fourth official

en-noun

fourth official (plural fourth officials)

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


centre circle

centre circles (plural)
center circle (alternative)

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

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

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

cercle central

the circle in the centre of the pitch in soccer


six-yard box

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

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

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


penalty area

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

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

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


penalty arc

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


out-swinger

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


in-swinger

(soccer) A ball that curves towards the goal.

(cricket) A delivery that curves towards the batsman.


onside

on side (alternative)
on-side (alternative)

With A-Q-10 opposite x-x-x, you have a 24% chance of three tricks, both missing honors being onside. You have a 52% chance of two tricks, with one honor onside and the other offside. FInally, you have a 24% chance of making only one trick, when both the king and the jack are offside.

2000, David Bird, Marc Smith, Planning the Play in Notrump, →ISBN, page 25:

(bridge) Favourably located, from the point of view of the player taking a finesse.


offside trap

offside trap (usually uncountable, plural offside traps)

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

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

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

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


man on

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


slide tackle

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

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

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


Cruyff turn

Cruyff turns (plural)
Cruijff turn (alternative)

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

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


diving header

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

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

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


drop-ball

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


backheel

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

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

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


backheel

en-verb

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

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

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

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


one-two

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

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

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

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

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

narážečka

soccer: quick one-touch play between two players


FCK

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

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

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

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

An FCK soccer scarf was draped over a chair.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. FC Kaiserslautern
w:1. FC Kaiserslautern

(soccer) Initialism of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.


send down

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

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

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

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


Mendoza line

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

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

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


pinch runner

pinch runners (plural)
pinch-runner (alternative)

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


quick pitch

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

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


Ruthian

en-adj

Ruthian (comparative more Ruthian, superlative most Ruthian)

more Ruthian (comparative)
most Ruthian (superlative)

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

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

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


halftime

en-noun

halftime (countable and uncountable, plural halftimes)

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


go up

en-verb

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

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

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time out

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

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

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


hot money

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The hot money is on Fishface to win the 3:30.

(gambling) The largest total of money staked on a race, etc.


pay-off

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


on the back foot

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

en el pie trasero

having the weight on the back foot in order to play a defensive stroke


coordinator

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

→ Japanese: コーディネーター (kōdinētā)

en:assistant coach or similar role in sports

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


short stop

(baseball) Alternative spelling of shortstop.


on deck

Jones is the on-deck batter.

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


on deck circle

Jones warms up in the on deck circle.

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


hit parade

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

(baseball) A series of many hits in a row that are scored by one team.


backside throw

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

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


hip speed

en-noun

hip speed (countable and uncountable, plural hip speeds)

Good hip speed leads to good bat speed.

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


bat speed

Good hip speed leads to good bat speed.

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


triomphe

From French triomphe (literally “triumph”).

(card games) A card game dating from the late 15th century.


golden sombrero

golden sombrero (plural golden sombreros)

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

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


platinum sombrero

platinum sombrero (plural platinum sombreros)

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

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


set point

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


double play depth

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

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


four fingers

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

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


keystone corner

keystone corner (plural keystone corners)

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

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


tools of ignorance

Jones straps on the tools of ignorance.


worm burner

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

Jones smashes a worm burner to mid on.

Jones smashes a worm burner between third and short.

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


wild card

wild cards (plural)
wildcard (alternative)
wild-card (alternative)

(card games) A card that can be assigned any value or used to substitute for any needed card.


bare hand

en-verb

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

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

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

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


Azzurri

(soccer) the Italy national football team


shootout

shootouts (plural)
shoot-out (alternative)


the sticks

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

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

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


en prise

(chess, of a piece) Undefended, able to be captured.


catenaccio

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

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


Chelsea

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

association football
association football

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


duster

desc

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

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

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

(baseball) A high pitch toward the batter.


Pilgrim

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


Calvinball

From Calvin + ball. From a fictional game without rules, played in the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.

And every time I would play serious tackle Nerf Calvinball out in the park somewhere, it played over and over in the back of my mind -- what would I do if I broke an arm?

1996 June 17, Wayne Lockwood, "Nobody without health insurance is a slacker or a loser", Knight-Ridder

At first my humans very much disliked it when I played croquet with them.... But eventually they decided to accept my participation, and renamed the game “Calvinball,” after the game of some comic book character

1998, Chris Glaser, Unleashed: The Wit and Wisdom of Calvin the Dog, Westminster John Knox Press, →ISBN, page 71:

2002 March–April, Bret Rappaport and Joni Green, “Calvinball Cannot Be Played on This Court: The Sanctity of Auction Procedures in Bankruptcy”, Journal of Bankruptcy Law and Practice, volume 11, pages 189–212

They are required to play the game of Nomic, in some form, or alternatively, the games Calvinball or Mao, which are basically the same.

2005, The Grate^([sic]) Book of Moo, Church of MOO, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page ccclvii:

A more unusual sport is calvinball, which involves spontaneous rules that are never the same twice.

