burst forth”), Dutch sproeien (“to spray, sprinkle”), German sprühen (“to spray, sparkle”).

der

Kevin McLeod sprayed the ball across from the left flank where a raging Ainsworth met it on the volley from 25 yards out, crashing the ball into the roof of the net.

2012 February 1, Ash Rose, The QPR Miscellany, The History Press, →ISBN:

Yunus sprayed it to the wing where Ali was in some space.

2013 August 11, Jamal Orme, The Victory Boys, Kube Publishing Ltd, →ISBN, page 13:

(transitive, soccer) To pass (a ball), usually laterally across the field and often a long distance.


slogger

(cricket) A cricketer who attempts to score runs fast by attacking every ball that can be hit.


SV

en-noun

SV (countable and uncountable, plural SVs)

SVs (plural)
S.V. (alternative)
S. V. (alternative)
S.V. (alternative)
S. V. (alternative)
S/V (alternative)
Sv (alternative)
Sv. (alternative)
SV. (alternative)


OM

Olympique de Marseille
w:Olympique de Marseille

(soccer) Initialism of Olympique de Marseille.


playbook

(US, American football) A book of strategies (plays) for use in American football (and by extension other sports or disciplines).


air ball

(basketball) A thrown ball that misses the basket, and completely fails to touch the net or supporting hoop.


drop-in

The pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground is drop-in, and the ground is also used for Australian rules football.

(cricket) Of the pitch: prepared away from the ground or venue, and dropped into place only when a match is to be played.


drop-in

(cricket) A pitch that is prepared away from the ground or venue, and dropped into place only when a match is to be played.


snookered

en-adj

snookered (comparative more snookered, superlative most snookered)

more snookered (comparative)
most snookered (superlative)

(snooker, not comparable) In a situation where the cue ball position is such that one cannot directly hit the required object ball.


sabermetrician

You could count on one hand the number of “sabermetricians” inside of baseball, and none of them appears to have had much effect.

2003, Michael Lewis, Moneyball, Thorndike Press, →ISBN, page 164:

(US, baseball) A baseball statistician; one who studies sabermetrics.


headhunt

en-verb

headhunt (third-person singular simple present headhunts, present participle headhunting, simple past and past participle headhunted)

headhunts (present singular third-person)
headhunting (participle present)
headhunted (participle past)
headhunted (past)
head-hunt (alternative)

There's a brawl on the field because the pitcher has been headhunting throughout the game.

(baseball, intransitive) To pitch at a batter's head.


tapper

(baseball slang) A weakly hit ground ball.


hardball

en-noun

hardball (countable and uncountable, plural hardballs)

(ball games) In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball.


jack up

en-verb

jack up (third-person singular simple present jacks up, present participle jacking up, simple past and past participle jacked up)

jacks up (present singular third-person)
jacking up (participle present)
jacked up (participle past)
jacked up (past)

* Sense of “hoist with a jack” is from 1885; then, “increase prices, etc.” (1904, American English); both ultimately from noun jack (“mechanical device used to raise heavy objects”)
* “Screw up, mess up” sense derived from, or influenced by fuck up, as a bowdlerization; also possibly influenced by jacked up (“high, intoxicated”)
* First dialectal idiomatic meaning: “abandon, give up” (1873), possibly a corruption of chuck up, as chuck up the sponge (“give up, concede, give token of submission”)

(basketball, colloquial) To shoot, especially in the context of a poor shot opportunity.


Hillsborough

From hills and borough. The village in New Brunswick was probably named in honour of British politician Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire (1718 - 1793). The civil parish is named after the village.

Before kick-off, a section of Chelsea's support sadly let themselves and their club down by noisily interrupting the silence held in memory of the Hillsborough disaster and for Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini, who collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack during a Serie B game on Saturday.

