flare

→ Italian: flare

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

unknown

Origin unknown

ярка светлина

source of brightly burning light or intense heat

Stulp

widening of an object with otherwise roughly constant width

разкрояване

widening of the lower legs of trousers and jeans

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

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

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

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

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


interference

en-noun

interference (countable and uncountable, plural interferences)

/ˌɪntə(ɹ)ˈfɪəɹəns/

/ˌɪntəɹˈfɪɹɪns/

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

(chess) The interruption of the line between an attacked piece and its defender by sacrificially interposing a piece.


cooler

(poker, gambling, colloquial) A cold deck.


loaded

en-adj

loaded (comparative more loaded, superlative most loaded)

more loaded (comparative)
most loaded (superlative)

подправен

(gaming, of dice, also used figuratively) biased

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

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

täynnä

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

He was playing with loaded dice and won a fortune.

They played awhile to Corinius’s great content, for at every throw he won and the other’s purse waxed light. But at this eleventh stanza the son of Corund cried out that the dice of Corinius were loaded.

1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros: A Romance, London: Jonathan Cape […], →OCLC, pages 32–33:

The more we invest in a sexual encounter in a particular person, the more loaded the dice in a dating game that we are forever reminded we must play to win.

1996, Elaine Creith, Undressing Lesbian Sex, page 49:

If you add to this the fact that the magistrate and the police sergeant are close friends, then the dice could not have been more loaded against my client.

1997, Joe Slovo, Slovo: The Unfinished Autobiography, page 80:

Horace has been crippled by being set off against the 'sincerity' and 'spontaneity' of these two; when it comes to the Greek lyricists, the dice are even more loaded against our poet, for the Greeks have not only spontaneity and sincerity on their side, but a phalanx of yet more formidable allies […].

2009, Michèle Lowrie, Horace: Odes and Epodes, page 224:

(dice games, also figurative) Of a die or dice: weighted asymmetrically, and so biased to produce predictable throws.


charity

en-noun

charity (countable and uncountable, plural charities)

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

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


SSL

Società Sportiva Lazio
w:Società Sportiva Lazio

(soccer) Abbreviation of Società Sportiva Lazio.


blot

→ Polish: blotka

From Middle English blot (“blot, spot, stain, blemish”). Perhaps from Old Norse *blettr (“blot, stain”) (only attested in documents from after Old Norse transitioned to Icelandic blettur), or from Old French bloche (“clod of earth”).

inh

(backgammon) An exposed piece in backgammon.


blot

en-verb

blot (third-person singular simple present blots, present participle blotting, simple past and past participle blotted)

blots (present singular third-person)
blotting (participle present)
blotted (participle past)
blotted (past)


not out

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


leg bye

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


biter

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

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


vint

Borrowed from Russian винт (vint, “screw”).

(games) A Russian card game similar to bridge and whist.


squeak

en-noun

squeak (countable and uncountable, plural squeaks)

(uncountable, games) A card game similar to group solitaire.


squeak

en-verb

squeak (third-person singular simple present squeaks, present participle squeaking, simple past and past participle squeaked)

squeaks (present singular third-person)
squeaking (participle present)
squeaked (participle past)
squeaked (past)

(intransitive, games) To empty the pile of 13 cards a player deals to oneself in the card game of the same name.


junket

From Middle English jonket (“basket made of rushes”), from Medieval Latin iuncta, possibly from Latin iuncus (“rush, reed”) and therefore a possible doublet of jonquil.
Meaning shifted to “feast or banquet” by 1520s, probably via the notion of a picnic basket. This in turn led to the sense of “pleasure trip” (1814), and then to specifically to “trip made ostensibly for business but which entails merrymaking or entertainment” by 1886 in American English.

der

(gambling) A gaming room for which the capacity and limits change daily, often rented out to private vendors who run tour groups through them and give a portion of the proceeds to the main casino.


camel toe

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

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


false start

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


hax

The third critical hit in a row! You only win because of hax!

(gaming) Crucial luck-based events in battles.


fruit salad

en-noun

fruit salad (countable and uncountable, plural fruit salads)

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


linesman

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

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

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

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

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

linjatuomari

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


lineman

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


overhead

en-adj

overhead (comparative more overhead, superlative most overhead)

more overhead (comparative)
most overhead (superlative)

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

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

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

despeses generals

of, or relating to the operating expenses of a business


assistant referee

en-noun

assistant referee (plural assistant referees)

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

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

association football
association football

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


fianchetto

/fɪənˈt͡ʃɛtəʊ/

/fɪənˈkɛtəʊ/

From Italian fianchetto, diminutive of fianco (“flank”).

I’m not a hero, I’m not even a chessboard knight. Trying to be a priest was something of a fianchetto wasn’t it? Clever move by a poor player.

1994, Jeanette Winterson, Art & Lies, →ISBN:

(chess) The development of a bishop by moving it one square to a long diagonal; specifically, a set of opening moves where a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file.


fianchetto

en-verb

fianchetto (third-person singular simple present fianchettos or fianchettoes, present participle fianchettoing, simple past and past participle fianchettoed)

fianchettos (present singular third-person)
fianchettoes (present singular third-person)
fianchettoing (participle present)
fianchettoed (participle past)
fianchettoed (past)

/fɪənˈt͡ʃɛtəʊ/

/fɪənˈkɛtəʊ/


ferrule

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

refn

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

kování

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

příruba

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

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

A band holding parts of an object together.

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

virolla

(billiards) plastic band attaching the tip to the cue


soda

en-noun

soda (countable and uncountable, plural sodas)

From Italian soda. Sense 4 is an ellipsis of soda water.

(card games) The first card in the dealing box in the game of faro, which is discarded to leave 51 cards in play.


Heinz

From the H. J. Heinz Company's "57 Varieties" slogan.

(UK, gambling, slang) A full-cover bet of doubles and upwards, consisting of six selections in 57 bets.


scramble

en-verb

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

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

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

lähettää

to quickly enter vehicles and proceed to destination

(Rubik's Cube) To permute parts of a twisty puzzle (especially, Rubik's Cube) until it is ready to be solved from scratch.


Stonewall

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From stone + wall. The drink is so named because its effect is likened to running into a stone wall. The riots take their name from the Stonewall Inn where they began (in the 1840s, the property was called Bonnie's Stone Wall, later renamed to Bonnie's Stonewall Inn, then the Stonewall Inn Restaurant, and then the Stonewall Inn). The Confederate general acquired his nickname after a battle in which, while other troops were in motion, fellow general Barnard E. Bee observed "there stands Jackson like a stone wall" (either resolutely, or unhelpfully). The chess setup is so named because it is a solid formation which is hard to overrun by force, like a stone wall.

the Stonewall attack, a Stonewall setup, a Stonewall formation

(chess) A formation in chess (a variation of the Queen's Pawn Game) in which white plays pawns to d4 and several other positions, requiring black to react energetically (see Stonewall Attack).


euchre

en-noun

euchre (countable and uncountable, plural euchres)

euchres (plural)
eucre (alternative dated)

Possibly from German Juckerspiel, name of an eighteenth-century Alsatian card game, itself apparently a compound of Jucker (“joker?”, may be dialectal) + Spiel (“game”). Likely a doublet of joker.

(card games) A trump card game played by four players in two partnerships with a reduced deck of 24 cards.


chicane

chicane (countable and uncountable, plural chicanes)

(card games, chiefly bridge) The holding of a hand without trumps, or the hand itself.


swindle

en-verb

swindle (third-person singular simple present swindles, present participle swindling, simple past and past participle swindled)

swindles (present singular third-person)
swindling (participle present)
swindled (participle past)
swindled (past)

Back-formation from swindler, from German Schwindler, from German schwindeln, from Middle High German swindeln, swindelen, from Old High German swintilōn, frequentative of the verb swintan, from Proto-West Germanic *swindan (“to diminish”).
See also Modern German schwindeln, Danish svindel and svindle, Dutch zwindelen and zwendelen, Yiddish שווינדל (shvindl), Low German swinneln, Middle English swinden (“to languish, waste away”).

cog

(chess) For a player in a losing position to play a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.


swindle

(chess) An instance wherein a player in a losing position plays a clever move that provokes an error from the opponent, thus achieving a win or a draw.


Ajax

(soccer) The Amsterdam football club AFC Ajax


run and gun

en-verb

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

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

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This team likes to run and gun.

They're really running and gunning now.

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

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


banjo hitter

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

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

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


takeout double

(bridge) A double, usually indicating strength and a desire to play the hand; partner is expected to "take out" by making a bid.


completion

en-noun

completion (countable and uncountable, plural completions)

termination

antonym(s) of “making complete, accomplishment”

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

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


Angel

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

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


Argonaut

/ˈɑː(ɹ).ɡəˌnɔːt/

/ˈɑɹ.ɡəˌnɔt/

/ˈɑɹ.ɡəˌnɑt/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Argonaut.wav

Borrowed from Latin Argonauta, from Ancient Greek Ἀργοναύτης (Argonaútēs). By surface analysis, Argo + -naut.

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


Athletic

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

(baseball) A player on the team Oakland Athletics.