2006, Lee Mothes, The New Island Relocation Guide: How to Live on the Island of Possibility, →ISBN, page 50:

Chick Lit, and pretty much all of publishing, plays a lot like Calvinball. There aren’t any rules.

2006, Cathy Yardley, Will Write for Shoes: How to Write a Chick Lit Novel, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 148:

“House rules parcheesi” is distinct from “Calvinball” in that the latter has no set rules, whereas the former seems to have very specific rules, which are never divulged in the strip, under any circumstances.

2006, D. C. Simpson, Prehistrionics: Ozy and Millie, 1997-2000, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 76:

If the limitations of life were like the rules in Calvinball, someone like Nozick might ask if there would be anything left for people to do.

2007, David H. Guston, John Parsi, Justin Tosi, “Anticipating the Ethical and Political Challenges of Human Nanotechnologies”, in Fritz Allhoff, editor, Nanoethics: The Ethical and Social Implications of Nanotechnology, →ISBN, page 196:

The Court’s conservative majority is playing constitutional Calvinball, in which it’s never too late to change the rules.

2021 December 14, Adam Serwer, “The Supreme Court Is Playing Constitutional Calvinball”, in The Atlantic:

(games) A deliberately absurd sport without fixed rules.


dropper

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

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


Blackwood

(bridge) A bidding convention in contract bridge, used to explore the partnership's possession of aces, kings and in some variants the queen of trumps, to judge more precisely whether slam is likely to be a good contract.


Sancho

(card games) The nine of trumps in the game of Sancho Pedro.


hoik

en-noun

hoik (countable and uncountable, plural hoiks)

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

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


hoik

en-verb

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

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


Soca Warriors

(soccer) The Trinidad and Tobago national football team.


footballer

/ˈfʊtbɔːləɹ/

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

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

(soccer, UK) One who plays association football.


screening

en-noun

screening (countable and uncountable, plural screenings)

→ German: Screening

→ Spanish: screening

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


nub

en-verb

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

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

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


snapper

snappers (plural)
schnapper (alternative)

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


plunk

en-verb

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

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

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The Braves retaliated by plunking Harper in the next inning.

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


cush

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


jump shot

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


shithead

en-noun

shithead (countable and uncountable, plural shitheads)

shitheads (plural)
shathead (alternative)
shitehead (alternative)
s**thead (alternative)
shith**d (alternative)

From shit + head. Dysphemistically modelled after dickhead.

(uncountable, vulgar, card games) A card game, the aim of which is to lose one's cards.


air out

en-verb

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

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

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


rover

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

inh

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

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

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

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


quadrille

French, in sense of “group of knights”, from Spanish cuadrilla, diminutive of cuadra (“square”) (compare also cuadra (“four”)), from Latin quadra.

It now first struck her that she was selected from among her sisters as worthy of being the mistress of Hunsford Parsonage, and of assisting to form a quadrille table at Rosings, in the absence of more eligible visitors.

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter 17, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

(card games) A Spanish trick-taking card game from the 1700s played with a 40-card deck.


stranded

(cricket) Narrowly missing scoring a century or similar milestone because one's team's innings ends.


rams

(card games) A French trick-taking card game related to nap and loo.


green top

en-noun

green top (countable and uncountable, plural green tops)

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


back pass

back passes (plural)
backpass (alternative)

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


goalpost

/ˈɡəʊlpəʊst/

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


solitaire

solitaire (countable and uncountable, plural solitaires)

Borrowed from French solitaire, ultimately from Latin sōlitārius. Doublet of solitary.

You like to sit high on a hill / Count the daisies in the field / It's your own way of playing solitaire / You won't answer no question / Or say where you've been / The last thing you think you need is a friend

1979, Ashford & Simpson, “Stay Free”, in Stay Free (album):

Mr. Greenwood said yesterday that he always finished his work in a timely fashion, and that he played solitaire only when there was nothing else left to do, usually a few times a week or during lunch breaks.

2006 February 10, Winnie Hu, “Solitaire Costs Man His City Job After Bloomberg Sees Computer”, in The New York Times:

I learned to play solitaire as a child. Its advantages over other games were obvious, even then. No need to persuade a friend to play or explain the boring rules, no hard feelings when someone won or lost, no lessons required, no costly equipment to badger my parents into buying. I could play whenever and wherever I wanted. All I needed was a deck of cards.

2013 February 23, Francine Prose, “Solitaire: Me vs. Me”, in The New York Times:

(card games, chiefly US) Any of various card games that can be played by one person.


goalbound

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

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

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


black spot

black spot (countable and uncountable, plural black spots)

black spots (plural)
blackspot (alternative)

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


box out

en-verb

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

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

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


circuit slugger

en-noun

circuit slugger (plural circuit sluggers)

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

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


interception

interception (countable and uncountable, plural interceptions)

Borrowed from Latin interceptiō; compare French interception.