2012 April 15, Phil McNulty, “Tottenham 1-5 Chelsea”, in BBC:

(soccer) the home stadium of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club

(soccer, by extension) Sheffield Wednesday Football Club itself.


break off

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

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

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From Middle English breke of (“break off, terminate”), a dissimilated form of earlier Middle English ofbreken. By surface analysis, break + off.

inh

Ted's opening line, when Steve broke off for the deciding frame, was, 'Last night we put our clocks back one hour. These two stars turned theirs back to April.'

2017, John Virgo, Say Goodnight, JV - My Autobiography, John Blake Publishing, →ISBN:

(transitive, intransitive, billiards, snooker) To play the first shot in a frame of snooker, billiards or pool.


trey

PIE word
 *tréyes
From Middle English treye, from Anglo-Norman trei or treis, from Old French treis (“three”). Doublet of three and tres.

(US, Canada, basketball, informal, obsolete) A three-pointer.


clear up

en-verb

clear up (third-person singular simple present clears up, present participle clearing up, simple past and past participle cleared up)

clears up (present singular third-person)
clearing up (participle present)
cleared up (participle past)
cleared up (past)

(snooker, billiards, intransitive) To pot all of the remaining balls in a single turn.


trimmer

(cricket) A fast, high-quality delivery by the bowler, especially one that results in a dismissal of a batter by removing the bails without hitting the stumps.


trundler

The high delivery of modern bowlers would horrify the famous trundlers of the good old days, when to deliver the ball from above the level of the shoulder was as heinous an offence as throwing is to-day […]

1899, W. G. Grace, “W.G.”: Cricketing Reminiscences and Personal Recollections, London: J. Bowden, Introduction, page xv:

Sometimes he would bowl to one of his children, and although on the field (a small strip of garden) there were only two cricketers, he would turn it into an England v. Australia match. The one batsman would stand for eleven men, and the one trundler would play the part of the regular and change bowlers […]

1914, William Bardsley Brash, chapter 10, in Love and Life, London: C.H. Kelly, page 146:

1978, Michael Anthony, The Making of Port-of-Spain, Port-of-Spain: Ministry of Sport, Culture, and Youth Affairs, Volume 2, Chapter 21, p. 123,
It was the first time the crowd was seeing this lithe, gangling trundler, sending down orthodox spin from the left arm.

(cricket) A bowler (player throwing the ball).

The next bowler was a trundler, and Luton, evidently inspired by Bognor’s cover drive, hit him to all corners of the ground.

1979, Tim Heald, chapter 5, in Just Desserts, New York: Scribner, page 104:

But he wouldn’t be a great cricketer; he was just a trundler, really, accurate enough, but no flair.

2010, Kate De Goldi, chapter 8, in The 10 p.m. Question, Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, page 217:

(cricket) A bowler who bowls slowly; a mediocre bowler.


give someone the heave-ho

give someone the heave-ho (third-person singular simple present gives someone the heave-ho, present participle giving someone the heave-ho, simple past gave someone the heave-ho, past participle given someone the heave-ho)

gives someone the heave-ho (present singular third-person)
giving someone the heave-ho (participle present)
gave someone the heave-ho (past)
given someone the heave-ho (participle past)
give somebody the old heave-ho (alternative)

(baseball) To eject a player or manager from the game.


soccer player

soccer players (plural)
soccer-player (alternative)

(soccer, US, South Africa, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) One who plays soccer, especially professional soccer.


basketball player

en-noun

basketball player (plural basketball players)

basketball players (plural)
basketball-player (alternative)

(basketball) A person who plays basketball, especially professionally.

バスケットボール選手

バスケットボールせんしゅ


pinch-hit

en-verb

pinch-hit (third-person singular simple present pinch-hits, present participle pinch-hitting, simple past and past participle pinch-hit)

pinch-hits (present singular third-person)
pinch-hitting (participle present)
pinch-hit (participle past)
pinch-hit (past)

Jones pinch-hit for Smith in the sixth.