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


Athletics

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


Aztec

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

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


B

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

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. e5 Ne4 5. Qxd4 d5 6. exd6 e.p. Nxd6 7. Bg5 Nc6 8. Qe3+ Be7 9. Nbd2 0-0 10. 0-0-0 Re8 11. Kb1 (=)

2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE, page 23:

The correct answer is 1.Rxf6 Rxf6 2.Rf1 Raf8 3.Qg5 Kg7 4.Nh5+
Other sub-variations work, such as playing 2.Qg5 then 3.Rf1 or playing 4.Bxf6+ first before playing 5.Nh5+.

2023 August 12, GM Noël Studer, “Mastering Chess Puzzles: The Comprehensive Guide to Effective Problem Solving”, in Next Level Chess:

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


Barca

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

There's only one Barca

Chelsea and Barca clash once again

Giovani committed to Barca

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


Blues

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

bor

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


Brewer

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

(baseball) A player for the Milwaukee Brewers.


Cardinal

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

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

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


Cherry

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


City

City will reportedly look to have a fee for Aguero.

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


Cub

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

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


D

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

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

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

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

(soccer) The penalty arc on a football pitch.


Elk

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


Euro

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

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

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


G

en-noun

G (countable and uncountable, plural Gs)

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


Giant

(baseball) A player for the San Francisco Giants.

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


Gill

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

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


Halma

From Ancient Greek ἅλμα (hálma, “jump”).

(games) A strategic board game played with counters on a board of 16×16 squares.


Hammer

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

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


J

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

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

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


K

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

ng

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

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

strikeout On a baseball scorecard

(card games, chess) Abbreviation of king.


Lion

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

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

(soccer) A player for the England football team.


M

en-noun

M (countable and uncountable, plural Ms)

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

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


Mariner

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

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


Met

(baseball) A player for the New York Mets.


O

O (countable and uncountable, plural Os)

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


Oval

Alternative form: The Oval

(cricket) A cricket ground in South London.


P

P (countable and uncountable, plural Ps)


PK

PK (countable and uncountable, plural PKs)

(American football) Initialism of placekicker.

(US, soccer) Initialism of penalty kick.


Padre

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

(baseball) A player for the San Diego Padres.


Patriot

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


Q

Q (countable and uncountable, plural Qs)

(card games, chess) Abbreviation of queen.


R

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


Ram

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

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


Robin

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

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


Scotch

Contraction of Scottish.
The chess opening is supposedly after its having been played in a correspondence game between Edinburgh, Scotland, and London, England.

Karpov played the Scotch against Anand.

(chess, informal) The opening 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4.


Spur

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

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


Swan

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

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

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


Sweet Sixteen

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

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

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

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


T

T (countable and uncountable, plural Ts)


Tiger

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


Tyke

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

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


Villa

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

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

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


W

Abbreviations of various words beginning with W.


Wanderer

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


Will

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

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

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

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

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

(American football) A weak-side linebacker.


china

china (countable and uncountable, plural chinas)

chinas (plural)
China (alternative)
chiney (alternative)
cheny (alternative)
cheney (alternative)
chenea (alternative)
chainy (alternative)
chaney (alternative)
chany (alternative)
chaynee (alternative)
chayney (alternative)
cheenie (alternative)
cheeny (alternative)
chainé (alternative)

From clippings of attributive use of China, q.v., the country in East Asia. In reference to porcelain and porcelain objects, via clipping of chinaware and via this sense of Persian چین (čini) in Persia and India, which influenced the pronunciation (see below). In reference to medicine, via clipping of China root. In reference to flowers, via clipping of China rose. In reference to tea, via clipping of China tea. In Cockney slang, a clipping of china plate as a rhyme of mate (“friend”). In reference to drum cymbals, a clipping of China cymbal and as a genericization of a kind of Zildjian-brand cymbal.

The marbles, in those days, had their primitive names. The unglazed china ones were called plasters because they looked like plaster; the glazed china marbles were called chinas. I remember how charming were the partly colored lines which encircled them.

1932 March, Dan Beard, “New-Fashioned Kites and Old-Fashioned Marbles”, in Boys' Life, page 27:

(countable, games, chiefly US, obsolete) A glazed china marble.


bolivia

bolivia (countable and uncountable, plural bolivias)

(uncountable, card games) A card game similar to rummy and canasta.

(card games) A meld of seven wild cards in said card game.


gg

/d͡ʒiːd͡ʒiː/

(online gaming slang) Initialism of good game.

Nature's Prophet going to get the last hit in as well. It's the entire team down for EHOME. This is GG.

2014 March 19, Free to Play (Film), spoken by Announcer:

(online gaming slang, by extension) loss, defeat, game over


peter

en-verb

peter (third-person singular simple present peters, present participle petering, simple past and past participle petered)

peters (present singular third-person)
petering (participle present)
petered (participle past)
petered (past)

Clipping of blue peter (“play a high card to call for trump”). See further etymology there.

clipping

(card games, intransitive) Synonym of blue peter; to call for trump by throwing away a high card while holding a lower one.


kilter

Probably a variant of dialectal kelter (“odds and ends; litter, rubbish”); further etymology unknown.

(card games, chiefly poker) A hand of playing cards which is useless.


DB

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


napoleon

en-noun

napoleon (countable and uncountable, plural napoleons)

napoleons (plural)
Napoleon (alternative)

/nəˈpəʊlɪən/

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

bor

(card games, uncountable) A 19th-century five-card trick-taking game simplified from euchre.

(card games, uncountable) Clipping of double napoleon, a form of patience/solitaire.


pon

(mahjong) A call for forming a set of three identical tiles using a discarded tile.

碰

mahjong: a call for a set of three identical tiles


CB

en-noun

CB (countable and uncountable, plural CBs)

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

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

Gaelic football; hurling; Gaelic football; hurling


Bengal

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

Jones became a Bengal in a trade for Smith.

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


CG

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


mop up

en-verb

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

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

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


hit up

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

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

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


take on

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

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

He drifted past four Palace players and took on two more before crossing to the far post, where Fellaini touched on for Mata to score. It was a momentum-shifting moment.

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

(soccer) To (attempt to) dribble round (an opposition player).


all-rounder

all-rounders (plural)
all-arounder (alternative)
all rounder (alternative)

From earlier all-round (“versatile”) + -er, sense “versatile person” from 1875.

An all-rounder is a player who can bat and bowl. A genuine all-rounder should be able to make the team on either skill alone. A genuine one is as rare as a punctual Sri Lankan.

2011, Shehan Karunatilaka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Jonathan Cape, page 26:

(cricket) A player who is skilled in both batting and bowling.

yleispelaaja

(cricket) player skilled in both batting and bowling


meg

meg (third-person singular simple present megs, present participle megging, simple past and past participle megged)

megs (present singular third-person)
megging (participle present)
megged (participle past)
megged (past)

(colloquial, soccer, transitive) To nutmeg an opponent.


jaffa

From Jaffa, an ancient port city in what is now Israel from which the oranges were exported. The sense "impotent male" is a reference to being "seedless"; see seed.
The cricketing sense, of a 'sweet ball' (from the bowler's perspective), is a metaphor further reinforced in Australian English where Jaffa is also a trademark for a popular lolly that is red and round.

(cricket) A ball that is very difficult for the batsman to hit because it moves erratically either through the air or off the pitch


touch base

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

touches base (present singular third-person)
touching base (participle present)
touched base (participle past)
touched base (past)
touch bases (alternative)

(baseball, literally) To touch a base, usually with a foot but sometimes with a hand.


snapshot

Yet Revell misjudged his promising position in the area to put his point-blank snapshot wide from only six yards out.

2011 March 2, Chris Whyatt, “Arsenal 5 - 0 Leyton Orient”, in BBC:

(soccer) A quick, unplanned or unexpected shot.


bookmaker

From Middle English bokmakere, boke maker, equivalent to book + maker.

(gambling) A person (or a business) who calculates odds and accepts bets, especially on horse racing; a bookie.

مُرَاهِن

a person who calculates odds and accepts bets; a bookie


macromanagement

(gaming) The management of long-term or large-scale aspects of a strategy game.


ER

en-noun

ER (countable and uncountable, plural ERs)


throw off

en-verb

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

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


no-no

no-nos (plural)
no-noes (plural)
no no (alternative)

must

antonym(s) of “something forbidden, ...”

He threw two no-nos in his career.

(baseball, colloquial) A no-hitter; a game in which no batter on one of the teams got a hit.


tip off

tip off (third-person singular simple present tips off, present participle tipping off, simple past and past participle tipped off)

tips off (present singular third-person)
tipping off (participle present)
tipped off (participle past)
tipped off (past)

(basketball) To put the ball in play by throwing it up between two opponents.

The game tips off in an hour, so hurry back!


hand off

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

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

(American football) To pass (the ball) to a teammate.


silver goal

(soccer) The first goal scored during the first half of extra time, giving victory to the scoring side if this rule is in effect.


bicycle kick

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

Yaya Toure sent over a hopeful cross-field pass that Warnock attempted to clear with a bicycle kick, only to calamitously set Johnson up for a low finish past Given.

