no result

(cricket) The result of a one-day match in which a side fails to complete their innings, or to bat the minimum number of overs, because of bad weather.


non-striker

(cricket) The batsman standing at the bowler's end of the pitch.


number eleven

(cricket) The batsman who bats last; usually the worst batsman in the side.


obstruct the field

en-verb

obstruct the field (third-person singular simple present obstructs the field, present participle obstructing the field, simple past and past participle obstructed the field)

obstructs the field (present singular third-person)
obstructing the field (participle present)
obstructed the field (participle past)
obstructed the field (past)

(cricket) To get out by deliberately obstructing a fielder in order to prevent him from making a catch or run out, or from gathering the ball (very rare).


off break

(cricket) A normal ball bowled by an off spin bowler, moving from off to leg (for a right-handed batsman).


off drive

off drives (plural)
off-drive (alternative)

(cricket) A type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat vertically and hitting the ball along the ground in the direction of mid off.


off drive

off drive (third-person singular simple present off drives, present participle off driving, simple past off drove, past participle off driven)

off drives (present singular third-person)
off driving (participle present)
off drove (past)
off driven (participle past)
off-drive (alternative)


on drive

(cricket) a type of batsman's shot played by swinging the bat vertically and hitting the ball along the ground in the direction of mid on.


off stump

(cricket) The stump on the off side of the batsman's wicket.


leg stump

(cricket) The stump on the leg side of the batsman's wicket.


old ball

(cricket) A cricket ball that has been used in a previous match, or used in the current match for more than 30 overs.


on strike

(cricket, of a batsman) Due to face the next delivery from the bowler.


one-day cricket

(cricket) A form of cricket, played on one day, in which each side bats only once. Each side's innings finishes when either their allotted number of overs has been completed, or all ten wickets have been lost.


one-day international

en-noun

one-day International (plural one-day internationals)

one-day International (canonical)
one-day internationals (plural)

(cricket) A one-day match played between teams representing the Test nations.


one-day match

(cricket) a game of cricket played on one day; each side batting once


one short

(cricket) The act of a batsman, running between the wickets, failing to ground himself or his bat behind the popping crease before turning for another run; the umpire's signal indicating this (the run does not count).


open the attack

en-verb

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

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

(cricket) Of a bowler: to bowl one of the first two overs.


open the face

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

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

(intransitive, cricket) To turn the face of the bat outwards in order to hit the ball on the off side.


striker

lyöjä

someone or something that hits someone or something else

Olympiakos had barely been in the Arsenal half but should have levelled in the 14th minute. A low corner was not dealt with and the ball fell to the feet of striker Rafik Djebbour, who saw his close-range effort brilliantly cleared from the goalline by Arteta.

2011 September 28, Tom Rostance, “Arsenal 2 - 1 Olympiakos”, in BBC Sport:

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

(cricket) The batsman who is currently facing the bowler and defending his wicket.

lyöjä

cricket: batsman currently facing the bowler


overpitch

overpitch (third-person singular simple present overpitches, present participle overpitching, simple past and past participle overpitched)

overpitches (present singular third-person)
overpitching (participle present)
overpitched (participle past)
overpitched (past)

/ˌəʊ.və(ɹ)ˈpɪt͡ʃ/

(transitive, cricket) To bowl (the ball) so that it bounces closer to the batsman than a good length, allowing the batsman to hit it easily.


over rate

(cricket) The average number of overs completed per hour.


pitch count

His pitch count is up to 110; he will probably be pinch-hit for next inning.

(baseball) The number of throws that a pitcher has delivered in a game.


cup of coffee

Based on the idea that the player was only there long enough to have a cup of coffee.

I was up for a cup of coffee once; those were the best six days of my career.

(ice hockey, baseball, slang) The situation where a minor league player comes up to the major league team for a short period of time.


defensive indifference

The play was scored as defensive indifference.

(baseball) An official scoring judgement in which a runner is not credited with a stolen base because the team playing the field did not try to stop the steal. This typically occurs late in a game when the fielding team is winning by at least two runs.


dinger

The starting pitcher gave up three dingers.

He should know, he fanned 2597 times — far more than any other man — but made millions hitting 563 dingers.

1989 June, John Holway, “Strikeouts: The High Cost of Hitting Home Runs”, in Baseball Digest:

Then as you're taking his picture, say something about the thirty dingers he's going to hit this season. You get that little extra smile on his face.

1997, Hank Davis, Small-Town Heroes: Images of Minor League Baseball, University of Nebraska Press, published 2003, →ISBN, page 264:

For you youngsters out there, hitting 50 dingers in the pre-steroid craze days of the early 90s was an actual accomplishment; the only questionable substance Fielder was putting in his body were McRib sandwiches.

2008, Mike Stone, Art Regner, The Great Book of Detroit Sports Lists, Running Press, published 2008, →ISBN, page 209:


can of corn

The phrase, first attested in 1896, refers to the practice of a grocer using a long stick to push a can of goods off a high shelf. (See Seattle Post Intelligencer - Sports Answer Guy article)

He hits a can of corn to left.

(baseball, idiomatic) An easily caught fly ball.


extra innings

And we go to extra innings.

(baseball) Additional innings needed to break a tie.


early innings

We have an early innings deficit to make up.

(baseball) The first, second, and third innings.


perfect game

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

(baseball) A game in which every batter on one team is retired without reaching base.


no-hitter

Not many pitchers can say they threw two no-hitters in their career.

A record three of the no-hitters have come against Cleveland, with Zach Plesac having started all three games for the Indians.

2021 August 10, Benjamin Hoffman, “Brewers’ Combined No-Hitter Breaks Record for the Most in a Season”, in The New York Times:

It was the 18th no-hitter in franchise history, the 10th since the team moved to San Francisco and first since Chris Heston no-hit the New York Mets in 2015.

2024 March 8, C. Trent Rosecrans and Andrew Baggarly, “Giants’ Blake Snell throws first no-hitter of career in win over Reds”, in The New York Times:

(baseball) A game in which no batter on one of the teams got a hit.


palooka

H. L. Mencken
Ham Fisher
Joe Palooka
The American Language

Used in the US since the 1920s, originally primarily of boxers. Popularized by Jack Conway of Variety, who also popularized baloney and bimbo. Further popularized by Ham Fisher in his comic strip Joe Palooka about a boxer (published in newspapers since 1930, particularly popular in 1940s).

unk

Used

But [Jack] Dempsey against some palooka who had been press agented into greatness and into the form of a Dempsey menace — that would pack any outdoor arena.

Butch: Lookin' at somethin', friend?
Vincent: I ain't your friend, palooka.

1994, Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary, Pulp Fiction:

(US, boxing, bridge, etc) Someone incompetent or untalented.


(online gaming) Initialism of pay-to-play.


two-bagger

Jones got a two-bagger in the first.

(baseball, slang) A double (a two-base hit).


four-bagger

Jones popped a four-bagger into the upper-deck in the fifth.


back to back jack

en-noun

back to back jack (plural back to back jacks)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-back to back jack.wav

Smith, Jones... back to back jacks in the sixth chasing the starter.