“Some people think that pitchers aren't complete athletes and some of them maybe weren't, but others were, so I think you'd remember Red Ruffing who used to pinch‐hit all the time, sometimes for outfielders, even though he was as complete a pitcher there was. […]” If he is wrong, however, and designated hitting does turn out to be a good thing, pinch‐hitting as now understood will become a thing of the past.

1973 January 4, Wells Twombly, “Now the 10th man”, in The New York Times:

(intransitive, baseball) To bat in place of another player


trick shot

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(billiards) An unconventional shot of the balls to show off or pot an otherwise impossible ball.


ball-by-ball

(cricket) Describing a commentary (especially on the radio) in which a commentator describes every ball bowled, every shot hit, and the positions of the fielders; normally assisted by a summarizer who describes the game as a whole and provides other comments and a scorer who keeps a record of all statistics.


putout

(baseball) A play in which a batter is retired.

Jones recorded 15 putouts in the first half of the season.

(baseball) The statistic of the number of outs a defensive player directly caused.


stumping

Wicket-keepers are measured by the number of catches and stumpings they make.

2013, Julian Knight, Cricket For Dummies:

(cricket) The act of somebody being stumped.


sledging

en-noun

sledging (countable and uncountable, plural sledgings)

(cricket) The practice of a fielder making insulting or comical references to an opposition batsman with the aim of distracting him


double-dip

en-verb

double-dip (third-person singular simple present double-dips, present participle double-dipping, simple past and past participle double-dipped)

double-dips (present singular third-person)
double-dipping (participle present)
double-dipped (participle past)
double-dipped (past)
double dip (alternative)

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SPC Ladies double-dipped the Sudbury Storm in the NSA Canadian World Series.

(softball) To defeat a team twice in the finals.


RHB

(cricket) Initialism of right-handed batsman.


LHB

(cricket) Initialism of left-handed batsman.


spear tackle

(rugby) An offensive tackle in which the tackled player is lifted up and driven into the ground head-first. This is very dangerous and can result in serious injury to the neck and spine and often a red or yellow card.


clean sheet

Birmingham had their defence to thank for a clean sheet, although they were lucky to escape when Manuel da Costa shot off-target and then headed wide.

2011 February 6, Alistair Magowan, “West Ham 0 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC:

Nigeria had scored only three goals in three games, all against Australia, but they had also kept two clean sheets and their defensive organisation continued to frustrate England immensely.

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

(soccer, not in the US and Canada) A game played without having conceded a goal.

شِباكٌ نَظِيفَةٌ

(soccer) game played without having conceded a goal


four-foot

(curling) Alternative spelling of 4-foot


penalty try

(rugby) An awarding of five points (equivalent to scoring a try) to a team whose opponents have prevented, by misconduct, a try being scored.


blood replacement

en-noun

blood replacement (plural blood replacements)

(rugby) A temporary substitution for a visibly bleeding player who must leave the field of play for first-aid treatment.


catch out

en-verb

catch out (third-person singular simple present catches out, present participle catching out, simple past and past participle caught out)

catches out (present singular third-person)
catching out (participle present)
caught out (participle past)
caught out (past)

(transitive, cricket) To put a batsman out by catching the batted ball before it touches the ground.


(cricket) A fast form of cricket in which each side bats for just twenty overs.


Socceroos

Australia national association football team

It was the day of the Socceroos′ first World Cup clash: the game against Japan.

2007, Raewyn Caisley, Hot Shot, unnumbered page:

Australia′s success on the international stage took a major leap forward when the Socceroos qualified for their first appearance at the FIFA World Cup in 1974, held in Germany.

2010, Dave Arthur, Greg Downes, “Chapter 19: Australia”, in Simon Chadwick, Sean Hamil, editors, Managing Football, page 342:

(soccer) The men's national soccer (association football) representative team of Australia.


line-out

line-outs (plural)
lineout (alternative)

(rugby) a set piece where a player throws the ball into play, and both teams can contest for possession.