2011 October 15, David Ornstein, “Man City 4 - 1 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) A kick in which the kicker leans backwards and kicks the ball back over his head.

bicicleta

not in dictionaries, but a more common spelling in practice


kicker

(American football) A placekicker: a player who kicks the football during free kicks, kick offs, field goals, and extra point tries.


running flush

A running flush can only be beaten by a prile.

(card games) a hand containing three cards of consecutive value and the same suit in three card brag; equivalent to a straight flush in poker


armageddon

/ˌɑː(ɹ).məˈɡɛ.dn̩/

/ˌɑɹ.məˈɡɛ.dn̩/

[ˌɑɹ.məˈɡɛɾ.ʔn]

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-armageddon.wav

(chess) A type of game, usually played when a match would otherwise end in a draw, where black wins drawn games and white is given more time as compensation.


monte

en-noun

monte (countable and uncountable, plural montes)

Borrowed from Spanish monte (“mountain”): in the sense of the card game, referring to the stack of unplayed cards. Doublet of mount.

bor+

A starry 20th-anniversary revival of “Topdog/Underdog,” her Pulitzer Prize-winning fable about two brothers, three-card monte and one troubling inheritance, is in previews on Broadway.

2022 October 5, Michael Paulson, “Suzan-Lori Parks Is on Broadway, Off Broadway and Everywhere Else”, in The New York Times:

(uncountable, card games) A game in which three or four cards are dealt face-up and players bet on which of them will first be matched in suit by others dealt.


go-between

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

(shogi) A shogi piece, used in chu shogi and larger shogi variants, that can move one step straight forward or straight backwards.


singleton

From single + -ton, probably following the model of simpleton.


blunder

→ Dutch: blunder

→ Swedish: blunder

Inherited from Middle English blundren, blondren (verb) and blunder, blonder (“disturbance, strife”), from the verb; partly from Middle English blondren, a frequentative form of Middle English blonden, blanden ("to mix; mix up"; corresponding to blend + -er); and partly from Middle English blundren, a frequentative form of Middle English blunden (“to stagger; stumble”), from Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”). Cognates include Norwegian blunda (“to shut the eyes; doze”), dialectal Swedish blundra (“to act blindly or rashly”), Danish blunde (“to blink”) or blunde (“to take a nap”), Icelandic blunda (“to nap; doze”). Related to English blind.

cog

(chess) A very bad move, usually caused by some tactical oversight.


blunder

en-verb

blunder (third-person singular simple present blunders, present participle blundering, simple past and past participle blundered)

blunders (present singular third-person)
blundering (participle present)
blundered (participle past)
blundered (past)

→ Dutch: blunderen

(intransitive) To make a big mistake, especially when it is careless or stupid.

(chess, backgammon, intransitive) To make a bad move, especially caused by tactical oversight.

(chess, transitive) To make a bad move and thereby cause the loss of (a piece).


high five

en-noun

high five (countable and uncountable, plural high fives)

high fives (plural)
high-five (alternative)

From high + five. The five refers to the five fingers of each hand.

(card games, uncountable) The game of cinch.


HR

HR (countable and uncountable, plural HRs)

/eɪt͡ʃ ɑː(ɹ)/

(baseball) Initialism of home runs (in statistics).


RFC

(rugby) Initialism of rugby football club.


LFC

(soccer, now obsolete) Initialism of ladies' football club.


LFC

Liverpool Football Club
w:Liverpool F.C.

(soccer) Initialism of Liverpool Football Club.


FC

FC (countable and uncountable, plural FCs)

fielder's choice
fielder's choice#English

(baseball) Initialism of fielder's choice.


OT

OT (countable and uncountable, plural OTs)

offensive tackle
offensive tackle#English

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


retro

retro (countable and uncountable, plural retros or retroes)

Borrowed from French rétro, ultimately from Latin retro.

(chess) A chess puzzle of retrograde analysis, requiring the solver to work out the history of moves leading to the position presented.


walk the dog

en-verb

walk the dog (third-person singular simple present walks the dog, present participle walking the dog, simple past and past participle walked the dog)

walks the dog (present singular third-person)
walking the dog (participle present)
walked the dog (participle past)
walked the dog (past)

(idiomatic, lacrosse) To perform a trick where the ball rolls down the shaft and is caught in the head of the lacrosse stick.


tosh

en-noun

tosh (countable and uncountable, plural toshes)

From 19th-century British thieves' cant, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from *tarsh, a metathetic alteration of trash; or from toss.
Sense of nonsense possibly influenced by tush (“nonsense! tsk tsk!”) attested from 15th century.

Among the recent neologisms of the cricket field is ‘tosh’, which means bowling of contemptible easiness.

(cricket, slang, derogatory, uncountable) Easy bowling


DP

DP (countable and uncountable, plural DPs)

(baseball, softball) Initialism of double play.


ODI

According to Karuna, had he played a full career of 100 tests and say 300 ODIs, he would have finished with well over 700 and 500 wickets respectively.

2011, Shehan Karunatilaka, Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew, Jonathan Cape, page 348:

one-day international
one-day international#English

(cricket) Initialism of one-day international.


IRS

instant replay system
instant replay system#English

(basketball) Initialism of instant replay system.


HSV

HSV (countable and uncountable, plural HSVs)

BHV

bovine herpes virus or bovine herpesvirus

CeHV

cercopithecine herpes virus or cercopithecine herpesvirus

EHV

equine herpes virus or equine herpesvirus

FHV

feline herpes virus or feline herpesvirus

KSHV

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpes virus or Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus

MaHV

macropodid herpes virus or macropodid herpesvirus

OsHV

oyster herpes virus or oyster herpesvirus


PL

(soccer, UK) Initialism of Premier League.


LF

LF (countable and uncountable, plural LFs)

(baseball) Initialism of left field or left fielder.


hacking

hacking (usually uncountable, plural hackings)

From Middle English hackynge, hakkynge, hacckinge, equivalent to hack + -ing.

(sports, chiefly American football, soccer, rugby) A kick in the shins.


GSW

Golden State Warriors
w:Golden State Warriors

(US, basketball) Initialism of Golden State Warriors.


TD

TD (countable and uncountable, plural TDs)

When he and his Cincinnati Bengal playmates were done with the AFC’s best defense, that of the New York-New Jersey Jets, he had done Supermannish damage — 30 carries, 139 yards and two TDs — as the Bengals won, 36-19.

1988 October 10, Gary Nuhn, “Bengals put Jets, ghosts of ’87 to rest”, in Dayton Daily News, volume 112, number 31, Dayton, Ohio, page 1-B:

(American football, Canadian football) Abbreviation of touchdown.


wk

wk (countable and uncountable, plural wks)

(cricket) Abbreviation of wicket keeper.


wildcard

German wildcard Sabine Lisicki conquered her nerves to defeat France's Marion Bartoli and take her amazing Wimbledon run into the semi-finals.

2011 June 28, Piers Newbery, “Wimbledon 2011: Sabine Lisicki beats Marion Bartoli”, in BBC Sport:

(sports, card games) Alternative form of wild card.

шабло́н

derived adjective may be used in phrases


nat

After rolling a Strength check to move a heavy cabinet, I got a nat 1 and the cabinet fell on me.

in the Dark Sun campaign I'm playing in, the DM handles crits/fumbles this way: Natural 20: an excellent attack, player gets a bonus attack, if he gets another Nat. 20, he gets a 3rd attack, and so on.

1992 October 5, Jordan M. Wolbrum, “Critical Hits”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet):

Almost killed my cleric mage when she was juggling with another bard...missed the juggling check, rolled a nat 20 on the to-hit roll, and rolled maximum damage...and said cleric-mage was already wounded, and recuperating...8P

1995 September 21, Deanna Hatter, “How to roll d16 in level distribution?”, in rec.games.frp.dnd (Usenet):

But she continued. "I do a Survival check to see if there are any worm people in these puddles... and roll a nat twenty!"

2022, Shelly Mazzanoble, Welcome to Dragon Talk: Inspiring Conversations About Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Love to Play It, Iowa City, I.A.: University of Iowa Press, →ISBN, page 56:

(roleplaying games, dice games, slang) Clipping of natural (“pertaining to a dice roll before bonuses or penalties have been applied to the result”).


domino

1801, borrowed from French domino (1771), originally the term for a hooded garment, itself from Medieval Latin domino, oblique case of dominus (“lord, master”); compare Medieval Latin dominicale (“a kind of veil”).

cog

Dominoes of indiscretions down
Falling all around, in cycles, in circles
Constantly consuming
Conquer and devour

2000, “The Hollow”, performed by A Perfect Circle:

The Mormon church's past anti-gay positions and its role in financing Proposition 8 – California's 2008 ban on same-sex marriage – may have been the first dominoes to fall around the faithful, but vetting Mitt Romney as a presidential candidate links the straightforward similarities between Mormonophobia and homophobia.