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

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


town ball

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


rough up the bullpen

en-verb

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

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

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

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


tenace

(bridge) An interrupted sequence of high cards of the same suit, such as the king and jack or the ace and queen.


Gunners

(informal, soccer) Arsenal football club.


cheaply

en-adv

cheaply (comparative more cheaply, superlative most cheaply)

more cheaply (comparative)
most cheaply (superlative)

(cricket, by extension) For a low score.


game of chance

The state fair offers many family-friendly amusements, including tasty foods, games of chance, a petting zoo, and more.

Some religious sects frown upon any games of chance, even if no gambling is involved.

(games, probability) A game in which the outcome is at least partly determined by random variables (chance and luck) rather than strictly by strategy.


adoptable

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(online gaming) A unique creature for a user to adopt.


run-on

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


jink

en-verb

jink (third-person singular simple present jinks, present participle jinking, simple past and past participle jinked)

jinks (present singular third-person)
jinking (participle present)
jinked (participle past)
jinked (past)

Origin uncertain. The Oxford English Dictionary suggests onomatopoeia for motion. Attested since the 18th century. Compare unnasalised dialectal jick (“to avoid with a sudden jerk of the body, elude”).

onomatopoeic

onomatopoeia

(intransitive, card games) In the games of spoilfive and forty-five, to win the game by taking all five tricks; also, to attempt to win all five tricks, losing what has been already won if unsuccessful.


in hand

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


tailback

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


tap in

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


tap in

en-verb

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

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

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

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

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


tee off

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

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

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

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


Bharat Army

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

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

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

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

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

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

2014, Rob Steen, Floodlights and touchlines:

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


tuck in

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

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

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

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

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


stacks

With that 70-1 shot winning the second leg, this pick 5 is going to pay stacks.

(gambling, slang) A large amount of money, especially winnings.


dumb crambo

In early Victoria there were family evening parties to which the father, mother and all sizes of growing children went together and at which they played charades, dumb crambo, guessing games and forfeits.

1942, Emily Carr, “Visiting Matrons”, in The Book of Small, Toronto, Ont.: Oxford University Press, →OCLC:

(games) A guessing game, similar to charades, in which players act out, or silently pantomime, words that rhyme with a clue word. The objective is to guess a concealed word that rhymes with the clue.


uppishly

en-adv

uppishly (comparative more uppishly, superlative most uppishly)

more uppishly (comparative)
most uppishly (superlative)

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

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

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


WR

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


push off

en-verb

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

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

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


APG

(basketball) Abbreviation of assists per game.


kicky

en-adj

kicky (comparative kickier, superlative kickiest)

kickier (comparative)
kickiest (superlative)

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


juiced

juiced (comparative more juiced, superlative most juiced)

more juiced (comparative)
most juiced (superlative)

(baseball) Synonym for loaded; pertaining to a situation where there is a runner at each of the three bases.


cuajo

From Spanish cuajo, from Hokkien, possibly 看好 (khòaⁿ-hó) or 看護 /看护 (khàn-hō͘ / khòaⁿ-hō͘ / khan-hō͘) or 看虎 (khòaⁿ hó͘, literally “watching the tiger”). Compare Tagalog kuwaho, Kapampangan kuwaho, English khanhoo.

(Philippines, card games) a kind of card game, similar to Khanhoo


dora

Borrowed from Japanese ドラ (dora), a clipping of Japanese ドラゴン (doragon), from English dragon.

(mahjong) In Japanese mahjong, tiles that provide bonus score multiplier points (飜 (han)) in a winning hand, indicated by one or multiple face-up tiles in the dead wall.


quint

A musical or piquet term, or a quintuplet

From Middle French quint, from Latin quīntus. Doublet of quintus.

(card games) In piquet, a sequence of five playing cards of the same suit; equivalent to a straight flush in poker


uppercut

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


hacks

(gaming) Used to call attention to another player hacking


back in

en-verb

back in (third-person singular simple present backs in, present participle backing in, simple past and past participle backed in)

backs in (present singular third-person)
backing in (participle present)
backed in (participle past)
backed in (past)

1921, Henry Luttrell, Crockford’s: Or Life in the West, Sketch No. III
Whatever you throw is your chance. I called five for the main, which is the out chance, and threw seven to it, which is the in chance. If I throw five first, I lose, and if seven I win. You can back me in by betting the odds, or you can back me out, by taking the odds, the bank answers either way.

(gambling) To bet that a player or team will win, as opposed to bet that they will lose.


LGM

w:International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster

(chess) Initialism of Lady International Correspondence Chess Grandmaster.


LGM

(US, baseball) Initialism of let's go Mets.


inbound

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

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

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Smith inbounds the ball to Johnson.