(baseball) an out produced by catching a line drive


Gunner

From gunner, in reference to the weapons held in an arsenal.

The Gunners dominated for long periods but, against the run of play, Denilson fouled Max Gradel and Robert Snodgrass put Leeds ahead from the spot.

2011 January 8, Chris Bevan, “Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds”, in BBC:

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


ducks on the pond

* (coded warning): Originally used in shearing sheds; later extended to other normally all-male environments, such as some pubs.

There are two ducks on the pond for the cleanup hitter.

(baseball) Members of a batting order who are on base; baserunners.


TMS

(cricket) Initialism of Test Match Special.


two for two

He's two for two tonight.

(idiomatic, baseball) In baseball, meeting two out of two attempts at-bat. Specifically, it means the batter has reached base safely two out of two times.


drop back

drop back (third-person singular simple present drops back, present participle dropping back, simple past and past participle dropped back)

drops back (present singular third-person)
dropping back (participle present)
dropped back (participle past)
dropped back (past)

The Tiger quarterback is dropping back to pass.

(American football) Of a quarterback or other player in the backfield, to take a number of steps back from the line of scrimmage immediately after the snap or hike of the ball, to avoid defenders.


drop back

With his ankle injury his drop back is not pretty.

(American football) The act by a player in the backfield of dropping back from the line of scrimmage after the hike of the ball.


drop-back

With his ankle injury his drop-back is not pretty.


touch down

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

touches down (present singular third-person)
touching down (participle present)
touched down (participle past)
touched down (past)
touchdown (alternative)
touch-down (alternative)

(American football) To score a touchdown

Centre Shontayne Hape scored two tries for England before the break, while Georgia number eight Dimitri Basilaia touched down to make it 17-10 at half-time.

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


inside baseball

baseballin hienoudet

technical matters usually only of interest to or noticed by baseball insiders

There always has been a tendency to overlook the catcher, possibly because so much of him is covered up during the game, but more because the greatest part of his work is inside baseball and of the kind which the general public can neither see nor appreciate.

1914, Paul Withington, Lothrop Withington, The Book of Athletics, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard:

Here, the game is marked by the "little things" that have come to be defined as "inside baseball".

1993, Michael A. Katovich, “Humor in Baseball: Functions and Dysfunctions”, in The Journal of American Culture, volume 16, number 2, pages 7–16:

(US, idiomatic, baseball) Technical matters concerning baseball generally not apparent or of interest to spectators.


high tackle

The game was never going to be won by how good a team attacks, though, but with defence. When captain Kolisi was sin-binned for a high tackle, the Boks could've easily capitulated.

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

(rugby) A dangerous form of tackling in which a player tackles above the shoulders.


blood bin

(rugby) A temporary substitution for a visibly-bleeding player who must leave the field of play for first aid treatment.


behind in the count

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(baseball, of a pitcher) Having fewer strikes than balls against a batter in an at-bat.

(baseball, of a batter) Having more strikes than balls against a pitcher in an at-bat.


ahead in the count

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(baseball, of a pitcher) Having more strikes than balls against a batter in an at-bat.

(baseball, of a batter) Having fewer strikes than balls against a pitcher in an at-bat.


pick off

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

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

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The pitcher attempted to pick off the runner at first, but he was safe.

(baseball) To throw out a runner by tagging them whilst they are not in contact with any of the three bases or home plate.


pick off

The final out of the game was determined by a pick off.

(baseball) An instance of throwing out a batter leading off base.


WBC

World Baseball Classic
w:World Baseball Classic

(baseball) Initialism of World Baseball Classic, a tournament for national teams jointly organized by the International Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball.


bailer

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(cricket, dated) A delivery that heads towards the bails after pitching.

(cricket, dated) A delivery in which the ball hits one or both bails but does not dislodge them.


Man U

Manchester United Football Club
w:Manchester United F.C.