2012 July 11, Tony Plakas, “Mitt's Mormon marriage march”, in Sun-Sentinel:

(dominoes) A tile divided into two squares, each having 0 to 6 (or sometimes more) dots or pips (as in dice), used in the game of dominoes.


talon

From Middle English talon, taloun, from Old French talon (“heel, spur”), from Medieval Latin tālōnem, from Vulgar Latin *tālōnis, from Latin tālus (“ankle”).

(card games) The remaining stock of undealt cards.


int

en-verb

int (third-person singular simple present ints, present participle inting, simple past and past participle inted)

ints (present singular third-person)
inting (participle present)
inted (participle past)
inted (past)

→ German: inten

→ Spanish: intear

Apparently a back-formation from inting, which is a shortening of intentional / intentionally feeding.

2017 The difficulty in banning the ‘most toxic League of Legends player in North America’
Tyler’s signature crime was his habit of intentionally feeding or “inting” in ranked matches.

2018 Riot Games Comments on Intentional Feeding Sion Strategy
Inting, or intentional feeding, is one of the greatest sins in League of Legends. This strategy, apparently discovered by a player named MidLanerFromHell, uses Sion as a turret destroyer above all else, even sacrificing himself in the name of base destruction.

2019 Broxah reported Febiven for inting on stream

(intransitive, gaming) To die intentionally in a match by having oneself slain by enemy characters or structures so as to give resources to the opposing team

Sorry guys, I inted. I thought I could get the kill and then get out.

(intransitive, gaming) To make a bad play, even if it's unintentional.

Why are you inting my lane?

I know this guy. He recently inted my diamond promos (promotional games to the diamond tier).

(transitive, gaming) To ruin a match or a specific part of a match by intentionally or unintentionally dying or making bad plays

Whenever I meet him again, I will gladly int him.

(transitive, gaming) To make someone lose a match by (mostly) intentionally or unintentionally dying


NRL

National Rugby League
w:National Rugby League

(rugby) Initialism of National Rugby League, the main rugby league competition in Australia, including one New Zealand team.


derrick

derrick (third-person singular simple present derricks, present participle derricking, simple past and past participle derricked)

derricks (present singular third-person)
derricking (participle present)
derricked (participle past)
derricked (past)

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

Named after British executioner Thomas Derrick, who invented the framework arrangement commonly known by this name to aid in the conduct of executions. First use appears c. 1600 in the publication Ballad Death Earl Essex.

named-after

Stinky, who had batted a bit over .200 with scant power (two home runs in 66 games in 1933), was being derricked by Navin.

As a rule, when the twirler is derricked, it is because the members of the opposition are beginning to take undue familiarity with his offerings. But this is not always the reason.

2014, Addie Joss, Gary Mitchem, Addie Joss on Baseball, page 96:

(transitive, baseball, informal) To remove (a pitcher).


stripper

(gambling) A playing card that has been trimmed so that a cheat can recognise it from the back.


dink

Imitative. Originally US. Attested since the 1930s.

sound-symbolic

Imitative

The forward passed to Fernandes and, as Pau López advanced, the Portuguese fashioned a sand‑wedge dink over the goalkeeper.

2021 April 29, Jamie Jackson, “Edinson Cavani and Bruno Fernandes help Manchester United hit Roma for six”, in The Guardian:

(soccer) A light chip; a chipped pass or shot


dink

en-verb

dink (third-person singular simple present dinks, present participle dinking, simple past and past participle dinked)

dinks (present singular third-person)
dinking (participle present)
dinked (participle past)
dinked (past)

sound-symbolic

Imitative

The forward dinked the ball over the goalkeeper to score his first goal of the season.

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

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

A dinked pass intended for De Bruyne from the impressive Oscar Bobb then deflected off Jackson and looped into the net early in the second half before Foden smashed in his second.

2024 January 7, Gary Rose, “Manchester City 5-0 Huddersfield Town”, in BBC Sport:

(soccer) To chip lightly, to play a light chip shot.


deflection

en-noun

deflection (countable and uncountable, plural deflections)

deflections (plural)
deflexion (alternative)

From Latin dēflexiō, from dēflectere (“to deflect”; participle stem dēflex-) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns). The non-etymological spelling deflection is taken from the present stem dēflect-, associated with collection, dissection, etc. By surface analysis, deflect + -ion.

(chess) A tactic that forces an opposing piece to leave the square, rank or file it occupies, thus exposing the king or a valuable piece


deflect

en-verb

deflect (third-person singular simple present deflects, present participle deflecting, simple past and past participle deflected)

deflects (present singular third-person)
deflecting (participle present)
deflected (participle past)
deflected (past)

From Latin deflecto, from de- (“away”) + flecto (“to bend”).

The defender deflected the cross into his own net.

(transitive, ball games) To touch the ball, often unwittingly, after a shot or a sharp pass, thereby making it unpredictable for the other players.


curator

curators (plural)
curatour (alternative obsolete)

From Latin cūrātor (“one who has care of a thing, a manager, guardian, trustee”), from cūrāre (“to take care of”), from cūra (“care, heed, attention, anxiety, grief”).

der

(cricket) A groundsman who looks after a cricket field.


pitcher

A “pitchometer” was installed on the scoreboard to time the pitchers. According the baseball rules a pitcher had to throw a pitch within 20 seconds after he received the ball from the catcher when there was nobody on base.

2003, John E. Peterson, The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History: 1954–1967, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 210:

(baseball, softball) The player who delivers the ball to the batter.

питчър

the player who throws the ball to the batter


equip

en-verb

equip (third-person singular simple present equips, present participle equipping, simple past equipped, past participle equipped or (archaic) equipt)

equips (present singular third-person)
equipping (participle present)
equipped (past)
equipped (participle past)
equipt (archaic participle past)

From French équiper (“to supply, fit out”), originally said of a ship, Old French esquiper (“to embark”); of Germanic origin, most probably from Old Norse skipa (“to man (a ship)”), from Proto-Germanic *skipōną (“to ship, sail, embark”).
Compare with Middle High German schipfen, German schiffern, Icelandic skipa, Old English scipian. Doublet of ship.

der

Take it down from a distance with a magic spell, or equip your sword and attack it at close range.

2002, Prima Temp Authors, PlayStation 2: Hot Strategies for Cool Games, page 69:

(transitive, gaming) To equip oneself with (an item); to bring (equipment) into active use.


equip

(gaming, slang) Equipment (carried by a game character).


takeout

en-noun

takeout (countable and uncountable, plural takeouts)

takeouts (plural)
take-out (alternative)

desc

Japanese: テイクアウト (teikuauto), テークアウト (tēkuauto)

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

(curling) A stone that hits another stone, removing it from play, a takeout shot.

テイクアウト

curling: a stone that hits another stone, removing it from play

(bridge) A double of an opponent's bid, intended to invite one's partner to compete in the auction, rather than to penalise one's opponents.


checkout

en-noun

checkout (countable and uncountable, plural checkouts)

checkouts (plural)
check-out (alternative)

/ˈt͡ʃɛkˌaʊt/

(darts) The number of points that a player scores on their final, winning visit to the oche.


bean ball

(cricket) A ball that does not bounce and passes the batsman approximately at head height.

(baseball) Alternative form of beanball.


check out

en-verb

check out (third-person singular simple present checks out, present participle checking out, simple past and past participle checked out)

checks out (present singular third-person)
checking out (participle present)
checked out (participle past)
checked out (past)

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

udskrive

to withdraw (an item) from a library etc., and have the withdrawal recorded

(darts) To visit the oche for the last time and clear one's remaining points to win the game.


IRB

(rugby, historical) Initialism of International Rugby Board, the name used by World Rugby, the worldwide governing body for rugby union, from 1998 to 2014.


-ton

From Middle English -ton, -tone, -tune, from Old English -tūn, derived from Old English tūn (“town”). Doublet of town.

singleton

(mathematics, bridge) A set of specific objects or persons.


elo

(chess, other games) Synonym of Elo rating.


tilt

tilt (third-person singular simple present tilts, present participle tilting, simple past and past participle tilted)

tilts (present singular third-person)
tilting (participle present)
tilted (participle past)
tilted (past)

From Middle English tilte, from Old English *tyltan, *tieltan (“to be unsteady”), related to the adjective tealt (“unsteady”), from Proto-West Germanic *talt, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *del-, *dul- (“to shake, hesitate”), see also Dutch touteren (“to tremble”), North Frisian talt, tolt (“unstable, shaky”). Cognate with Icelandic tölt (“an ambling pace”).
The nominal sense of "a joust" appears around 1510, presumably derived from the barrier which separated the combatants, which suggests connection with tilt "covering". The modern transitive meaning is from 1590; the intransitive use appears 1620.
The sense of gaming frustration is said to originate with pinball.

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

The D.F.S. industry is still inextricably tied up in those poker roots. Players talk about "tilting" because of "variance," especially when a "fish" puts in a "donkey" lineup that ends up going crazy. (In regular American English, this translates roughly to "I am really mad because some idiot punched in some random lineup that ended up catching every conceivable break and beating me.")

2016 January 6, Jay Caspian Kang, “How the Daily Fantasy Sports Industry Turns Fans Into Suckers”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-05-28:

Even the best players can tilt which can cause their performance to drop significantly. Players often tilt when they're on a losing spree or frustrated with the game.