(baseball) Two home runs hit by consecutive batters


strike zone

That umpire often compresses the strike zone late in the game.

(baseball) The area through which if a pitched ball passes, it will be called a strike, typically from the batter's knees to the belt and the width of home plate.


passed ball

Jones let a passed ball get behind him.

(baseball) A play where the catcher fails to stop a normally playable pitch and a runner advances.


wild pitch

Jones uncorked a wild pitch, which went to the screen.

(baseball) A play where the pitcher throws a non-catchable pitch and a runner advances.


pitch out

The pitch out enabled the catcher to throw out the runner.

(baseball) A pitch which was intentionally thrown outside to the catcher who stands up with the pitch for the purpose of enabling the catcher to throw out a runner.


pitch out

en-verb

pitch out (third-person singular simple present pitches out, present participle pitching out, simple past and past participle pitched out)

pitches out (present singular third-person)
pitching out (participle present)
pitched out (participle past)
pitched out (past)

Jones pitched out twice to no avail.

(baseball, intransitive) To intentionally throw the ball outside to the catcher who stands up with the pitch for the purpose of enabling the catcher to throw out a runner


pitch around

pitch around (third-person singular simple present pitches around, present participle pitching around, simple past and past participle pitched around)

pitches around (present singular third-person)
pitching around (participle present)
pitched around (participle past)
pitched around (past)

Jones pitched around the slugger.

(transitive, baseball) To intentionally throw pitches which are slightly out of the strike zone, hoping that the batter will swing wildly at a pitch, but assuming that you will walk him


Red Sox

From red and sox (slang form of socks) - the footwear worn by the members of the team.

(US, baseball) The Boston Red Sox, an American baseball team.


in-between hop

Errors are more frequent when the play happens on an in-between hop.

(baseball) A bounce larger than a short hop and smaller than a long hop, often difficult to field.


front door

front doors (plural)
frontdoor (alternative)
front-door (alternative)

His front door slider is hard to handle.

(baseball) The path of a pitch which starts inside and then slides over the plate.


back door

backdoor (alternative)
back-door (alternative)

He has a nasty back door slider.

(US, baseball) The path of a pitch which starts outside and then slides over the plate.


part-time bowler

en-noun

part-time bowler (plural part-time bowlers)

(cricket) a batsman who has limited bowling ability; asked to bowl under special circumstances


partnership

partnership (countable and uncountable, plural partnerships)

/ˈpɑːtnəʃɪp/

/ˈpɑɹtnɚʃɪp/

(cricket) The period when two specific batsmen are batting, from the fall of one wicket until the fall of the next; the number of runs scored during this period,


pinch hitter

This year the Tigers are using pinch hitters 72 percent more often than the league average. They entered Thursday leading the league with 59 pinch-hit plate appearances. Tigers pinch hitters were batting .231, above the league average for pinch hitters of .217.

2023 May 26, Cody Stavenhagen, “A.J. Hinch is managing with confidence as the Tigers hang tight in the AL Central”, in The New York Times:

(baseball) A substitute batter; one who pinch-hits.

(cricket) An aggressive batsman brought on to score runs quickly, even at the risk of losing his wicket.


play in

en-verb

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

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

(cricket, reflexive, play oneself in) Of a batsman, to settle and become comfortable with the conditions at the beginning of his innings.

Zubar played in Doyle down the Wolves left and his ball into the box evaded several players before falling for Mujangi Bia to finally drive in a second past Neil Sullivan.

2011 January 18, “Wolverhampton 5 - 0 Doncaster”, in BBC:

Salah bamboozled Lisandro Martinez to play in Gakpo for another classy finish three minutes later before the Egyptian resumed his long-time role of United tormentor by getting on the scoresheet himself.

2023 March 5, Phil McNulty, “Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer, transitive) To pass (someone) the ball into an attacking position.


play on

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

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

(cricket, of a batsman) to hit the ball into his own wicket, thus being out bowled


popping crease

(cricket) Either of two white lines, each drawn on the pitch in front of a wicket, between which the batsmen run, and from where the bowler may legally bowl.


protected area

(cricket) the central, rectangular area of the pitch onto which the bowlers may not run during their follow through


put up the shutters

put up the shutters (third-person singular simple present puts up the shutters, present participle putting up the shutters, simple past and past participle put up the shutters)

puts up the shutters (present singular third-person)
putting up the shutters (participle present)
put up the shutters (participle past)
put up the shutters (past)

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


fly ball

fly balls (plural)
flyball (alternative)

(baseball, softball) A batted ball that has been hit into the air above the outfield; a fly.


pop-up

(baseball) A pop-up ball: a ball that has been hit to a considerable height above the infield or the shallow outfield; a pop fly.


ground ball

(baseball) A batted ball that bounces one or more times on the infield; a grounder.

(lacrosse) A loose ball that is on the ground during play.


grounder

From Middle English grounder, grownder, equivalent to ground + -er.


infield hit

Jones got an infield hit when the ball tipped off of the outstretched glove of the diving shortstop.

(baseball) When a batter reaches base with a ground ball that does not leave the infield or shallow outfield.


shortstop

The shortstop ranged deep into the hole to make the stop.

“Your father was the best baseball player anyone had ever seen.” Excited but halting, her voice ran on past all obstacles. “We watched him play shortstop, and my father said he was the best, and my brothers too. The Cardinals sent a man down to talk to him about one of their teams.” Like an ancient marineress, she would not let go. She meant the St. Louis Cardinals’ farm teams.

2016, Mike Westphal, Cloud of Expectation; Book One: The In America Series, Xlibris, →ISBN:

(baseball) The infield defensive player that stands between the second baseman and the third baseman.

шортстоп

baseball: defensive player between second and third baseman

The shortstops and desperados were not permitted to play in this marker crap game.

(gambling) A player who is short of money.


first baseman

First basemen are usually left-handed.

(baseball) The infield defensive player that stands near first base.


second baseman

The second baseman started the 4-6-3 double play.

(baseball) The infield defensive player that stands between the first baseman and the shortstop, normally on the right field side of second base.


third baseman

The third baseman charged in to field the bunt.

(baseball) The infield defensive player that stands near third base.


at-bat

This is his third at-bat of the night.

He only had 220 at-bats this season because of injury.

(baseball) official at-bats. Batting opportunities minus walks, hit by pitches, and sacrifices


two-minute warning

en-noun

two-minute warning (plural two-minute warnings)

(American football) In the NFL, a timeout and warning given to the coaches with two minutes to go before the end of each half.


halfback

From half + back, in reference to position on the field of play; compare fullback.
In the sense of someone who moves to Florida and then to a more temperate climate, from moving "half way back"

(field sports) A player who occupies one of these positions.

(American football) An offensive back whose primary jobs are to carry the ball on running plays and to serve as a receiver or blocker on passing plays.

(Canadian football) A defensive back whose primary jobs are to cover the slotback on passing plays and prevent running plays from going to the outside.

(rugby) The player who feeds the ball into the scrum, and receives the ball as it emerges from the back of the scrum.


fly out

en-verb

fly out (third-person singular simple present flies out, present participle flying out, simple past flew out or (baseball) flied out, past participle flown out or (baseball) flied out)

flies out (present singular third-person)
flying out (participle present)
flew out (past)
flied out (past)
flown out (participle past)
flied out (participle past)

Jones flied out to right field.