(soccer) Clipping of Manchester United Football Club.


end run

(American football) A running play in which the player carrying the ball attempts to avoid being tackled by evading the defending players from the opposing team.


gunner

Cebuano: gunner

gonna (non-rhotic, based on the /ˈɡʌn.ə/ pronunciation)

From Middle English gonner; equivalent to gun + -er.

(American football) A player on the kicking team whose primary job is to tackle the kickoff returner or punt returner.

(UK, slang, soccer) A fan of the Arsenal Football Club.

(basketball) A player who can reliably shoot baskets.


centre-back

centre-backs (plural)
centre back (alternative)
centreback (alternative)
center back (alternative)
center-back (alternative)
centerback (alternative)

Ferguson was incensed as referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot - and United's sense of injustice deepened when Nemanja Vidic was sent off in stoppage time after receiving a second yellow card for a foul on Ramires, ruling the centre-back out of the visit to Liverpool on Sunday.

2011 March 1, Phil McNulty, “Chelsea 2 - 1 Man Utd”, in BBC:

(soccer) A central defender, a player who plays in the centre of defence, just in front of the goalkeeper


wing-back

(soccer) A player who plays on the wing, and acts as both a defender and an attacker depending on the team's situation.


bingle

(baseball, slang) A base hit in which the batter stops safely at first base.


bingle

bingle (third-person singular simple present bingles, present participle bingling, simple past and past participle bingled)

bingles (present singular third-person)
bingling (participle present)
bingled (participle past)
bingled (past)

(baseball, slang) To achieve a base hit in which the batter stops safely at first base.


two-point conversion

en-noun

two-point conversion (plural two-point conversions)

(American football) An option, for a team that has scored a touchdown, to gain two points by getting the ball into the end zone by a running or pass play, in lieu of a kicked extra point.


extra point

(American football) A point scored after a touchdown by kicking the ball through the goal posts or by advancing to the end zone.


end zone

Veteran tight end Travis Kelce, who only had one catch for one yard in the first half, finished with nine receptions and 93 yards but didn’t find the end zone.

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) The area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines, bordered on all sides by a white line indicating its beginning and end points; it is 10 yards long.

(Canadian football) Same as above, but is 20 yards long.


fair catch

(American football) An uncontested catch on a kicking play, after the receiver waves his hand to indicate that he will not run with the ball, assuring that he will not be tackled on catching it.


(cricket) A cricket team of eleven players.

(soccer) A football team of eleven players.


illegal forward kick

illegal forward kick (plural illegal forward kicks)

(American football) Any kick made from in front of the line of scrimmage. This results in a loss of down and a ten yard penalty.


goalkicker

(rugby) Someone who kicks for penalties and conversions.


defensive midfielder

defensive midfielder (plural defensive midfielders)

(soccer) A midfield player who specialises more in defensive duties.


attacking midfielder

attacking midfielder (plural attacking midfielders)

(soccer) A midfield player who specialises more in attacking duties.


England had started in a 4-3-3 formation that had Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain coming in from the wings, with James Milner and Stewart Downing operating alongside Jack Wilshere in more deep-lying positions.

18 November 2014, Daniel Taylor, “England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A popular soccer formation with 4 defenders, 3 midfielders and 3 strikers


(soccer) A popular soccer formation with 4 defenders, 5 midfielders and 1 striker


hit a home run

en-verb

hit a home run (third-person singular simple present hits a home run, present participle hitting a home run, simple past and past participle hit a home run)

hits a home run (present singular third-person)
hitting a home run (participle present)
hit a home run (participle past)
hit a home run (past)

He was the first pinch hitter to hit a home run on the first pitch of his career.