2022 September 2, Gökhan Çakır, Harrison Thomas, “How to get better at VALORANT”, in Dot Esports, archived from the original on 2023-03-15:

This was yet another surprising momentum swing, with Nepomniachtchi seemingly having addressed his tendency to tilt after a loss, and with Ding crashing back down to Earth after having squared the ledger in the previous game. Is this a new Nepomniachtchi, capable of digging deep and avenging losses?

2023 April 19, Ben Tippett, “Haymakers Are Flying At The World Chess Championship”, in Defector, archived from the original on 2023-06-05:

(originally poker, video games, chess, slang) To enter a state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses.


tilt

en-noun

tilt (countable and uncountable, plural tilts)

to go on tilt

In his landmark book, The Mental Game of Poker, sports psychologist Jared Tendler defines "tilt" as "anger + bad play". In short, you lose your mental equilibrium and start playing below your best, often making big mistakes. Tilt is caused by many different factors and Tendler defines seven types of tilt.

2014 September 10, Amit Varma, “Magnus Carlsen's weakness”, in The Economic Times, Mumbai: Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2014-09-19:

In his follow-up video below, ScrapComputer goes into a long list of suggestions for stopping and avoiding tilt while you play League of Legends.

2016 February 26, Philip Kollar, “What is 'tilt' in League of Legends, and how can you avoid it?”, in Polygon, archived from the original on 2023-04-01:

Doing the same thing and expecting a different result can drive you insane, especially League of Legends. As you keep losing, you become tilted and get frustrated. No matter how mechanically gifted you are, it can't help ameliorate tilt.

2019 October 15, Hawken Miller, “How to quickly climb the League of Legends ranked ladder”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-17:

As long as you know that being consistent and sticking to a strategy in the long run, will win you money, you can avoid tilt and negative emotions.

2022 March 16, “Online poker: from beginner to pro”, in Times of Malta, archived from the original on 2022-04-21:

(uncountable, poker, video games, chess, slang) A state of frustration and worsened performance resulting from a series of losses.


en passant

/ˌɒ̃ pæˈsɒ̃/

An unadapted borrowing from French en passant.

ubor

(chess) Of a capture, performed by a pawn on an enemy pawn that has just passed over its attack zone.


en passant

/ˌɒ̃ pæˈsɒ̃/

[I]f the opponent chooses to make this capture, he must do it immediately on his next move – if he makes any other move on his next move, he forever loses the chance to capture that pawn en passant, though he still retains the right to capture another pawn en passant should a similar situation arise elsewhere.

2007, Mark A. Borders, “The Rules”, in The Self-Improvement of Chess: Why the Game's Basics Apply to Daily Living, [Raleigh, N.C.]: Lulu, →ISBN, page 12:

(chess) Of a capture of an enemy pawn, by moving one's pawn to the square that the enemy pawn has just passed over.


en passant

/ˌɒ̃ pæˈsɒ̃/

Spectators are privy to awe inspiring castles, baffling forks, and breathtaking en passants.

1998 December 11, Glenn Kaplan, “Chess: not just for losers, but also Trekkies”, in The Oberlin Review, volume 127, number 12, Oberlin, Oh.: The Union Library Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-01-22:

En passant is the rarest of moves. It is a French phrase that means "in passing." This occurs when one player moves a pawn two spaces forward, on its first move, to try to avoid a capture by an opponent pawn. When this happens, the opponent may move his pawn diagonally to the square that the first player passed over (i.e., as if he only moved one space forward). The pawn from the first player is then considered captured and removed from the board.

Before he returns to performing some castles and en passants, [Kendall] Williams has to determine his endgame in the tourney.

2012 March 17, Ben Watanabe, “New Mexico Point Guard Kendall Williams Puts Chess Match on Hold During Tournament”, in New England Sports Network, archived from the original on 2016-03-05:

Grande Prairie's Sandman Hotel will be the scene of some castling, en passants and checkmate action this weekend when the 29th Trumpeter Classic Chess Tournament gets underway.

2012 May 31, Greg Amos, “Trumpeter Classic chess tournament begins today”, in Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune, Grande Prairie, Alta.: Sun Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

(chess) A move in which a pawn captures an opposing pawn on the same rank immediately after the latter has moved forward two squares on its first move in the game, as if it had moved forward only one square.


floater

From float + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

kelluja

person who physically floats in a gas or liquid

paikanvaihtaja

person without a fixed or lasting affiliation, position, or role

kelluva esine

thing which physically floats in a gas or liquid

leijuri

(figurative) A thing which moves from place to place, as if floating.

(cricket) A spinning delivery of the ball that travels in a high arched path.


slugfest

Originally US, from slug (“to hit very hard”) + -fest.

The game turned into a 15-9 slugfest.

In a World Series that has come to be defined by the unpredictable and unexpected, it was only fitting that one night, after a lights-out pitchers’ duel between the heretofore unremarkable Alex Wood and Charlie Morton, a slugfest would unfold that sent the Cy Young Award winners Clayton Kershaw and Dallas Keuchel to early exits.

2017 October 30, Billy Witz, “Astros Down the Dodgers in a Dramatic and Dizzying Slugfest”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

(baseball, slang) A baseball game in which many runs are scored, especially by home runs.


stool pigeon

From the act of tying or even nailing a pigeon to a stool to act as a decoy by hunters. Alternatively, from an alteration of stale (“decoy”) + pigeon.

(slang, obsolete, gambling) A decoy used in a crooked gambling game.


shard

From Middle English shard, scherd, scheard, schord, from Old English sċeard (“a broken piece; shard”), from Proto-West Germanic *skard, from Proto-Germanic *skardą (“notch; nick”), from *skardaz (“damaged; nicked; scarred”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Akin to Scots schaird (“shard”), French écharde (“splinter”), Dutch schaarde (“tear; notch; fragment”), German Scharte (“notch”), Old Norse skarð (“notch, hack”) ( > Danish skår).
The database sense is perhaps derived from the online gaming sense or from SHARD (System for Highly Available Replicated Data), name of a 1980s database product.

cog

1997, Ultima Online. The term "shard" is related to the backstory of the game, in which the Gem of Immortality is shattered by the Stranger, the protagonist of Ultima I.
"The planet was still bound to the jewel's magic, even as it lay shattered upon the floor of Mondain's castle. For, within each shattered remnant of the jewel, dwelled a perfect likeness of Sosaria. Thus is the world in which you are born, live, and die. Brittania, that was once Sosaria, now exists as a thousand worlds, each with its own peoples, history and destiny. This Brittania is but one of many in the multiverse that is... ...ULTIMA ONLINE." - Intro cinematic to the game, written by Michael Morlan https://web.archive.org/web/20080706122926/http://michael-morlan.net/pages/production/prod_uo.htm

(online gaming) An instance of an MMORPG that is one of several independent and structurally identical virtual worlds, none of which has so many players as to exhaust a system's resources.


shard

en-verb

shard (third-person singular simple present shards, present participle sharding, simple past and past participle sharded)

shards (present singular third-person)
sharding (participle present)
sharded (participle past)
sharded (past)
sherd (alternative)

(online gaming, transitive) To divide (an MMORPG) into several shards, or to establish a shard of one.


homer

The first baseman hit a homer to lead off the ninth.

The Mets got that four-run cushion in the seventh when George Foster stepped in as a pinch-hitter and hit a two-run homer for the 5-1 final.

1983 June 27, Kevin Dupont, “METS GAIN SPLIT; STAUB TIES MARK”, in The New York Times:


homer

homer (third-person singular simple present homers, present participle homering, simple past and past participle homered)

homers (present singular third-person)
homering (participle present)
homered (participle past)
homered (past)

The Sultan of Swat homered 714 times.

(US, baseball) To hit a homer; to hit a home run.


cornerback

The cornerback tipped the ball away from the receiver.

(American football, Gaelic football, hurling) Any of the defensive players who are in position on each side farthest laterally from the ball and whose principal responsibility is to defend against passes.


penalty box

At times, Swindon's penalty box resembled a pinball machine.

2000 March 12, Stuart Barnes, “Swindon stunner for Curbishley”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:


Jenga

Borrowed from Swahili -jenga (“to construct, to build”).

bor+

(games) A game where players take turns removing wooden blocks from a stack formed brickwise, the loser being the player whose actions cause the tower to collapse.


procession

From Middle English processioun, borrowed from Old French pourciession, from Latin prōcessiō (“a marching forward, an advance, in Late Latin a religious procession”), from prōcēdere, past participle prōcessus (“to move forward, advance, proceed”); see proceed.

der

Before he closed and opened his eyes, the bails on the wicket behind Johnny Masih were shattered. That was the beginning of a procession. The second ball clean bowled the batsman. The third ball was a catch for the wicketkeeper.

2012, K. L. Mohana Varma, Cricket-Indo: The Story of an Indo-Pak One-Day Cricket Turf War, page 205:

Scotland moved nicely to 45 without loss before I took the first wicket and then it became a procession.