(intransitive, baseball) To become out by hitting a fly ball which is caught.


fly out

fly outs (plural)
flyout (alternative)
fly-out (alternative)

A fly out was recorded on the scorecard.


field goal

field goals (plural)
drop-kick (alternative)
field-goal (alternative)

He kicked a 33 yard field goal just before the half.

Sure, Homer and Marge being caught naked in front of the town is funny, but why not make it total humiliation? Why not have Homer dragged ass-first over a church’s glass ceiling and force the pastor to give praise to God’s floors? Why not have Homer’s rear end block a game-winning field goal?

2016 January 24, Les Chappell, “TV: Review: The Simpsons (Classic), “Natural Born Kissers” (season nine, episode 25, originally aired 05/17/1998)”, in The Onion AV Club:

(American football, Canadian football) A kick of the ball through the uprights and over the crossbar (not after a touchdown). It scores 3 points.

He got six field goals in the first half, two from three-point land.

(basketball) A shot that is scored while the ball is in play (i.e. not a free throw).

(rugby) A goal scored where a ball that is in play but on the ground is kicked through the uprights and over the crossbar.


offensive tackle

en-noun

offensive tackle (plural offensive tackles)

One of the few surprises saw the New York Giants take offensive tackle Andrew Thomas at number four while the Buccaneers traded up to 13 for offensive tackle Tristian Wirfs to give some protection to their new quarterback Brady.

2020 April 24, “NFL draft 2020: Joe Burrow first pick for Cincinnati Bengals”, in BBC Sport:

(American football) A lineman for the team in possession of the ball located outside one of the guard positions.

bloquejador

lineman outside guard position in the offensive team


defensive tackle

defensive tackle (plural defensive tackles)

(American football) Any of a few defensive positions in the middle of the defensive line.


tight end

National Football League
New England Patriots
Rob Gronkowski
Tampa Bay Buccaneers

From tight (“of a space, arrangement, etc.: narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass through it”) + end (“position at the end of either the offensive or defensive line; player playing this position”), from the fact that the player takes up a position close to the tackle.

近端鋒 /近端锋

(American football, Canadian football) position at the end of the offensive line

ala tancat

(American football, Canadian football) player playing the position of tight end

Jones played tight end.

The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs are to block and serve as a short receiver.

The tight end caught the pass.

He has also written about some on the Right’s aversion to the N.F.L., particularly as some concoct convoluted conspiracy theories involving singer Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, the Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, while others denounce professional sports as a whole.

2024 February 11, Jane Coaston, “What MAGA Influencers Are Missing About Football”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 1.1).

The position at the end of the offensive line whose primary jobs were to block and serve as a short receiver; this position is no longer used.

A player (called an end) playing the position of tight end (sense 2.1).


split end

Jones played split end.

offensive line of scrimmage
offensive line of scrimmage

(American football) The position which lines up wide and on the offensive line of scrimmage, whose primary job is to serve as a wide receiver.

The split end ran deep.

(American football) A player playing the position of split end.


retire hurt

en-verb

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

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

(intransitive, cricket) To stop batting because of having sustained an injury.


return crease

(cricket) One of the white lines, perpendicular to the popping crease, within which the bowler's back foot must land.


reverse sweep

(cricket) A batsman's shot made by swinging the bat in a horizontal arc from leg to off, normally whilst kneeling.


reverse sweep

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

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


reverse swing

(cricket) Sideways movement of the old ball through the air in the opposite direction to normal swing.


ring field

(cricket) An attacking ring of infielders, square and in front of the wicket: point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket, square leg.


roller

→ Welsh: rholer

* From Middle English rollere, equivalent to roll + -er.
* (credits in TV or film): These were originally printed on a physical cylinder that was rotated in front of the camera.

(cricket) A large rolling device used to flatten the surface of the pitch.


run chase

(cricket) the situation in which the side batting last need to score a certain number of runs to win; the effort made by such a side to win


run out

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

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

Jackson was run out for a duck in the first over.

With three runs needed from two balls, Adil Rashid was run out coming back for a second. When Wood suffered the same fate from the final ball, the match was tied.

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

(cricket) To get a batsman out (dismissed from play) via a runout.


run rate

(cricket) The number of runs scored by a side divided by the number of overs taken to score them.


run up

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

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

He runs up... and bowls. Smashed away for four runs!

(cricket) Of a bowler, to run, or walk up to the bowling crease in order to bowl a ball.


ground out

ground out (third-person singular simple present grounds out, present participle grounding out, simple past and past participle grounded out)

grounds out (present singular third-person)
grounding out (participle present)
grounded out (participle past)
grounded out (past)

Jones grounded out to lead off the third.

(baseball) To become out by hitting a ground ball which is fielded and leads to a force or tag of a runner.


ground out

ground outs (plural)
groundout (alternative)

A ground out was recorded on the scorecard.

(baseball) An instance of grounding out.


late innings

He is at his best in the late innings.

(baseball) The seventh, eighth, and ninth innings of a game.


punch out

punch out (third-person singular simple present punches out, present participle punching out, simple past and past participle punched out)

punches out (present singular third-person)
punching out (participle present)
punched out (participle past)
punched out (past)

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

The ump punched out the batter with relish to close out the game.

(transitive, baseball) To rule (by an umpire) that a pitch is a called third strike, often done emphatically.

Jones punched out the batter to start in the sixth.

(transitive, baseball, of a pitcher) To throw a called third strike; to strike (someone) out.


punch out

(baseball) Nonstandard spelling of punchout.


oh for

oh fors (plural)
ofer (alternative)
o-fer (alternative)
oh fer (alternative)
ohfer (alternative)
ofor (alternative)
o-for (alternative)
ohfor (alternative)

Yesterday's oh for made him overly aggressive today at the plate.

(baseball) An instance in which a player did not get a hit in a game.


pinch hit

Jones drove in a run with a pinch hit for Smith in the sixth.

(baseball) A hit made by a pinch hitter.


pine tar

en-noun

pine tar (usually uncountable, plural pine tars)

(baseball) This or a similar material used by batters to improve their grip.


tapped

en-adj

tapped (comparative more tapped, superlative most tapped)

more tapped (comparative)
most tapped (superlative)

(card games, board games) Of a card or playing piece: used up for the current turn.


eldest

(card games) (of a player) Receiving cards from the dealer first, before any other players.

Each player draws a card, and the lowest becomes eldest hand.

2003, The Card Game Set, Thunder Bay Press:

(card games) (of a hand) Having higher, or superior cards.


incision

en-noun

incision (countable and uncountable, plural incisions)

From Middle English inscicioun, from Middle French incision, from Late Latin incisiō from the verb incidō (“I cut into”) + action noun suffix -iō.

Riyad Mahrez also dragged wide after a De Bruyne incision.

2021 March 7, David Hytner, “Manchester United catch City cold as Fernandes and Shaw end winning run”, in The Guardian:


offensive line

(American football, Canadian football) The five players of the team possessing the ball comprising the center, the left and right offensive guards, and the left and right offensive tackles who are positioned around the ball at the line of scrimmage.