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


intermezzo

en-noun

intermezzo (plural intermezzos or intermezzi)

intermezzos (plural)
intermezzi (plural)

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(chess) A tactical move which interrupts the execution of the current plan.


cardsharp

cardsharps (plural)
cardshark (alternative)
card sharp (alternative)
card-sharp (alternative)

From card + sharp (“cheater, dishonest person”).

refn

From the collection of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, USA.

compound

One of Tim’s great-grandparents was a cardsharp in the Wild West, and was shot dead during a game.

While thus running on, the knavish card-sharp was slowly, and with apparent fairness, cutting the pack, which was prepared by having every card but the honours of each suit cut at the ends, in so slight a degree, however, as not to shorten them enough to be detectible by an ordinary eye, though sufficiently to be felt by a fine and practised finger, which could thus ensure a court-card, while the red cards of the pack (or deck of cards, as they were then commonly called) were deprived of their proper size by a similar process of shaving off the sides, so as to make the turn-up either red or black at will of the player.

1850, Henry Downes Miles, chapter XI, in Claude du Val, a Romance, of the Days of Charles the Second, Edwin Dipple, […], →OCLC, page 191:

'Why Moses,' said Satan, 'nor Angels nor sinners / Can live without eating; let's go to our dinners; / Men who play at old sledge cannot both be the winners; / The card-sharps, you know, lose the dimes to beginners; […]'

1858, T[homas] L[ake] Harris, “Fourth Interview”, in Appendix to the Arcana of Christianity: The Song of Satan: A Series of Poems, […], New York, N.Y.: New Church Publishing Association, […], →OCLC, page l:

Whenever we used to want to take a rise out o' Bill after, we only had to ax him if he'd seen any more card sharps, and he'd get as mad as a hatter.

1865 November 18, Robert P. Whitworth, “Mary Summers: A Romance of the Australian Bush”, in The Australian Journal: A Weekly Record of Literature, Science, and the Arts, volume I, number 12, Melbourne, Vic., Sydney, N.S.W.: Clarson, Massina, and Co., printers and publishers, […], published 1866, →OCLC, chapter XVIII (The New Hut), page 178, column 1:

In hilly country sheep will sometimes get lost in small bands. [...] Should they prove unmanageable, refusing to travel, or running off from you, the adroit shepherd will practice against them a "string game" quite as effective as that the card sharp plays on the over-confident rustic. Catch the leader, or the whole party of rebels, and tie around one of the hind legs just above the hock joint, a piece of stout string— [...]

1875, A. A. Ritchie, “The Art of Sheep Raising for Wool, Mutton, and Money. […]”, in Transactions of the California State Agricultural Society during the Year 1874, Sacramento, Calif.: G. H. Springer, state printer, →OCLC, page 465:

The cleverest card[-]sharp we ever saw—outside of good society—was a Greek by country as well as by profession; but all the money he picked up in the by-ways of the sporting world went at the hazard-table, and the poor rogue often wanted a dinner.

1876 December 9, “A Run with Many Packs”, in Charles Dickens, editor, All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal. [...] With which is Incorporated Household Words, volume XVII, number 419 (New Series), London: Published at No. 26, Wellington Street; and by Messrs. Chapman & Hall, […], published 1877, →OCLC, page 307, column 2:

You'd been running with a gang of card-sharps when I picked you up, and the police were waiting their chance to gaol you.

[1923], Edgar Wallace, “Abe Bellamy and His Secretary”, in The Green Archer, London: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC, page 24:

When the businessmen quit, there had been two other men eager to take their chairs. The ranchers were somewhat leery about allowing strangers to join their game. They had been suckered in by a slick cardsharp once and had learned a lesson that still galled them whenever they were reminded of it.

1989, Jean Haught, Prisoner of Passion (A Zebra Romance), London: Zebra Books, →ISBN, page 34:

The cardsharp asked, ‘Now who wants to make a bet?’ The wise guy said, ‘I’ll make a bet. You stacked the cards. I’ll bet you twenty bucks you hold three aces.’ The cardsharp said, ‘You’re on, buddy. And you’re dead wrong.’

1990, Bob Longe, “Prediction”, in World’s Best Card Tricks, New York, N.Y.: Sterling Publishing, →ISBN, page 82:

(card games) A professional cheater at card games.

Caravaggio
Kimbell Art Museum
The Cardsharps


endgame

endgames (plural)
end game (alternative)
end-game (alternative)

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Rooks become much more important in the endgame.

The real end game consists of a position where the method can be analytically demonstrated by which the slightly superior force can win.

1884 April 12, The Academy, Horwitz, page 256:

(chess) The final stage of a game of chess, when there are few pieces left.

You can't really use squeeze plays until the endgame.

Bridge writing tends to concentrate on the end game.

1952, Iain Macleod, Bridge Is an Easy Game, page 190:

(bridge) The final stage of a game of bridge, when there are few cards left.


tilted

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


poacher

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

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

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


air hockey

(games) A game, played upon a table which lightly spurts air out of various holes on its surface in order to reduce friction, where each player must hit a light flat plastic puck into their opponent's goal using their own plastic mallet.


in touch

Kick the ball in touch.