2015, Steve Dolman, Edwin Smith: A Life in Derbyshire Cricket, page 36:

(cricket) The rapid dismissal of a series of batsmen.


outfield

He hit a long fly ball to the outfield in the gap to left.

(baseball, softball) The region of the field between the infield and the outer fence.

(cricket) The region of the field roughly outside of the infield or the wicket-keeper, slips, gully, point, cover, mid off, mid on, midwicket and square leg.


outfield

en-verb

outfield (third-person singular simple present outfields, present participle outfielding, simple past and past participle outfielded)

outfields (present singular third-person)
outfielding (participle present)
outfielded (participle past)
outfielded (past)

A special dispatch sent to The Cincinnati Enquirer on the game stated that the Buckeyes outfielded and outplayed the Grays at every point, and that had the Bucks run for first base instead of watching the ball after they hit it, they would have increased the score.

2005, William A. Cook, The Louisville Grays Scandal of 1877: The Taint of Gambling at the Dawn of the National League, McFarland, →ISBN, page 118:

(baseball, cricket) To perform better in defense (fielding).


outfielder

outfielders (plural)
OF (alternative abbreviation)
OFer (alternative abbreviation)

The outfielder tracked down the long fly.

. I like to think that if I wasn't pitcher I could be an outfielder or a first baseman or something and play major league baseball anyway.

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

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

2008 November 6, “Breaking down the draft, Part 1”, in The Hardball Times:

(cricket, baseball) A player that plays in the outfield, which is the outer portion of the field.


infielder

The infielder run in to field the bunt.

(cricket, baseball) A player who plays in the infield, which is the inner portion of the field.


home run

home runs (plural)
homerun (alternative)

Spanish: jonrón

Japanese: ホームラン (hōmuran)

Korean: 홈런 (homneon)

Russian: хоум-ра́н (xoum-rán)

The first baseman hit a home run to lead off the ninth.

(baseball) A four-base hit, allowing the batter to circle the bases and reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team.


fastball

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

The pitcher had a blazing fastball.

(specifically) A four-seam fastball, which is a backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped in the direction to cause four of the seams of the ball to cross the flight path and released with roughly equal pressure by the index and middle fingers


fastball

fastball (third-person singular simple present fastballs, present participle fastballing, simple past and past participle fastballed)

fastballs (present singular third-person)
fastballing (participle present)
fastballed (participle past)
fastballed (past)

Kevin pushed away from the desk and fastballed it into the other man’s chest.

2004, Richard Marinick, chapter 25, in Boyos: A Novel, Boston, Mass.: Kate’s Mystery Books, →ISBN, page 112:

Wyatt spurred his horse to the middle of the stones, reached into the corpse’s chest, yanked out the heart, and fastballed it at a vine-covered tree stump.

2007 December 6, Jennifer Rardin, chapter 5, in Another One Bites the Dust (Jaz Parks; 2), New York, N.Y.: Orbit, →ISBN, page 44:

He targeted a man standing a bit taller than the others and fastballed the lock in his direction. The lock somehow managed to miss everyone below and clattered against the pavement.

2014, Kenneth Calhoun, chapter 15, in Black Moon: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Hogarth, →ISBN, page 240:

(transitive) To throw (something) at a high speed.


croquet

en-noun

croquet (countable and uncountable, plural croquets)

desc

→ Portuguese: cróquete, croquet (proscribed)

Borrowed from Norman croquet (“hook”), from Old Northern French croquet. Doublet of crochet, crocket, and crotchet.

doublet

(uncountable, games) A game played on a lawn, in which players use mallets to drive balls through hoops (wickets).

(countable, games) A shot in this game in which the striker's ball and another ball are moved by hitting the striker's ball when they have been placed in contact following a roquet.


croquet

en-verb

croquet (third-person singular simple present croquets, present participle croqueting, simple past and past participle croqueted)

croquets (present singular third-person)
croqueting (participle present)
croqueted (participle past)
croqueted (past)

(transitive, games) To play a shot in the game of croquet in which the striker's ball and another ball are moved by hitting the striker's ball when they have been placed in contact following a roquet.

krokata

to drive one's opponent's ball by own ball


slider

From slide + -er.
The meaning "small hamburger" was originally used to describe onion-steamed small burgers at White Castle restaurants, formerly spelt "Slyder".
Regarding the senses about control devices or widgets: physical sliders (potentiometers serving as rheostats) predate virtual ones (elements in graphical user interfaces), and the virtual ones are so named because their concept is the abstraction of the physical ones; if more explanation on that topic is needed, it is available in the Wikipedia articles on skeuomorphs, icons, and the desktop metaphor.

The closer had a wicked slider that was almost unhittable.

(baseball) A pitch thrown with added pressure by middle and ring fingers yielding a combination of backspin and sidespin, resulting in a motion to the left when thrown by a right handed pitcher.

スライダー

(baseball) a pitch thrown with added pressure by middle and ring fingers yielding a combination of backspin and sidespin

(cricket) A similar delivery in which the wrist and ring finger work to impart backspin to the ball.

(curling) A piece of Teflon or similar material attached to a curling shoe that allows the player to slide along the ice.

scivolante

(curling) a piece of teflon or similar material attached to a curling shoe


curveball

He bit on a curveball in the dirt.

Cam Smith bounced to shortstop on a 100 mph fastball, and Jacob Melton also grounded out on an 86.9 mph curveball.

2025 June 11, “White Sox pitching prospect Grant Taylor makes jump from Double-A to perfect major league debut”, in The Associated Press:

Caglianone ripped Miles Mikolas’ curveball into the right-field corner for an RBI double that scored Salvador Perez in the fourth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Cardinals.

2025 June 6, Joe Harris, “Royals rookie Jac Caglianone gets first career hit and RBI”, in The Associated Press:

(baseball) A forespin pitch thrown by rotating the index and middle fingers down and resulting in motion down "curve"


curveball

curveball (third-person singular simple present curveballs, present participle curveballing, simple past and past participle curveballed)

curveballs (present singular third-person)
curveballing (participle present)
curveballed (participle past)
curveballed (past)

Even though the haughty physics professors at the elite school ridiculed his declaration that he could make a baseball curve, Cummings just laughed it off and said, “I curveballed them to death,” according to Frederick Ivor-Campbell.

2006, William F. McNeil, The Evolution of Pitching in Major League Baseball, McFarland, →ISBN, page 21:

The news curveballed him. He'd been hamstrung and schizzed all the preceding weeks. He brooded in his den.

2009, James Ellroy, Blood's a Rover, Random House, →ISBN, page 566:


cut fastball

His cut fastball tends to break bats.

(baseball) A pitch thrown with an offset grip and a moderate amount of added pressure by middle finger yielding a combination of backspin and some sidespin, resulting in motion to the left when thrown by a right handed pitcher with velocity only slightly diminished from that of a fastball


bat-pad

en-noun

bat-pad (countable and uncountable, plural bat-pads)

(cricket, countable) One of a pair of soft padded coverings that protect the legs of the person batting; a pad or batting pad.

(cricket, informal, uncountable) A fielding position very close to the batsman, square on the leg side, designed to catch the ball from a misplaced defensive shot.

(cricket, informal, countable) A fielder in this position.


left arm orthodox

Two days before Australia’s first Test match in Pakistan since 1998, the centre-wicket practice at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium that had been teeming with players saw their numbers dissipate through that spring afternoon. For a time [Steve] Smith alternated batting with Usman Khawaja, facing Ashton Agar’s left-arm orthodox.

2022 March 3, Geoff Lemon, “Australia plunge into unknown as cricket’s resurrection in Pakistan continues”, in The Guardian:

(cricket) A style of bowling used by a left-handed bowler in which finger spin is used to move the ball from leg to off (for a right-handed batsman).


left arm unorthodox

(cricket) A style of bowling used by a left-handed bowler in which wrist spin is used to move the ball from off to leg (for a right-handed batsman).


leg break

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


leg cutter

leg cutters (plural)
leg-cutter (alternative)
legcutter (alternative)

(cricket) a ball bowled by a fast bowler who uses finger spin to move the ball from leg to off (for a right-handed batsman)


off cutter

off cutters (plural)
off-cutter (alternative)
offcutter (alternative)

(cricket) a ball bowled by a fast bowler who uses finger spin to move the ball from off to leg (for a right-handed batsman)


leg glance

(cricket) A shot played by a batsman with a vertical bat, deflecting the ball behind the square leg area of the field.


leg glance

en-verb

leg glance (third-person singular simple present leg glances, present participle leg glancing, simple past and past participle leg glanced)

leg glances (present singular third-person)
leg glancing (participle present)
leg glanced (participle past)
leg glanced (past)

(cricket) To play, or hit the ball with, a leg glance.


leg side

en-noun

leg side (countable and uncountable, plural leg sides)

(cricket) The side of the pitch on the same side as the batsman's legs as he takes his stance at the wicket; the left side for a right-handed batsman.


on side

on side (countable and uncountable, plural on sides)


off side

off side (countable and uncountable, plural off sides)

(cricket) The side of the pitch away from the batsman's legs as he takes his stance at the wicket; the right side for a right-handed batsman.


leg slip

(cricket) a fielding position on the leg side of the wicket-keeper, designed to catch a ball after it hits the bat and deflects by a small amount


leg spin

(cricket) A style of bowling in which a (right-handed) bowler spins the ball such that, after bouncing, it moves from leg to off (for a right-handed batsman).


off spin

(cricket) A style of bowling in which a (right-handed) bowler spins the ball such that, after pitching, it moves from off to leg (for a right-handed batsman).


leg spinner

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

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


skittles

(uncountable, chiefly chess) An informal form of chess played without a clock.


skittle

en-verb

skittle (third-person singular simple present skittles, present participle skittling, simple past and past participle skittled)

skittles (present singular third-person)
skittling (participle present)
skittled (participle past)
skittled (past)

Origin unknown. Perhaps of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse skutill (“bolt, harpoon”), related to skjóta (“to shoot”), but the OED dismisses this connection as conjecture. The Old Norse word is related to Swedish and Danish skyttel (“shuttle, child's toy”). Compare also Old English sċytel (“a dart, bolt”). More at shuttle.

unk

unknown

(transitive, cricket) (sometimes with out) To rapidly bowl out a succession of batsmen.