(American football, Canadian football, uncommon) The seven players required to be within one yard of the line of scrimmage in an offensive formation.

(American football, Canadian football, uncommon) All of the offensive players, whether obligatory or not, lined up one yard or less from the line of scrimmage.


lateral pass

(American football) a pass thrown laterally and that counts as a hand-off

(American football) any hand-off, whether lateral or backward


backward pass

(American football) A pass thrown backwards instead of forward, equivalent in the rules to a hand-off.


triple double

→ Norwegian Bokmål: trippel-dobbel

Yes, the Knicks had fallen prey to the habitual wizardry of the Thunder star Russell Westbrook, who had 27 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists, his third straight triple-double and his eighth in 19 games this season.

2016 November 28, Mike Vorkunov, “Despite Flash of Rose’s Prime, Knicks Are Dazed by Westbrook and Thunder”, in The New York Times:

(basketball) The achievement of a two-digit number of any three of points scored, assists, rebounds, blocks, or steals in a single game.


quadruple double

Norwegian Bokmål: firdobbel-dobbel

(basketball) The achievement of a two-digit number of any four of points scored, assists, rebounds, blocks, or steals in a single game.


quintuple double

quintuple double (plural quintuple doubles)

Norwegian Bokmål: femdobbel-dobbel

(basketball) The achievement of a two-digit number of all five of points scored, assists, rebounds, blocks, and steals in a single game.


scorecard

scorecards (plural)
score card (alternative)
score-card (alternative)

(cricket) A tabular representation of the most important statistics of an innings or match.


seamer

From Middle English semer, semere, from Old English sēamere (“tailor; seamer”), equivalent to seam + -er.

(cricket) A bowler skilled at making the ball seam.


second new ball

second new ball (plural second new balls)

(cricket) The first replacement new ball in an innings; in Test cricket, usually taken after 80 overs.


the Ashes

From a satirical obituary published in an English newspaper after its loss to Australia in 1882, announcing the death of English cricket and that "the body would be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia".

(cricket) A trophy played for by England and Australia in Test cricket; in the form of a small urn containing the ashes of a cremated cricket stump or set of bails.

(cricket) A series of Test cricket matches played between England and Australia.


horsehide

horsehide (countable and uncountable, plural horsehides)


hand out

(baseball, slang, 1800s) a player is out


muffin

→ Chinese: 瑪芬 /玛芬 (mǎfēn)

→ Danish: muffin

→ Esperanto: mafino

→ Finnish: muffini, muffinssi, muffinsi

→ French: muffin

→ German: Muffin

→ Japanese: マフィン (mafin)

→ Korean: 머핀 (meopin)

→ Norwegian Bokmål: muffins

→ Polish: muffin

→ Portuguese: muffin

→ Russian: ма́ффин (máffin)

→ Swedish: muffins

→ Yiddish: מאָפֿין (mofin)

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

gl

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

ncog

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


break one off

en-verb

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

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

(baseball, dated, slang, 1800s) To throw a curve ball.


side out

(slang, baseball, dated, 19th c.) three outs.


sky ball

(baseball, slang, 1800s) A high fly ball


stringer

(baseball, slang, 1800s) A hard-hit ball.


selector

(cricket) An administrator responsible for selecting which players will play for a side.


foul tick

The catcher held onto the foul tick for the out.

(baseball, slang, rare) A foul ball which just brushes by the bat, making a ticking sound.


foul tip

The foul tip hit the umpire in the shoulder.

(baseball) a foul ball which glances off the bat and continues back with only a moderate change in direction


thrower

From Middle English thrower, equivalent to throw + -er.

(cricket) A bowler who illegally throws the ball instead of bowling it.


feeder

From Middle English feedere, federe, fedare, equivalent to feed + -er.

(baseball, slang, archaic, 1800s) The pitcher.


odds

She beat me with knight odds but lost with rook odds.

The grandmaster gave his opponents significant time odds, of one minute versus ten minutes.

The resulting match of fourteen games was won by Mr. Maurian, who had scored all the Knight-odds parties and the majority of the even-term ones!

1913, The British Chess Magazine, volume 33, Trubner & Company, page 51:

Nowadays, giving material odds in this way is rather rare, but the advent of the chess clock has made it possible for strong players to give time odds — taking one or two minutes for all their moves, for example, and allowing their opponents five minutes or more.

1989, Raymond Keene, The Simon & Schuster Pocket Book of Chess, Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, →ISBN, page 183:

Harry Golombek, who had returned from Argentina with the British chess team but spent two years in the infantry before joining B.P., occasionally played chess with Turing, giving Queen odds in order to make the game more equal.

1998, George W. Atkinson, Chess and Machine Intuition, Intellect, →ISBN, page 35:

And finally, if those are tied, they'll play a final sudden-death game, using a format known as armageddon. In armageddon, black gets "time odds": White gets five minutes while black gets just four, but a draw counts as a win for black.

2016 November 27, Oliver Roeder, “The World Chess Championship Comes Down To The Final Game”, in FiveThirtyEight, archived from the original on 2022-05-26:

Fischer described all female professionals' play at his time to be that of "beginners", and went on to boast about hypothetically beating any female chess player with knight odds (when challenged to the same, though, he didn't respond).

2018 September 23, Binit Priyaranjan, “Queens on the Board, Pawns in the Sport – the Underrepresentation of Women in Chess”, in The Wire, archived from the original on 2021-05-06:

The most important handicap historically is knight odds, because it produces play more similar to a normal game than handicaps like f7 and multiple moves, while still being a suitable handicap for rather strong players.

2021, Larry Kaufman, Chess Board Options, New in Chess, →ISBN:

Here, Nakamura took the white pieces and the time odds with the mandatory win requirement, and managed to break Nepomniachtchi's resistance to clinch the title.

2022 October 31, Luci Kelemen, “Nakamura wins 2022 Fischer Random Chess Championship, Carlsen slides to top-four finish”, in Dot Esports, archived from the original on 2022-12-17:

(chess) An advantage given to a weaker opponent in order to equalize the game when playing casually, usually by removing one of the stronger player's pieces or by giving the weaker player more time.


scratch card

scratch cards (plural)
scratchcard (alternative)

(gambling) A lottery ticket containing sections covered with an opaque waxy film which may be removed by scratching to reveal symbols that show whether or not a prize has been won.


force out

force out (third-person singular simple present forces out, present participle forcing out, simple past and past participle forced out)

forces out (present singular third-person)
forcing out (participle present)
forced out (participle past)
forced out (past)
force-out (alternative)
forceout (alternative)

Jones forced out Smith to end the inning.

(baseball) To create an out by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground


force out

force outs (plural)
force-out (alternative)
forceout (alternative)

A force out was recorded on the scorecard.

(baseball) An instance of an out created by touching a base in advance of a runner who has no base to return to while in possession of a ball which has already touched the ground.


sacrifice bunt

The sacrifice bunt was fielded cleanly, but the only play was to first.

The manager will likely call for a sacrifice bunt here.