2016, Jonathan Fraser Light, The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball, 2d ed., McFarland, →ISBN, page 437:

(baseball) To hit a ball during an at-bat that results in all runners on base and the hitter scoring runs; the best result of an at-bat.


bat a thousand

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

bats a thousand (present singular third-person)
batting a thousand (participle present)
batted a thousand (participle past)
batted a thousand (past)
bat one thousand (alternative)

From a baseball batting average, often stated as the number of hits per 1000 at bats- 1000 would be 100 percent.

(baseball, literal) To reach first base on every at-bat.


Olympic goal

This unique type of goal was named after Argentine striker Cesareo Onzari’s (at left) corner kick that spun directly into the goal for Argentina in a 1924 friendly against Uruguay, the reigning Olympic champion.

(soccer) A goal scored directly from a corner kick without any other player - on either team - touching or otherwise deflecting the ball into the goal.


free ball

(snooker) A situation in which a player can play on any ball desired when snookered after a foul shot; also, that desired ball.


spitter

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Coach says no throwing any spitters.


cue up

cue up (third-person singular simple present cues up, present participle cuing up or cueing up, simple past and past participle cued up)

cues up (present singular third-person)
cuing up (participle present)
cueing up (participle present)
cued up (participle past)
cued up (past)

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) To take aim on the cue ball with the cue in a game of snooker, or billiards, etc.


respot

respot (third-person singular simple present respots, present participle respotting, simple past and past participle respotted)

respots (present singular third-person)
respotting (participle present)
respotted (participle past)
respotted (past)

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(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) To replace a ball on its correct spot on a snooker, billiards or pool table.


frame ball

(snooker) The ball that will take the player's score past the theoretical winning point, even though the frame is not finished and there are still some balls remaining on the table.


screw back

screw back (third-person singular simple present screws back, present participle screwing back, simple past and past participle screwed back)

screws back (present singular third-person)
screwing back (participle present)
screwed back (participle past)
screwed back (past)

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) To cue the cue ball in such a way as to impart backspin. On impact, the ball will follow a reverse trajectory according to the spin.


maximum break

(snooker) The highest score possible in one visit to the table in a frame of snooker, 147 in normal circumstances (excluding the case where the break starts with a free ball), achieved by potting all fifteen reds with fifteen blacks and then the six colours in order.


The first player to make a 147 in a World Championship match was Cliff Thorburn.

2005, Dec 16. Clive Everton, writing about Ding Jun Hui in The Guardian
Unfortunately, his two 147s have been in events offering no bonus prize.

(snooker) The highest score possible in one visit to the table in snooker in normal circumstances (excluding the case where the break begins with a free ball).


baulk colour

(snooker) Any one of the three colours normally spotted on the baulk line in snooker. Namely the yellow, green, and brown balls.


in baulk

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) In the area behind the baulk line in cue sports.


check side

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) A sidespin of the cue ball which makes it bounce off the cush, or off another ball, at a shallower angle than normal.


green pocket

(snooker) The corner pocket on a snooker table that is nearest the green spot.


yellow pocket

(snooker) The corner pocket on a snooker table that is nearest the yellow spot.


half-ball

From half- + ball, so called because the view from the cue ball is half eclipsing the object ball.

The shot needs to be slightly thicker than half-ball to get to the center pocket.

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) Describes a shot where the cue ball and the object ball make contact at a natural 45º angle.


in-off

From a reconstitution of (go) in + off (preposition), as used in phrases such as, "The white has gone in off the black."

Hendry replied with 34, but went in-off attempting a double and next season's world No.1 returned to the table to put the frame beyond doubt and level at 4-4.

(snooker, pool) Of the cue ball: (going) into a pocket, after cannoning another ball.


in-off

He looked set to win the frame, until the in-off from the yellow.

(snooker, pool) The situation where the cue ball goes into a pocket after striking the object ball.


go in off

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

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

(snooker, pool) To pot the cue ball accidentally after hitting the object ball.


hanging ball

(sports, billiards, snooker, pool) A ball that is in the jaws of a pocket


Reds

In reference to the ancient Roman and medieval Byzantine racing faction, a calque of Latin russātī (“Reddish-Brown-Clads”) or factio russata (“the reddish-brown-clad faction”) and Byzantine Greek Ῥούσιοι (Rhoúsioi, “Reds”).

bor

(informal, sports) Any of several sports teams whose uniform is predominantly red, particularly


bunny hop

The first baseman misplays the bunny hop, so all runners are safe.