(transitive, figuratively) To defeat easily.


two-seam fastball

en-noun

two-seam fastball (plural two-seam fastballs)

His two-seamer has a heavy sink and keeps the infielders busy.

(baseball) A pitch thrown with a grip in the "horseshoe" orientation of the ball, with the rotation at a slight angle resulting in less Magnus effect as compared to a four-seam fastball since only two of the ball's seams cross the flight path; the pitch is delivered with a similar velocity as a four-seam fastball, but has a degree of sink.


four-seam fastball

four-seam fastball (plural four-seam fastballs)

(baseball) A backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped in the direction to cause four of the seams of the ball to cross the flight path and released with roughly equal pressure by the index and middle fingers


line drive

The line drive went straight into the shortstop's glove.

(baseball, softball) A batted ball hit hard enough and low enough that it appears to travel in a relatively straight line.


liner

From line (noun) + -er (relational suffix) or -er (measurement suffix) (sense 5).

The liner glanced off the pitcher's foot.


knuckleball

Even the pitcher doesn't know where his knuckleball is going.

Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield is best known for his use of the knuckleball.

(baseball) A pitch thrown with the ball gripped on the fingertips and released with no rotation, which travels over an unpredictable path to the plate due to micro-turbulence in the air.

llançament de nus

(cricket) A type of delivery where a fast bowler holds the ball on the knuckles of the index and middle fingers.


knuckleball

en-verb

knuckleball (third-person singular simple present knuckleballs, present participle knuckleballing, simple past and past participle knuckleballed)

knuckleballs (present singular third-person)
knuckleballing (participle present)
knuckleballed (participle past)
knuckleballed (past)

Varitek did not start so Kevin Cash could catch the knuckleballing starter Tim Wakefield.

2008 April 16, The Associated Press, “Tigers Rally Again to Defeat the Twins”, in New York Times:

(intransitive, baseball) To pitch knuckleballs.


knuckler

Fowler flung a stiff-wrist knuckler that hung in the air without spin before it took a sudden dip, but Roy scooped it up with the stick and lifted it twenty rows up into the center field stands.

1952, Bernard Malamud, chapter 2, in The Natural:


sinker

His sinkers drew one ground ball after another.

split-finger fastball
split-finger fastball

(baseball) Any of several high speed pitches that have a downward motion near the plate; a two-seam fastball, a split-finger fastball, or a forkball.


split-finger fastball

en-noun

split-finger fastball (plural split-finger fastballs)

split-finger fastballs (plural)
split-finger (alternative)
splitter (alternative)
split-fingered fastball (alternative)

His strikeout pitch was his split-finger fastball.

(baseball) A moderate rotation speed backspin pitch thrown with a ball gripped between the index finger and middle finger; it has good velocity, may have a precessing spin, and sinks as it approaches the plate.


change-up

change-ups (plural)
changeup (alternative)

The pitcher had a devastating change-up.

(baseball) A pitch thrown with the arm motion of a fastball, but which travels at a much slower velocity because it is released without the fingers adding power to the delivery.


strikeout

strikeout (countable and uncountable, plural strikeouts)

strikeouts (plural)
strike-out (alternative)

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

The pitcher recorded seven strikeouts in the game.

(countable, baseball) An instance or the act of striking out.

三振

baseball: an instance or the act of striking out


strike out

en-verb

strike out (third-person singular simple present strikes out, present participle striking out, simple past struck out, past participle struck out or (somewhat archaic) stricken out)

strikes out (present singular third-person)
striking out (participle present)
struck out (past)
struck out (participle past)
stricken out (archaic participle past)

Jones struck out on a nasty slider.

The pitcher struck out Jones with a nasty slider.

(ergative, baseball, softball) Of a batter, to be retired after three strikes (missed swings, as opposed to any other way of becoming "out"); of a pitcher, to cause this to happen to the batter.

palaa

baseball: to be retired after three missed swings

polttaa

baseball: to cause a batter to be retired after three missed swings


catcher

Finding Dempsey in my mind's eye in January was not quite startling, ...but some other catchers turned up in my hot-stove reveries as well. Bob Boone, for instance.

1989 February 13, Roger Angell, Season Ticket: A Baseball Companion, Ballantine Books, page 22:

A “pitchometer” was installed on the scoreboard to time the pitchers. According the baseball rules a pitcher had to throw a pitch within 20 seconds after he received the ball from the catcher when there was nobody on base.

2003, John E. Peterson, The Kansas City Athletics: A Baseball History: 1954–1967, Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 210:

At the plate the catcher is responsible for catching pitches, keeping mispitched balls in front of the plate, calling pitches that are normally done through hand signals, picking off runners, and they are considered the leaders of the field.

2021, University of the District of Columbia, “The plate umpire may suspend play because of darkness”, in Course Hero:

(baseball) The player who squats behind home plate and receives the pitches from the pitcher.


wind up

wind up (third-person singular simple present winds up, present participle winding up, simple past and past participle wound up)

winds up (present singular third-person)
winding up (participle present)
wound up (participle past)
wound up (past)

snitches get stitches and wind up in ditches

Paige seemed to be winding up for a fastball but then switched it up.

(baseball, intransitive) To make the preparatory movements for a certain kind of pitch.


DL

en-noun

DL (countable and uncountable, plural DLs)

DLs (plural)
D.L. (alternative)
D. L. (alternative)
dl (alternative)
d/l (alternative)
D/L (alternative)


DL

en-verb

DL (third-person singular simple present DLs, present participle DLing, simple past and past participle DLed or DL'd)

DLs (present singular third-person)
DLing (participle present)
DLed (participle past)
DLed (past)
DL'd (participle past)
DL'd (past)
D.L. (alternative)
D. L. (alternative)
dl (alternative)
d/l (alternative)
D/L (alternative)

After 7 years of being in a rot league, I have learned that "day to day" in baseballese means "at least a week, maybe more, and maybe after the week, then we may DL him."

1996 June 3, Joe in MA [username], “Re: Jim Edmonds' return date?”, in rec.sport.baseball.fantasy (Usenet):

(baseball, transitive, informal) To place on the disabled list.


marksman

In what was a characteristic Bent display, he made only an occasional impact - but proved once again in front of England coach Fabio Capello that he is one of the most reliable marksmen in the domestic game.

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


light roller

The batting side may decide which of the two rollers to use - the heavy or the light roller.

2001, M.A. Pervez, A Dictionary of Cricket, page 67:

(cricket) The lighter of the rollers used for flattening the pitch between innings.


line and length

(cricket) The direction (line) and point at which a delivery hits the pitch (length) of a delivery considered as a whole, especially that of a group of a particular bowler's deliveries.


lofted drive

(cricket) A drive that sends the ball flying through the air, instead of along the ground, thus increasing the possibility of a catch.


long hop

It was a long hop, which bounced high and was flat-batted straight to cover to leave the score at 246 for seven.

2010 July 23, “Pakistan strike early but Australia respond as Headingley loses power”, in The Guardian:

(cricket) a relatively slow ball that bounces short of the batsman and is thus relatively easy to hit


long off

en-noun

long off (countable and uncountable, plural long offs)

(cricket) a fielding position on the off side, about 70° forward of square, designed to prevent runs from drives or to catch lofted drives


long on

long on (countable and uncountable, plural long ons)

(cricket) a fielding position on the leg side, about 70° forward of square, designed to prevent runs from drives or to catch lofted drives


testimonial

From French testimonial, from Late Latin testimonialis (“of or pertaining to testimony”), from Latin testimonium (“testimony”). See testimony.

der

(soccer) A match played in tribute to a particular player (who sometimes receives a proportion of the gate money).

проща́лен мач

football: match played in tribute to a player


bullpen

After that hit, there is activity in the bullpen.

Now the bullpens are hidden away underneath the bleachers, out of sight and sound.

2017 July 5, Billy Witz, “Camaraderie of Wrigley Field Bullpens Is Tangled Amid the Ivy”, in The New York Times:

Even though the Phillies bullpen has been a strength, it may be shopping for a veteran capable of handling the ninth inning.