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

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

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


rainmaker

esőcsináló

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

The slugger is known for hitting rainmakers.

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

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

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


day-nighter

limited overs cricket
limited overs cricket

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


checkmated

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(chess) Having a king in check with no possible move to escape check, thus losing the game.


SFA

Scottish Football Association
w:Scottish Football Association

(soccer) Initialism of Scottish Football Association.


In each sense, from a grouping of things in sets of four, four, and two: in football, players in certain positions; on locomotives, wheels in certain positions; in the car model, four barrels (of carburetion), four gears (of the manual transmission), and dual exhausts.

They fielded an imposing 4-4-2.

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

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

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


roper

From Middle English roper, ropere; equivalent to rope + -er.

The party ran into a statue of a roper, which somehow attacked them.

1991, Thomas Miller, The Adventurers: Book Two:

Stone ropers are distant relatives of the common roper though the two races are do not (as far as sages know) associate with one another.

2016, Anthony Uyl et al., Gigas Monstrum: Book II, page 244:

I understand this to mean that passive Wisdom (Perception)—and even Searching—will never reveal a roper for what it is as long as it holds still. Its Stealth skill comes into play only if it's moving. Thus, a stationary roper takes its opponents by surprise, as long as its eye is closed and its tendrils retracted until it strikes.

2019, Keith Ammann, The Monsters Know What They're Doing, page 172:

Moments ago, vines had shot from the ground to lash at us; I'd thought at first that they were the tentacles of a worm or roper monster, but the leaves revealed that we were dealing·with some kind of plant creature.

2021, Llo Yuu Tanaka, Reincarnated as a Sword:

(gaming) Any of a variety of monsters with tentacles that they use to capture victims.


setter

→ Czech: setr

→ Danish: setter

→ Finnish: setteri

→ French: setter

→ German: Setter

→ Italian: setter

→ Russian: сеттер (setter)

→ Swedish: setter

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

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


boxcars

From the resemblance of the six (“6”) on a die to a boxcar.

Coordinate term: snake eyes

(slang, dice games) Double six in a dice game with two dice.


seeding

Everybody likes to second‐guess computers, including who seed the pros. Nothing could have better exposed the vulnerability of the computer seeding than the spectacle of clay‐court experts looking like weekend hackers on grass.

1979 July 2, “Reflection on the Seedings Fills Pause at Wimbledon”, in The New York Times:

(sports, games) The arrangement of positions in a tournament.

appariement

Arrangement of positions in a tournament


shielding

en-noun

shielding (countable and uncountable, plural shieldings)

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


spooking

spooking (countable and uncountable, plural spookings)

(blackjack, slang) The form of hole carding engaged in by a spook.


ganking

ganking (countable and uncountable, plural gankings)

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(online gaming) Action of the verb to gank.


switch-hitter

switch-hitters (plural)
switch hitter (alternative)

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

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

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

(cricket) A batsman who performs switch-hits.


gammon

en-verb

gammon (third-person singular simple present gammons, present participle gammoning, simple past and past participle gammoned)

gammons (present singular third-person)
gammoning (participle present)
gammoned (participle past)
gammoned (past)
gamen (alternative)
gammen (alternative)
gammin (alternative)
gamon (alternative)

From Middle English gamnen, gomnen, gamenen, gomenen, from Old English gamnian, gæmnian, gamenian (“to joke, play”), from Proto-West Germanic *gamanōn, from Proto-Germanic *gamanōną (“to play, have fun, joke”). Cognate with Middle High German gamenen (“to mock, make fun of”), Icelandic gamna (“to have fun”). More at game.

cog

(backgammon) To beat by a gammon (without the opponent bearing off a stone).


gammon

en-noun

gammon (countable and uncountable, plural gammons)

gammons (plural)
gamen (alternative)
gammen (alternative)
gammin (alternative)
gamon (alternative)

Toward the end of the game Roger had not borne off a single stone belonging to Roseanna, and she scored a gammon. She could not hide the triumph in her eyes. “Perhaps you will play a better game if we play for something closer to your heart,” she suggested.

2009 July 29, Virginia Henley, The Raven and the Rose, Island Books, →ISBN, page 210:

(backgammon) A victory in backgammon achieved when the opponent has not borne off a single stone.


horse

horse (countable and uncountable, plural horses)

horses (plural)
hoss (alternative pronunciation-spelling regional)
hawss (alternative pronunciation-spelling regional)

Sranan Tongo: asi

→ Maori: hōiho

→ Quiripi: hosses (from the plural horses)

From Middle English horse, hors, from Old English hors (“horse”), from Proto-West Germanic *hors, *hross, from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”). Doublet of car and carrus. Cognate with North Frisian hors (“horse”), West Frisian hoars (“horse”), Dutch ros, hors (“horse”), German Ross (“horse”), Danish hors (“horse”), Swedish russ, hors (“horse”), Icelandic hross, hors (“horse”).

a camel is a horse designed by a committee

a nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse

close the barn door after the horse has bolted

close the stable door after the horse has been stolen

close the stable door after the horse has bolted

lock the stable door after the horse has been stolen

lock the stable door after the horse has bolted

shut the stable door after the horse has bolted

you can't put the shit back in the horse

zeal without knowledge is a runaway horse

Also Horse harness on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

See Horse-drawn vehicles on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Note: Many of these were adapted into and/or gave their names to motor vehicle types

with the horse-drawn originals often being forgotten.