(baseball) A ground ball that hops along the field instead of rolling.


batter up

(baseball) Used by an umpire to invite the next batter to the batter's box, especially at the beginning of a half-inning.


short pass

(netball) A pass of the ball between teammates too close together to allow an opponent to get between them. There is no particular distance the ball must travel to qualify as a short pass. For instance, if the passing player drops the ball and retreats before her teammate takes possession, it is not a short pass. A short pass is against the rules and results in a free pass to the opposition.

(American football) A pass of the ball that is primarily to the side rather than one that gains yardage.


quarterbacking

(American football) The act of playing as a quarterback


DT

en-noun

DT (countable and uncountable, plural DTs)

DTs (plural)
DT. (alternative)
Dt. (alternative)
Dt (alternative)
D/T (alternative)

defensive tackle
defensive tackle#English

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


block party

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

(basketball, slang) A game during which a single player blocks the shots of many other players.


front man

front men (plural)
frontman (alternative)


hit the net

en-verb

hit the net (third-person singular simple present hits the net, present participle hitting the net, simple past and past participle hit the net)

hits the net (present singular third-person)
hitting the net (participle present)
hit the net (participle past)
hit the net (past)


back line

Battling Bolton disputed the goal, claiming Drogba was offside, but the Ivorian appeared to have timed his angled run across the visitors back line to perfection to race onto a fine Michael Essien pass and ensure Chelsea moved back into fourth place in the Premier League.

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

(soccer) Collectively, the defenders of a team.

A running fullback radically improves the attacking prowess of any back line, particularly if she is able to read a play, knowing when it's time to hit the line at pace or to join the line to act as an extra attacker.

2011, Mathew Brown, Patrick Guthrie, Greg Growden, Rugby For Dummies, →ISBN, page 58:

(rugby) The players known as the backs, whose primary responsibility is defense.

(rugby) The imaginary tactical line across the field that passes through the backs, through their primary line of attack/defence (i.e. excluding any players in a more backward defensive position).


see yellow

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

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

Healy’s first act was to crudely wipe out Forrest on the touchline. He saw yellow when it could have been red.
 Lafferty then had his name taken for a late one on Adam Matthews.

2011 December 29, Keith Jackson, “SPL: Celtic 1 Rangers 0”, in Daily Record:

(idiomatic, soccer) To receive a yellow card.


substitutes' bench

en-noun

substitutes' bench (plural substitutes' benches)

Oleg Blokhin's side lost the talismanic Andriy Shevchenko to the substitutes' bench because of a knee injury but still showed enough to put England through real turmoil in spells.

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

(soccer) The bench on which the players sit when they are not in action.


spot kick

spot kicks (plural)
spot-kick (alternative)
spotkick (alternative)


CF

CF (countable and uncountable, plural CFs)

(baseball) Abbreviation of center field.

(baseball) Abbreviation of center fielder.


LB

(American football) Initialism of linebacker.


SG

SG (countable and uncountable, plural SGs)

(basketball) Initialism of shooting guard.


HB

(American football) Initialism of halfback.


fielding position

fielding position (plural fielding positions)

(cricket, baseball) Any of many named parts of the field of play at which fielders traditionally stand


touchline

touchlines (plural)
touch line (alternative)

French winger Hatem Ben Arfa has also taken plenty of plaudits recently and he was the architect of the opening goal with some superb trickery on the left touchline.

2012 April 21, Jonathan Jurejko, “Newcastle 3-0 Stoke”, in BBC Sport:

Some kids were having a kickabout on the grass beside the walkway, cheering, groaning, calling for the ball, absorbed in the game, a self-contained universe marked out by jackets for goalposts and invisible touchlines.