(baseball) A play in which the batter intentionally hits the ball softly with a hands-spread batting stance at the cost of an out to advance one or more runners.

sacrifici

play in which the batter intentionally hits the ball softly at the cost of an out


sacrifice fly

Jones' sacrifice fly brought in the tying run.

(baseball) A fly ball that allowed a runner to advance after it was caught


locksmith

From Middle English loksmith; equivalent to lock + smith.

(gambling, slang) someone who only bets when they are sure they will win


drag bunt

Jones fielded the drag bunt, but the runner beat out his throw for a single.

(baseball) A ball that has been hit by a batter who started to run towards first base while holding the bat back over the plate, typically in an attempt to get a hit rather than to sacrifice

The drag bunt is a skill that few players perfect.

(baseball) The act of bunting while running towards first base


drag bunt

drag bunt (third-person singular simple present drag bunts, present participle drag bunting, simple past and past participle drag bunted)

drag bunts (present singular third-person)
drag bunting (participle present)
drag bunted (participle past)
drag bunted (past)

Jones drag bunted the pitch.

(baseball, transitive) to bunt while running towards first base

Smith often drag bunts if he sees the third baseman playing back.

(baseball, intransitive) to bunt while running towards first base


push bunt

The push bunt went between the pitcher and the first baseman who was charging too hard.

(baseball) A ball that has been hit with a bat which moves forward by a batter who is in an arms spread stance, usually in an attempt to bunt the ball past a charging infielder

The push bunt is only used in certain situations.

(baseball) The act of bunting with a bat that moves toward the ball


push bunt

push bunt (third-person singular simple present push bunts, present participle push bunting, simple past and past participle push bunted)

push bunts (present singular third-person)
push bunting (participle present)
push bunted (participle past)
push bunted (past)

Jones push bunted the pitch.

(transitive, baseball) to bunt while moving the bat towards the ball

Smith push bunts if an infielder charges too aggressively.

(intransitive, baseball) to bunt while moving the bat towards the ball


dead-red

The pitch was a dead-red.


sit dead-red

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

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

Popularized by broadcaster and former player Joe Morgan.

If I were him, I would sit dead-red on this 3 and 1 pitch and try to launch one.

(baseball) For a batter to look for a four-seam fastball.


fastball count

Batters will often sit dead-red when there is a fastball count.

(baseball) A pitch count such that a fastball is likely to be thrown, usually 3-0 or 3-1.


swinging bunt

The catcher fielded Jones' swinging bunt and easily threw him out.

(baseball) A ball that travels a short distance as if it were bunted, but was produced by a full or checked swing.


sleeper

From Middle English sleper, equivalent to sleep + -er.

(slang, gambling) A bet placed on the gambling table and then forgotten about by the gambler.


second session

(cricket) the session of a day's play between lunch and tea


third session

(cricket) the session of a day's play between tea and close of play


second slip

(cricket) The fielding position between first slip and third slip.


sheet anchor

sheet anchors (plural)
sheet-anchor (alternative)

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


short leg

en-noun

short leg (countable and uncountable, plural short legs)

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

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

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

(cricket, countable) A fielder in this position.


short of a length

(idiomatic, cricket) of a ball that pitches short of a good length; a ball that bounces closer to the bowler than the area of the pitch regarded as the best for dismissing or restricting the scoring of the batsman.


attacker

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

مُهَاجِم

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


shoulder arms

en-verb

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

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

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


sightscreen

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

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

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


boodler

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


daisy cutter

daisy cutters (plural)
daisy-cutter (alternative)
daisycutter (alternative)

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

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

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


show a little ginger

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

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

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


baseman

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


banjo hit

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


blooper

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

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

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

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

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


plug the runner

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

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

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


soak the runner

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

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

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


five-by-five

five-by-fives (plural)
five by five (alternative)

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

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


VAR

en-noun

VAR (countable and uncountable, plural VARs)

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

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

video assistant referee
video assistant referee#English

(soccer) Initialism of video assistant referee.


rearguard

rearguards (plural)
rear guard (alternative)
rear-guard (alternative)

/ˈɹɪəɹˌɡɑɹd/

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

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

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

(soccer) The defence, collectively the defenders.


submariner

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

/sʌbˈmæɹɪnə/

/sʌbˈmæɹɪnɚ/

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

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


carom

carom (countable and uncountable, plural caroms)

Probably derived from French carambole (the red ball in billiards).

(countable, cue sports, especially billiards) A shot in which the ball struck with the cue comes in contact with two or more balls on the table; a hitting of two or more balls with the player's ball.

carambola

shot in which the cue ball strikes two balls


lineup

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

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

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

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

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

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


gaja

Audio (US)

Transliteration of Sanskrit गज (gaja, “elephant; gaja”).

translit

(chaturanga) A chaturanga piece ancestral to the medieval fil and modern bishop; literally, “elephant”

(chess) A fairy piece based on the gaja as used in chaturanga


creeper

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

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

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

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


meatball

→ Japanese: ミートボール

→ Korean: 미트볼 (miteubol)

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

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

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


silly mid on

en-noun

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

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


silly mid off

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


silly point

silly point (countable and uncountable, plural silly points)

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


backstop

backstops (plural)
back-stop (alternative)

(baseball) A wall or fence behind home plate.

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

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

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


schtick

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(sports, games) The stick used to play schlockey.


dunking

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


SB

SB (countable and uncountable, plural SBs)

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


right back

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


dead bird

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

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


hard count

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

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


linebacker

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

While Brown distracted the usually hyperfocused Mangini, safety Kerry Rhodes and linebackers Eric Barton and Jonathan Vilma grabbed a cooler of Gatorade and surreptitiously assumed their positions according to plan.

2007 January 1, Karen Crouse, “With Wild-Card Spot Clinched, Jets Can Finally Talk Playoffs”, in The New York Times:

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans defended Azeez Al-Shaair after the linebacker was ejected from Sunday’s game for throwing a late hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

2024 December 2, David Close, “Houston Texans head coach defends Azeez Al-Shaair as the NFL leans toward suspending the linebacker, source says”, in CNN:

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


chariot

From Middle English chariot, from Old French chariot, from char (“cart”), from Latin carrus (“wagon”). Displaced native Old English hrædwæġn (literally “fast wagon”).


steals

He has 25 steals this year.

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


skewer

the bishop can capture the white queen. (canonical)
skewers (plural)

From Middle English skeuier, skuer, likely a variant of Middle English *skever, *skiver (compare Modern English skiver), probably of North Germanic origin, compare Icelandic skífa (“to slice”), Norwegian skive, Swedish skiva, Swedish skifer (“a slate”).