2024 May 7, Greg Jewett, “Bullpen report: Porter Hodge enters Cubs’ circle of trust, Mason Miller cools down and more”, in The New York Times:

(baseball) An enclosed area for pitchers to warm up in during a game.

ブルペン

baseball: enclosed area for pitchers to warm up in during a game

Their bullpen is worn out after yesterday's doubleheader where both games went 12 innings.

(baseball) The relief pitchers of a team collectively.

vaihtosyöttäjät

baseball: relief pitchers of a team collectively


double play

double plays (plural)
double-play (alternative)

It was a 6-4-3 double play.

(baseball, softball) A defensive play in which two outs are recorded.


triple play

There has only been one unassisted triple play recorded in the World Series.

(baseball) A defensive play in which three outs are recorded.

triple eliminació

(baseball) a play where three outs are recorded


twin killing

By grounding to the shortstop, the twin killing ended the inning.


wheelhouse

wheelhouses (plural)
wheel house (alternative)
wheel-house (alternative)

From wheel + house. Sense 3 (“(baseball) a pitch location which is favourable to the hitter”) references the fact that a vessel is controlled from its wheelhouse (sense 1.2), and sense 4 (“a person’s area of authority or expertise”) is a figurative use of sense 3.

The pitch was right in his wheelhouse, and he hit a grand slam.

The ball was up in my wheelhouse, and I got round on it, got the meat of that Ritchie Ashburn bottle bat solidly on the ball. I'll never in my life hit a ball any better.

1997, Bryan L. Jones, “Baseball”, in Mark Twain Made Me Do It & Other Plains Adventures, Lincoln, Neb., London: University of Nebraska Press, →ISBN, page 74:

The next pitch was close to my wheelhouse so I just let 'er rip. I got ahold of it and shot it to left field on the line.

2007, Alan Schwarz, “Ken Griffey Jr.: On Going Deep with His Father”, in Once upon a Game: Baseball’s Greatest Memories, Boston, Mass., New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company, →ISBN, page 60, column 1:

Here is the ball, in my wheelhouse. I slide my hips out of the way, put myself in place to hit the coldie of a lifetime.

2009, Andre Agassi, Open: An Autobiography (A Borzoi Book), New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →ISBN, page 215:

(Canada, US, baseball, by extension from sense 1.2) A pitch location which is favourable to the hitter.


hot corner

en-noun

hot corner (countable and uncountable, plural hot corners)

Because many hard-hit balls are hit there

Jones plays the hot corner.

Jones plays hot corner.

(baseball, countable, uncountable, usually with "the") Third base.


maiden over

(cricket) An over in which no runs are scored.


maker's name

from the placement of the manufacturer's logo

(cricket) the front blade of a cricket bat


cricket bat

(cricket) a bat, traditionally made from willow, used to play cricket


Mankad

Named after the Indian cricketer Vinoo Mankad.

(cricket) A run out of the non-striker by the bowler before bowling the ball if the non-striker leaves their crease too early; thought by some to be unsporting behaviour, but is within the rules of the game.


Mankad

en-verb

Mankad (third-person singular simple present Mankads, present participle Mankading, simple past and past participle Mankaded)

Mankads (present singular third-person)
Mankading (participle present)
Mankaded (participle past)
Mankaded (past)

(cricket) To run a player out by this means.


match referee

(cricket) an administrative official who decides on any penalties for bad conduct etc


medium pace

(cricket) describing a style of bowling, intermediate in speed between spin and pace, in which the bowler uses swing or seam to take wickets


mid off

en-noun

mid off (countable and uncountable, plural mid offs)

(cricket) a fielding position, about 70° forward of square on the off side, between cover and the bowler's wicket


mid on

mid on (countable and uncountable, plural mid ons)

(cricket) a fielding position, about 70° forward of square on the leg side, between midwicket and the bowler's wicket; a fielder at this position


middle stump

(cricket) the stump in the middle of the batsman's wicket


middle order

(cricket) the batsmen who bat in positions 5 to 7; often the poorer batsmen, the wicket-keeper and the bowlers who can bat best


midwicket

midwicket (countable and uncountable, plural midwickets)

(cricket) A fielding position, about 40° forward of square on the leg side, between square leg and mid on.


minefield

minefields (plural)
mine field (alternative)

From mine + field. Compare Saterland Frisian Mienenfäield (“minefield”), West Frisian mynfjild (“minefield”), Dutch mijnenveld (“minefield”), German Low German Minenfeld (“minefield”), German Minenfeld (“minefield”), Danish minefelt (“minefield”), Swedish minfält (“minefield”).

cog

(cricket) A pitch that has dried out and crumbled and on which the ball is bouncing and spinning unpredictably.


double switch

They did a double switch after the eighth so that Jones could bat second in the ninth.

(baseball) A replacement of two players simultaneously, typically so that a fielder can hit in the pitcher's spot in the batting order.


double up

en-verb

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

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

Jones snared the liner and then stepped on the bag to double up the runner.

(baseball, transitive) To get the second out in a double play, typically referring to getting an out by beating a runner back to a base (often by throwing) after a fly ball has been caught


blown save

Our bullpen has too many blown saves.

(baseball) A failure to convert a save opportunity to a save.


webbing

en-noun

webbing (countable and uncountable, plural webbings)

He caught the ball in the webbing.

(baseball) The part of a baseball mitt between the forefinger and thumb; the web.


empty base

They have to pitch to the slugger because there are no empty bases.

(baseball) A base without a runner on it.


intentional walk

intentional walk (plural intentional walks)

Jones was given an intentional walk in order to face Smith.

(baseball) The intentional pitching of four balls (bad pitches), or of a fourth ball, in order to give the batter a walk (for example, so as to avoid the risk of a home run).


intentional walk

en-verb

intentional walk (third-person singular simple present intentional walks, present participle intentional walking, simple past and past participle intentional walked)

intentional walks (present singular third-person)
intentional walking (participle present)
intentional walked (participle past)
intentional walked (past)

(baseball, nonstandard) To intentionally walk; to give a batter an intentional walk.


intentional pass

en-noun

intentional pass (plural intentional passes)

Jones was issued an intentional pass in order to face Smith.


free pass

Smith was issued a free pass after Jones' double.


full count

Since the maximum number of balls before a walk is three, and the maximum number of strikes before a strikeout is two, neither number can increase without ending the at-bat.

Full count, two outs, bottom of the ninth, the bags are jammed, 2-2 tie…

(baseball) An at-bat with a count of three balls and two strikes.


first base

first base (countable and uncountable, plural first bases)

The runner took his lead off first base.

(singular only, baseball) The base after home plate in a counter-clockwise path around a baseball infield.

(blackjack) The betting spot located immediately to the left of the dealer, which is first to receive cards and first to act.


second base

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

The runner slid into second base with a double.

(baseball) The base opposite home plate in a baseball infield.


third base

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The runner reached third base with a stand-up triple.

(baseball) The base after second base in a counter-clockwise path around a baseball infield.

(blackjack) The betting spot located immediately to the right of the dealer, which is last to act.


triomino

triomino (plural triominoes or triominos)

/tɹaɪˈɒmɪnəʊ/

/tɹaɪˈɑmɪˌnoʊ/

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Note: as the game plays, polyiamonds are created.

(games) A triangular tile, used in triominoes, a variant of the game of dominoes.


fair ball

It's a... fair ball; it rolls into the corner; Jones is stretching for two; the throw — safe!

(baseball, softball) A ball which has been hit between the first base and third base lines


foul ball

It's a foul ball, up four rows of seats.

(baseball) A batted ball that lands in foul territory.


big fly

The first baseman hit a big fly to left.


four-seamer

The pitcher had a blazing four-seamer.


heavy sink

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His two-seamer has some heavy sink.

(baseball) The motion of a sharply diving sinker pitch.


nelson

Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Nelson (cricket)
Nelson hold

Cricket sense: origin disputed; supposedly from the belief that Lord Nelson had one eye, one arm and one leg.
Wrestling sense: Back-formation from full nelson.

(cricket) A score of 111, sometimes considered to be unlucky.


new ball

(cricket) A cricket ball never previously used in a match; a replacement new cricket ball taken by the captain of the bowling side at certain specified times during an innings.


nightwatchman

nightwatchmen (plural)
night watchman (alternative)

(cricket) A batsman who is sent in to bat higher than his usual position near the end of a day's play (when light is poor), in order to protect better batsmen.


no ball

(cricket) A ball delivered by a bowler in violation of any of the various laws; the extra run then credited to the batting side; the signal, with an arm outstretched, then made by the umpire.

tuku hē

a ball not delivered in accordance with regulations for the game.


no ball

en-verb

no ball (third-person singular simple present no balls, present participle no balling, simple past and past participle no balled)

no balls (present singular third-person)
no balling (participle present)
no balled (participle past)
no balled (past)

tukunga hē

a ball not delivered according to the rules of the game.

(cricket, of a bowler) To bowl a no ball.

(cricket, of an umpire) To call and signal a no ball.