2022, Liam McIlvanney, The Heretic, page 107:

sideline

in Canadian football, field lacrosse and basketball

(rugby, soccer) One of the lines that mark the border limits of the pitch.


MUFC

Manchester United Football Club
w:Manchester United Football Club

(soccer) Initialism of Manchester United Football Club, a famous English football club from Manchester.


linkman

From link + -man. See link (“torch, light”).

(rugby) A player who uses speed and dexterity to keep an attacking team's downfield progress fluid.


Liga

(soccer) The highest division of professional football in Spain.


non-league

Crawley missed two penalties but still edged out League Two Torquay to become the first non-league side to reach the FA Cup fifth round for 17 years.

2011 January 29, Chris Bevan, “Torquay 0 - 1 Crawley Town”, in BBC:

(British, soccer) Playing in a division below The Football League, being amateur or semi-professional teams.


handball

handball (countable and uncountable, plural handballs)

desc

→ Portuguese: andebol, handebol (Brazil)

sport involving bouncing a ball off a wall

It was a dramatic finish to an absorbing, fast-paced game but Blackburn will be deeply unhappy with referee Anthony Taylor as Nzonzi's handball was harsh.

2011 October 29, Neil Johnston, “Norwich 3 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC Sport:

(countable, soccer) The offence of a player other than the goalkeeper touching the ball with the hand or arm on the field during play.


handball

en-verb

handball (third-person singular simple present handballs, present participle handballing, simple past and past participle handballed)

handballs (present singular third-person)
handballing (participle present)
handballed (participle past)
handballed (past)

If the defender handballs in the penalty area, a penalty is awarded.

(soccer) To illegally touch the ball with the hand or arm.


fallaway

(basketball) Of a shot, taken while moving away from the basket.


fallaway

(basketball) A shot taken while moving away from the basket.


second down

(American football) The second down in a series that has a maximum of four downs.


third down

(American football) The third down in a series that has a maximum of four downs; traditionally the last running/passing play before punting.


fourth down

Mahomes converted key fourth downs with his legs and looked to Kelce throughout the second half and overtime – the tight end finished with nine receptions and 93 yards after just one catch in the opening half.

(American football) The fourth down in a series that has a maximum of four downs; often used to punt the ball downfield or attempt a field goal (If not punted or converted, the opposing team takes possession wherever the ball is).


red zone

(American football) The area extending twenty yards from the end zone, where a team in possession of the ball is expected to score.


uprights

(American football, rugby) Vertical (upright) posts of the goal.


reach-around

reach-arounds (plural)
reacharound (alternative)

(basketball) A passing style in which the ballhandler performs a crossover step in the direction of the intended pass and then extends his or her arms to throw the pass around the defender.


XFL

Xtreme Football League
w:en:Xtreme Football League

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

Extreme Football League
w:en:Extreme Football League

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


transfer window

en-noun

transfer window (plural transfer windows)

Gary Cahill, a target for Arsenal and Tottenham before the transfer window closed, put England ahead early on and Rooney was on target twice before the interval as the early hostility of the Bulgarian supporters was swiftly subdued.

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

(soccer) A period of time during the year in which soccer players may be bought or sold between professional clubs.

Wechselperiode

period during which transfers can be made of players between soccer clubs


chanceless

en-adj

chanceless (comparative more chanceless, superlative most chanceless)

more chanceless (comparative)
most chanceless (superlative)

(cricket, not comparable) Without a chance of being dismissed.


knuckleballer

(baseball) A baseball pitcher known for throwing knuckleballs.


end-to-end

But rather than the end-to-end action of the first half, much of the entertainment took place in the Sunderland third.

2011 February 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Sunderland 2 - 4 Chelsea”, in BBC:

(soccer) Smoothly alternating between attacking and defensive plays.