Now just remind me how the horse moves again?

Equus ferus caballus
Equus ferus caballus#Translingual

A hoofed mammal, Equus ferus caballus, often used throughout history for riding and draft work.

(chess, informal) The chess piece representing a knight, depicted as a horse.

(xiangqi) A xiangqi piece that moves and captures one point orthogonally and then one point diagonally.


plycount

Take note that if the side to move first wins, the plycount must be an odd number, since that side makes the last move.

2004. Jaap van den Herik, Hiroyuki Iida, Ernst A. Heinz. Advances in Computer Games: Many Games, Many Challenges... Springer 2004, p. 216 http://books.google.com/books?id=b1tMzog4M-MC&pg=PA216&dq=plycount&sig=mT8CESvj8h9T-6Z45eQfcuItbQY

(computer chess) The total number of moves in a game, counting each player's move as 1.


chest pass

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


scalper

iemand die toegangskaarten meestal duur doorverkoopt

The only sure thing about scalping the Series today is that the scalper is paying the bookie a greater profit because he is making a greater number of bets.

1961, John Scarne, Complete Guide to Gambling, page 102:


scorer

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


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

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


Spock

(rock paper scissors) The Vulcan salute when used in rock-paper-scissors-lizard-Spock, a handshape that beats rock and scissors and loses to lizard and paper.


Spock

en-verb

Spock (third-person singular simple present Spocks, present participle Spocking, simple past and past participle Spocked)

Spocks (present singular third-person)
Spocking (participle present)
Spocked (participle past)
Spocked (past)

(rock paper scissors) To play the Vulcan salute hand.


hot stove

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

the hot stove report

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


burn off

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

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

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

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


Chinese whispers

This is no doubt the reason why children play Chinese Whispers. One child whispers a message to another and it travels around the circle of children, only to be revealed by the last member of the chain.

2014, Darian Leader, Introducing Lacan: A Graphic Guide, Icon Books Ltd, →ISBN:

(games, chiefly UK) A game for several players in which a phrase, whispered by each person in turn to their neighbor, is often unwittingly misunderstood as it is transferred, to humorous effect by the time it reaches the last person and is compared with the original phrase.


switch-hit

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

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

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

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

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


switch-hit

switch-hits (plural)
switch hit (alternative)

(cricket) An instance of switch-hitting.


ninepins

On a level spot in the centre was a company of odd-looking personages playing at nine-pins.

1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, page 73:


Euros

(soccer) the UEFA European Football Championship


backfield

backfields (plural)
back field (alternative)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


run-up

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

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

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

aanloop

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


rusher

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


roundhouse

roundhouses (plural)
round house (alternative)

(card games) In the game of pinochle, a meld consisting of a queen and king in each of the four suits.


gamester

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[…] here were no Gibers, Cenſurers, Backbiters, Pick-pockets, Highwaymen, Houſebreakers, Attorneys, Bawds, Buffoons, Gameſters, Politicians, Wits, ſplenetick tedious Talkers, Controvertiſts, Raviſhers, Murderers, Robbers, Virtuoſo's; […]

1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Oeconomy and Happy Life among the Houyhnhnms. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 301:


guarder

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

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

1914 February 2, “Hodder Notes”, in The Stonyhurst Magazine, volume 13, number 192, page 819:


redouble

redouble (third-person singular simple present redoubles, present participle redoubling, simple past and past participle redoubled)

redoubles (present singular third-person)
redoubling (participle present)
redoubled (participle past)
redoubled (past)

From Middle French redoubler. By surface analysis, re- + double.

(bridge, backgammon) To double an opponent's doubling bid.


redouble

(bridge) An optional bid made by the side currently holding the highest bid for the contract, after the opposing side has doubled.


crap out

crap out (third-person singular simple present craps out, present participle crapping out, simple past and past participle crapped out)

craps out (present singular third-person)
crapping out (participle present)
crapped out (participle past)
crapped out (past)

(gambling, intransitive) To lose a game of craps by rolling a seven.


drinking game

(games) A game (often a logic or memory game) which involves the drinking of alcohol, usually as a penalty for making mistakes, as the intoxication makes the game harder to play.