Coordinate term: pin

(chess) A scenario in which a piece attacks a more valuable piece which, if it moves aside, reveals a less valuable piece.


skewer

en-verb

skewer (third-person singular simple present skewers, present participle skewering, simple past and past participle skewered)

skewers (present singular third-person)
skewering (participle present)
skewered (participle past)
skewered (past)

(chess) To attack a piece which has a less valuable piece behind it.

varrastaa

chess: to attack a piece with a less valuable piece behind


play ball

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

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

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

jugueu

if there's grass on the field, play ball

if there's grass on the pitch, play ball


noughts and crosses

(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, games) A two-player game played on a three-by-three grid, in which players take it in turns to place their respective symbol (either a nought or a cross) in a cell of the grid, the objective being to form a row, column or diagonal of three of one's own symbol.


sudden death

en-noun

sudden death (countable and uncountable, plural sudden deaths)

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(sports, games) A period or mode of play in which the next player or team to score wins instantly; often in an extra period of time following a tie at the end of the regular period of play.


trifecta

The conservative player will play the exacta box bet and the occasional trifecta box wager.

2006, Vincent Conti, Thoroughbred Horse Racing Systems and Methodologies, page 9:

In a trifecta, you must wager on three horses: the one that finishes first (win), the one that finishes second (place), and the one that finishes third (show) in order.

2010, Leonard A. Asimow, Mark M. Maxwell, Probability and Statistics with Applications: A Problem Solving Text, page 10:

(gambling) A bet in which the bettor must select the first three placegetters of a race in the order in which they finish.

troikka

bet on the first three places of a race in the order


ammo

ammo (usually uncountable, plural ammos)

(slang, games, gambling, uncommon) Chips or money, usually at a casino.


finesse

finesse (countable and uncountable, plural finesses)

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

cog

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

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

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

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

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


finesse

en-verb

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

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

esquivar

to evade using some clever argument or stratagem

In the first round of a suit, you should generally, / 8. PLAY YOUR HIGHEST CARD THIRD HAND. / a. In order to strengthen your partner. You presume that he leads from his strong suit, and wants to get the winning cards of it out of his way[…]; you, therefore, do not finesse[…], but play your highest, remembering that you play the lowest of a sequence[…]. With ace, queen (and, of course, ace, queen, knave, &c., in sequence) you do finesse, for, in this case, if the king is in the fourth hand, it must make, unless single, which is very improbable; and by putting on the ace, you make the king good, if against you.

1864, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “The Third Hand”, in The Laws and Principles of Whist Stated and Explained, and Its Practice Illustrated on an Original System, by Means of Hands Played Completely through, 7th edition, London: Bancks Brothers […], →OCLC, part I (General Principles), page 41:

(intransitive, card games) To attempt to win a trick by finessing.

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

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

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

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

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


pick up

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

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

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

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

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

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


brilliancy

en-noun

brilliancy (countable and uncountable, plural brilliancies)

brilliancies (plural)
brilliance (alternative)

From brilliant + -ancy; attested earlier than brilliance. Compare French brillance.

Bobby Fischer, one of the greatest chess players who ever lived, died at the age of sixty-four from kidney failure. He had lived one year for each square on a chessboard. / THE GOOD / First of all, you should learn the term “brilliancy.” It refers to a game that is played with spectacular strategy and beauty, typically featuring unexpected moves and ingenious ideas. In other words, the game is extraordinary! At age thirteen, Bobby Fischer won a brilliancy against twenty-six-year-old Donald Byrne.

2015, Michael Hearst, Extraordinary People: A Semi-Comprehensive Guide to Some of the World's Most Fascinating Individuals, Chronicle Books, →ISBN, page 38:

(chess) A spectacular and beautiful game of chess, generally featuring sacrificial attacks and unexpected moves.


adoption

adoption (countable and uncountable, plural adoptions)

Borrowed from French adoption, from Latin adoptio, allied to adoptare (“to adopt”).

Infuriated by his adoption yesterday, the chess master has resolved to study twice as long and twice as hard.

Can Rensch break the string of adoptions and finally find vindication by thwarting Nepomniachtchi with the pressure on?

2020 May 27, “Adopt-A-Danny Returns Wednesday With Ian Nepomniachtchi”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 2020-05-27:

10-0 would have meant "adoption," but that didn't happen as Fedoseev held the 10th game to a draw. After another loss and another draw, he finally managed to score his first win in game 13.

2020 December 4, Peter Doggers, “Nakamura Too Strong For Fedoseev In Speed Chess Match”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 2022-11-20:

Despite modestly highlighting her "adoption" today, the chess that Sachdev played was not reflected on the scoreboard and rather, was an example of Rosen's superior time management overall.

2022 May 24, Anthony Levin, “Rosen Beats Sachdev With 11-Game Streak: 2022 IMSCC, Round Of 16”, in Chess.com, archived from the original on 2022-05-24:

(chess, slang) Ten consecutive wins against an opponent.


dipper

desc

→ Kashubian: dyper (Canada, United States)

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

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


bring up

en-verb

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

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

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

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

der

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

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


BB

en-noun

BB (countable and uncountable, plural BBs)

BBs (plural)
B.B. (alternative)
B. B. (alternative)
bb (alternative)

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


Emirates

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


SFC

Southampton Football Club
w:Southampton F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Southampton Football Club.

Sunderland Football Club
w:Sunderland F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Sunderland Football Club.

(soccer) Initialism of Sydney Football Club.


preempt

en-verb

preempt (third-person singular simple present preempts, present participle preempting, simple past and past participle preempted)

preempts (present singular third-person)
preempting (participle present)
preempted (participle past)
preempted (past)
pre-empt (alternative)
preëmpt (alternative)
præempt (alternative archaic)

(bridge, intransitive) To make a preemptive bid at bridge.


preempt

preempts (plural)
pre-empt (alternative)
preëmpt (alternative)
præempt (alternative archaic)


OBP

en-noun

OBP (countable and uncountable, plural OBPs)

on-base percentage
on-base percentage#English

(baseball) Initialism of on-base percentage.


official at-bat

official at-bat (plural official at-bats)

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

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


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


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


1B (countable and uncountable, plural 1Bs)

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


walk-off

walkoff (alternative)
walk off (alternative)

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

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


walk-off

walk-offs (plural)
walkoff (alternative)
walk off (alternative)

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

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

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


LCS

League Championship Series
w:League Championship Series

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


NLCS

National League Championship Series
w:National League Championship Series

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


ALCS

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


ALDS

American League Division Series
w:American League Division Series

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


NLDS

National League Division Series
w:National League Division Series

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


reliever

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


Southsider

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

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

(soccer) A fan of the Vancouver Whitecaps football team


thimble

The noun is derived from Middle English thymbyll, thimel (“thimble”) [and other forms], from Old English þȳmel (“thimble, thumbstall; fingerstall”), then either:
* from Old English þūma (“thumb”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”)) + -el (suffix forming agent nouns and the names of instruments); or
* from Proto-Germanic *þūmilaz (“thumb-covering, thumb-sheath”), from *þūmô (“thumb”) (ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root mentioned above) + *-ilaz (suffix forming agent nouns).
The English word is analysable as thumb + -le (suffix forming agent nouns), and is cognate with Dutch duimeling (“thumbstall”), German Däumling (“thumbstall”), German Low German Dümelke (“thumbstall”), Saterland Frisian Düümelke (“thumbstall”), Scots thummle, thumble (“thimble”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

themel, themelle, themyl, themylle, thomble, thomelle, thymbyl, thymbyll, thymelle, thymle, thymyl, thymylle, timmele, þymel

cog

(also attributively) An object which resembles a thimble (sense 1) in shape or size.