酒令 (jiǔlìng) (dated; usually exact name of drinking game is used)


sextuple

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

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

Sextuple

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


warning track

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

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


picket

en-noun

picket (countable and uncountable, plural pickets)

From French piquet, from piquer (“to pierce”).

(card games, uncountable) The card game piquet.


high roller

high rollers (plural)
high-roller (alternative)

/ˈhaɪ ˈɹəʊlə/

/ˈhaɪ ˈɹoʊlɚ/

They were all "high rollers" against faro, had plenty of money, and, if the cards came favorably, would "chaw up" a bank in double-quick time.

1873, [John O’Connor], “Inventors”, in John Morris, editor, Wanderings of a Vagabond. An Autobiography, New York, N.Y.: Published by the author, →OCLC, page 178:

Before long, Zarin developed a reputation as an extravagant "high roller" who routinely bet the house maximum while playing craps, his game of choice. Considered a "valued gaming patron" by Resorts, Zarin had his credit limit increased at regular intervals without any further credit checks, and was provided a number of complimentary services and privileges.

1990 October 10, Robert Cowen (Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit), Zarin v. Commissioner, archived from the original on 2017-10-19, 916 F. 2d 110:

He was a bigger net yield than any two or three girls because a satisfied woman was far more generous than a depleted john. And frequently, Rocco owed a high-roller a favor and the girl came back with nothing.

2005, Joseph Levy, High Roller: A Novel, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 24:

Chief among the dire presentiments was the suggestion that the ascension of Labour to power would result in Radiohead ceasing touring and instead taking up a residency at a Las Vegas resort. The image of Thom Yorke serenading Sin City's high rollers with a rousing chorus of Pulk/Pull Revolving Doors was mind-boggling, but you could see why some press went on the offensive.

2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in The Guardian, London, archived from the original on 2017-11-12:

(gambling) A gambler who wagers large amounts of money, usually in a casino.


streaky

en-adj

streaky (comparative streakier, superlative streakiest)

streakier (comparative)
streakiest (superlative)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2015 April 18, Paul Wilson, The Guardian:

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


moob

en-verb

moob (third-person singular simple present moobs, present participle moobing, simple past and past participle moobed)

moobs (present singular third-person)
moobing (participle present)
moobed (participle past)
moobed (past)

Inversion of boom (“to rapidly adjust the evaluation of a position away from zero, indicating a likely win or loss”).

from

Stockfish was slightly moobing until Leela played Qf5. An innocuous looking move that immediately sent alarm bells ringing and Stockfishes^([sic]) evaluation just kept rising.

2020 September 20, u/FMExperiment, “Stockfish beats Leela to inflict her first defeat in TCEC season 19 and remains the last undefeated engine!”, in Reddit, r/chess, archived from the original on 2022-10-22:

The time taken for an engine to boom / moob can be quite a while because that time taken is completely dependent on the hardware you're running the program on.

2020 November 27, Allure, “Big changes in engine's evaluation after considerable time”, in Stack Exchange, archived from the original on 2024-05-22:

The reverse was also won uneventfully by LEELA although the fish emotes were numerous in the chat as STOCKFISH 'moobed' to a mere 0.40 evaluation after its 25th move!

2021 May 26, Matthew Sadler, “The TCEC20 Computer Chess Superfinal: a Perspective”, in ICGA Journal, volume 43, number 1, →DOI, pages 74–87:

(intransitive, computer chess, slang) To rapidly adjust the evaluation of a position towards zero, indicating a likely draw.


moob

The latest Stockfish on my laptop finds mate in 22 in less than a minute. Do you have any examples where a boom (or moob) occurs after 2-3 minutes of evaluation?

2020 November 27, the_fox, “Big changes in engine's evaluation after considerable time”, in Stack Exchange, archived from the original on 2024-05-22:

One notable exception to the missing lines being interesting: Sometimes on a moob the sudden insight is 'I'm going to hit the 50 move rule before realizing my advantage'.

2021 January 23, Bram Cohen, “You're doing computer chess game commentary wrong”, in Medium, archived from the original on 2022-12-06:

The evaluation boom and moob continued as Stockfish headed for a queen-rook-knight vs queen-rook-knight position that looked pretty nasty to me!

2022 April 22, Matthew Sadler, “TCEC Season 22 SuperFinal: Komodo Dragon vs Stockfish”, in TCEC, archived from the original on 2022-12-13:

(computer chess, slang) An instance of moobing.


mind game

The crosswords and mind games are my favourite part of the newspaper.

(games) A game or puzzle involving logical thinking.


sailer

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

(baseball) A fastball that skims through the air.


rubicon

The noun is derived from the phrase cross the Rubicon (“to make an irreversible decision or to take an action with consequences”). Julius Caesar’s crossing of the Rubicon, a small river in northeastern Italy, on 10 January 49 B.C.E., indicated his intention to start a civil war with Pompey. Rubicon is derived from Latin Rubicō, Rubicōn (“the Rubicon”), possibly from rubeus (“red, reddish”), from rubeō (“to be red”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rewdʰ- (“red”), an allusion to the colour of the river caused by mud deposits.
The verb is derived from the noun.