(games) A thimble or similar object used in thimblerig (“a game of skill which requires the bettor to guess under which of three thimbles or small cups a pea-sized object has been placed after the person operating the game rapidly rearranges them”).


trigger

Originally tricker, from Dutch trekker (“pull”, noun, as in drawer-pull, bell-pull), from Dutch trekken (“to drag, draw, pull”).

bor

(online gaming) A text string that, when received by a player, will cause the player to execute a certain command.

trigger

online gaming: text string that causes the player to execute a certain command


snake eyes

From the resemblance of the two single pips to the eyes of a snake.

Coordinate term: boxcars

It’s as if snake eyes, which should occur randomly only once every 36 times you roll a pair of dice, were coming up once every four times.

2021 June 29, Michael E. Mann, Susan Joy Hassol, “That Heat Dome? Yeah, It’s Climate Change.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(gambling, dice games, idiomatic) Two ones, after rolling two dice.


dugout

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

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

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

Spielerbank

where non-playing teammembers and staff sit during a game


tops

Scoring 38 more points leaves him with tops for the win.

(darts) The uppermost field of a dartboard; the double-20 field


Oriole

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

(baseball) A player on the team Baltimore Orioles.


Cardinals

(baseball) The team St. Louis Cardinals.

(American football) The team Arizona Cardinals.


Bums

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Jints

Eye dialect for popular New York City pronunciation of giants

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(American football, informal) The New York Giants.


gapper

Bob's gapper cleared the bags.

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


seagulling

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


Astro

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

(baseball) A player for the Houston Astros.


Astros

The Astros lead the division through half the season.


inv

(gaming) Abbreviation of inventory (“items carried by a player”).


go yard

en-verb

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

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

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

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


fall classic

The White Sox swept the 2005 fall classic.


World Series

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


MLB

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

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

Major League Baseball
w:Major League Baseball

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


National League

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


American League

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


League Championship Series

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


earned run

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


lino

en-noun

lino (usually uncountable, plural linos)

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

Lino flagged a bit late but was right

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

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


ISF

International Softball Federation
w:International Softball Federation

(softball) Initialism of International Softball Federation.


ff

en-verb

ff (third-person singular simple present ffs, present participle ffing, simple past and past participle ffed)

ffs (present singular third-person)
ffing (participle present)
ffed (participle past)
ffed (past)

we can't win, ff this shit


NFI

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


AAAA

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


FCS

w:NCAA Division I#Football Championship Subdivision

(American football) Initialism of Football Championship Subdivision.


lamer

Phil and his counterparts in Asia and the US are deployed to infiltrate pirate groups; to study IRC; to get under the skin of the lamers, the dabblers, and the professionals; to chat, seduce, charm, and interact with the denizens of this bizarre over-underworld.

1997 April 1, David McCandless, “Warez Wars”, in Wired, →ISSN:

Other accounts mention that the lamers are constantly asking for advice on coding routines.

2009, John Impagliazzo, Timo Järvi, Petri Paju, editors, History of Nordic Computing 2 […] , Springer, →ISBN, page 298:

(slang, derogatory, demoscene, gaming, warez, dated) A person lacking in maturity, social skills, technical competence or intelligence.

peelo

a person lacking in maturity, social skills, technical competence or intelligence


left back

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


novelty

en-noun

novelty (countable and uncountable, plural novelties)

From Middle English novelte, from Old French novelté (Modern French nouveauté), from the adjective novel, ultimately from Latin novellus.

Topalov has unveiled some interesting novelties lately, but there was nothing unusual in his opening here. Sasikiran played the Nimzo-Indian, and Topalov replied with probably the most classical continuation.

2007 May 27, Dylan Loeb Mcclain, “What Defines the Very Best? For Topalov, It's Fearlessness”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2022-11-26:

It's not often a novelty comes as early as move seven nowadays, but in the latest round of the German Bundesliga, a recently discovered seventh move was employed to win a lovely game.

2012 December 18, Malcolm Pein, “Bundesliga chess revelation”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2023-02-05:

The Russian champion still did very well. Nepomniachtchi was only a wildcard, yet played with full force including an interesting novelty in the much analysed Berlin Wall Ruy Lopez.

2021 June 25, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Carlsen takes on No 1 junior, No 1 woman and No 1 rival on same afternoon”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2022-01-29:

(chess) An opening move played for the first time ever (in high-level chess).


pav

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

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

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

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

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

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

(cricket, informal) Clipping of pavilion.


pick and roll

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

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

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


pwn

en-verb

pwn (third-person singular simple present pwns, present participle pwning, simple past and past participle pwned or pwnd or pwnt)

pwns (present singular third-person)
pwning (participle present)
pwned (participle past)
pwned (past)
pwnd (participle past)
pwnd (past)
pwnt (participle past)
pwnt (past)

From own, possibly born out of a typographical error (the adjacency of o and p on qwerty keyboards).

I pwned them in game!

2nd guard: "Yeah, shiiit! I PWNED YO @zz!"

1999 August 5, Quaestor, “Re: [SP] So..the first victim of the Evil/Hero System”, in rec.games.computer.ultima.online (Usenet), retrieved 2016-09-23, message-ID <37AA8154.D77E6EB8@Skara.Brae>:

Otherwise I use fury as my normal attack. Fury completely pwns!

2001, Edward Glamkowski, alt.games.diablo2 (Usenet):

When you get to the Temple of Marr, look very closely at the vases at zone-in and see if you can find the picture where Mith Marr "pwns" someone.

2003, James Grahame, alt.games.everquest (Usenet):

My Trident pwns the Cirrus Logics!

2004, Bronney Hui, alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (Usenet):

NOOBZ STILL R NOT PWNED. CONTINUE PWNERSHIP UNTIL ALL NOOBZ R PWNED.

2005, AlphaDream, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Nintendo:

(Internet slang, online gaming, originally leet, ambitransitive) To own, to defeat or dominate (someone or something, especially a game or someone playing a game).


gamey

en-adj

gamey (comparative more gamey or gamier, superlative most gamey or gamiest)

more gamey (comparative)
gamier (comparative)
most gamey (superlative)
gamiest (superlative)
gamy (alternative)

(gaming) Involving in-game actions or behaviour that break immersion or contradict common sense in favour of exploiting game mechanics.


facemask

facemasks (plural)
face mask (alternative)

潛水面罩 /潜水面罩

covering used to protect the face used for diving

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

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


face mask penalty

en-noun

face mask penalty (plural face mask penalties)

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


diving

diving (countable and uncountable, plural divings)

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


all square

(sports, games, etc.) With all players or teams having the same score; tied, drawn.


cheapo

From cheap + -o (“person with characteristic”, colloquialising suffix).

suf

(chess) A primitive trap, often set in the hope of swindling a win or draw from a losing position.


strike rate

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

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


go over

en-verb

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

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

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

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


triangulation

en-noun

triangulation (countable and uncountable, plural triangulations)

/tɹʌɪaŋɡjʊˈleɪʃn̩/

/ˌtɹaɪˌæŋɡjəˈleɪʃən/

From Medieval Latin triangulātiōnem (“triangulation”), from triangulāre (“to triangulate”) + -tiōnem (suffix forming nouns relating to some actions or the results of actions). Triangulāre is derived from triangulāris (“triangular”), from triangulus (“triangular; triangle”), from trēs (“three”) + angulus (“angle; corner”). The English word is analysable as triangulate + -ion, and is cognate with French triangulation.

refn

An engraving from a 16th-century treatise by Levinus Hulsius (1546–1606).

der

[page 76] At this point, it may be useful to refer to a word that has been used in connection with earlier examples. The King has been said to indulge in a process called Triangulation. The word is harder than the idea. The basic fact is that the King can move to an adjacent square in one move, two moves or three moves, without returning to its point of origin. […] [page 77] This diagram […] shows a position where the triangulation is vital.

1961, Gerald Abrahams, “Kings and Ascending Pawns”, in Technique in Chess, London: G[eorge] Bell and Sons, →OCLC; republished New York, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1973, →ISBN, pages 76 and 77:

(countable, chess) A delaying move in which the king moves in a triangular path to force the advance of a pawn.


recovery

en-noun

recovery (countable and uncountable, plural recoveries)

recoveries (plural)
recovre (alternative)

From Middle English recoveree, from Old French recovree, from recovrer (“recover”).

(gaming) The ability to recover or regain health.


trump

Possibly from French triomphe (“triumph”) or Old French triumphe. If so, it is a doublet of triumph and thriambus. Compare German Trumpf.

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

Diamonds were declared trump(s).

And now her Heart with Pleasure jumps,
She scarce remembers what is Trumps.

1730, Jonathan Swift, “Death And Daphne,”, in Some Verse Pieces:

(card games) The suit, in a game of cards, that outranks all others.

He played an even higher trump.

(card games) A playing card of that suit.


trump

en-verb

trump (third-person singular simple present trumps, present participle trumping, simple past and past participle trumped)

trumps (present singular third-person)
trumping (participle present)
trumped (participle past)
trumped (past)

He knew the hand was lost when his ace was trumped.

He lost his money at whist after dinner, and actually trumped his partner’s highest spade.

1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 52, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

(transitive, card games) To play on (a card of another suit) with a trump.

չախել

to play a trump on a card of another suit

(intransitive, card games) To play a trump, or to take a trick with a trump.

тегля коз

to play a trump, or to take a trick with a trump


parlay

parlay (third-person singular simple present parlays, present participle parlaying, simple past and past participle parlayed)

parlays (present singular third-person)
parlaying (participle present)
parlayed (participle past)
parlayed (past)
parley (alternative)

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

The verb is derived from paroli (“cumulative bet in card games”), possibly modified under the influence of French parler (“to speak, talk”). Paroli is derived from French paroli (“double stake”), from Italian paroli, plural of parolo (first-person singular present indicative of parare (“to protect or shield (from); to prepare”), from Latin parāre, present active infinitive of parō (“to arrange, prepare; to furnish, provide”), from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to go through; to carry forth, fare”)) + Italian -lo (suffix meaning ‘it; this or that thing’).
The noun is derived from the verb.

der

(ambitransitive, gambling) To carry forward the stake and winnings from a bet on to a subsequent wager or series of wagers.


parlay

GARNETT. (Sharply.) Would someone mind telling a visitor the details of this Operation Snitch? / DENNIS. Kind of a three-horse-parlay, Cliff: Posenleben, Schweinhafen … (Eyes Prescott and Jenks.) And one other.

1947, William Wister Haines, Command Decision: Play in Three Acts, acting edition, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 1974, →OCLC, act I, page 17:

They heard the placing of bets of $1, $2 and $3 and $5 "round robin parlays" on horses with names such as Ham Bone, Little Colleen, Miss Ellaneous, Fighting Thru, Papa Charlie, Dandy Foot, William Tell, Knot Hole, Betsy Marie, Poocha and Under the Rug.

1955 March 14, Michael Musmanno, Justice, Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, “Appendix: Dissenting Opinion of Musmanno, J., of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania”, in In the Supreme Court of the United States: No. 111: October Term, 1955. Isaac Chaitt, Petitioner, v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Respondent. Petition for Writ of Certiorari and Appendix, Philadelphia, Pa.: Lemuel B. Schofield, attorney for petitioner, page 52:

The officer's affidavit was to the effect that he and another officer had made "extensive investigation of gambling operations" locally; he had information that a local printing company "printed parlay cards which were being used for betting on college and professional football games;" [...]

1973 October 1, Frank Holt, Associate Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court, “Appendix A: … Claude Earl Flaherty and Gene Whipple, Appellants v. State of Arksansas, Appellee”, in In the Supreme Court of the United States: October Term, 1973: Claude Earl Flaherty and Gene Whipple, Petitioners, v. State of Arkansas, Respondent. Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court of Arkansas, Fort Smith, Ark.: Franklin Wilder, counsel for petitioners, published 1973, page 21:

One of the most common and important types of probability problems is what gamblers call "parlays." When you bet a parlay, you are betting on the outcome of two or more events with the stipulation that all of your selection must be right in order for you to win. [...] Most gamblers think solely of sporting events when they think of parlays. Actually, any time you figure the probability that all of a number of events (each with its own separate probability) will occur you are figuring a parlay.

2005 March, David Sklansky, “Mathematics of Parlays”, in Getting the Best of It, Las Vegas, Nev.: Two Plus Two Publishing, →ISBN, part 1 (Probability: The Mathematics of Gambling), page 17:

(originally US, gambling) A bet or series of bets where the stake and winnings are cumulatively carried forward; an accumulator.


bootleg

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

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


thunderbolt

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

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


toepoke

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

did he( Ronaldinhio) toepoke that goal or what?

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


toepoke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


scorpion kick

association football
association football

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


go out

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

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

Leon made two canastas, then went out by melding treys.

(intransitive, card games) To discard or meld all the cards in one's hand.


isolated

en-adj

isolated (comparative more isolated, superlative most isolated)

more isolated (comparative)
most isolated (superlative)

A rendering into English of French isolé.

(chess, of a pawn) Such that no pawn of the same color is in an adjacent file.


woodwork

en-noun

woodwork (usually uncountable, plural woodworks)

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

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

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

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

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


throw-in

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


roulette wheel

(gambling) A slotted wheel that rotates horizontally; players bet on which slot the ball will stop in.


leggie

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

2004 February 12, Chloe Saltau, The Age:

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


crosscheck

crosschecks (plural)
cross check (alternative)

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


crosscheck

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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


Premiership

/ˈpɹɛmɪəʃɪp/

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

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


who ate all the pies

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

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


featherbed

featherbeds (plural)
feather bed (alternative)

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


cutback

en-noun

cutback (countable and uncountable, plural cutbacks)

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

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

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

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

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


hit and run

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

hit and runs (plural)
hit-and-run (alternative)

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


hit and run

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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


compo

en-noun

compo (countable and uncountable, plural compos)

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


twelfth man

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


tweener

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

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

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

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

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

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


spin bowler

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


pop out

en-verb

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

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

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