The game is called a double, and you score 200 instead of 100 when your adversary does not get 100, which, in technical language, is called crossing the Rubicon.

1873 August 1, “Answers to Correspondents. [Piquet.]”, in The Westminster Papers. A Monthly Journal of Chess, Whist, Games of Skill, and the Drama, volume VI, London: W. Kent & Co., […], and W. W. Morgan, […]; Edinburgh: J. Menzies & Co.; Dublin: McGlashan & Gill, published 1874, →OCLC, page 84, column 2:

If you are a good way ahead, and particularly in the last hand but one, if you have a chance of winning a Rubicon, you should make a safe discard, with the view of dividing or winning the cards, in order to keep your adversary back. On the other hand, if the score is much against you, and you are under a Rubicon, you are justified in making a bold discard.

1885, Cavendish [pseudonym; Henry Jones], “Hints to Learners”, in The Laws of Piquet: Edited by “Cavendish” and Adopted by the Portland and Turf Clubs: With a Treatise on the Game, 4th edition, London: Thomas De La Rue & Co., →OCLC, paragraph 12, page 82:

Brisques are not counted except to determine whether or not there is a rubicon, explained below.

1956, Richard L. Frey, Rules of Games According to Hoyle: Official Rules of More than 200 Popular Games of Skill and Chance with Expert Advice on Winning Play, New York, N.Y.: Fawcett Publications, →OCLC, page 162:

As an example: if a player is well ahead, and sees the opportunity to gain a rubicon, he should discard cautiously and play so as to prevent his opponent from saving the rubicon by scoring 100 points.

1989, Peter Arnold, editor, Complete Book of Card Games, New York, N.Y.: Gallery Books, →ISBN, page 64, column 1:

(card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: a score which, if not achieved by a losing player, increases the player's penalty.


rubicon

en-verb

rubicon (third-person singular simple present rubicons, present participle rubiconing, simple past and past participle rubiconed)

rubicons (present singular third-person)
rubiconing (participle present)
rubiconed (participle past)
rubiconed (past)

A curious score was made in a game of piquet with one of the ladies. [...] In the fifth hand she made a piquet and capot, scoring 121 to 0, and in the sixth hand, being the minor, she made a repiquet, taking all but the last trick, counting 111 to 3, totalling 270, and rubiconing her opponent at 99, with a win of 469 points.

1902 November, Walter Del Mar, “London to Colombo”, in Around the World through Japan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC, pages 3–4:

Fleming initiated me into the mysteries of Bézique, and at once set about rubiconing me, [...]

1934, J[ohn] Angus Beckett, “The Return Ice-cap Journey”, in Iceland Adventure: The Double Traverse of Vatnajökull by the Cambridge Expedition, London: H. F. & G. Witherby, →OCLC, pages 125–126:

Ten points are received for the last trick but brisques are only counted if they make a difference as to who is the winner or if a player is rubiconed [...].

[1954], Helen Fried Joseph, The Family Book of Games and Sports, [Chicago, Ill.]: Popular Mechanics Press, →OCLC, page 167, column 2:

(transitive, card games) Especially in bezique and piquet: to defeat a player who has not achieved the rubicon.


PBEM

(games, communication) Initialism of play-by-email; also PBeM.


AMF

en-noun

AMF (countable and uncountable, plural AMFs)

attacking midfielder
attacking midfielder#English

(soccer) Acronym of attacking midfielder.


mainline

After 3 e5 the Czech Benoni Defense is created. Unlike the mainline 3 e6, which aims for tactical counterplay in the center, Black aims for solidity there. He will choose later what flank to attack on.

2006 May 7, Robert Byrne, “For Most Players, Speed Chess Is Like a Keystone Kops Melee”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2023-02-01:

Short's pragmatic approach to the match was to avoid mainline theory and the teenager's computer preparation.

2010 May 21, Leonard Barden, “Nigel Short shows benefit of experience during series with Anish Giri”, in The Guardian:

The first classical game featured a fairly mainline Nimzo-Indian Defense, with the players following one of So's October 2021 games until move 20.

2022 April 4, Luci Kelemen, “Wesley So wins third leg of FIDE Grand Prix 2022 over Nakamura”, in Dot Esports, archived from the original on 2022-12-30:

(chess) Of a sequence of opening moves: being part of a main line ("a standard sequence of opening moves considered to be best play").


mainline

mainlines (plural)
main line (alternative)

8. ...Qe7! is the mainline and Black unpins with Nc6-d8-e6 […]

2005 November 13, Malcolm Pein, “The Sunday chess column”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2016-07-06:


main line

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Meronym: book move

In that game, Carlsen sidestepped the main line of the Berlin Defense with 4 d4, hoping to unsettle Karjakin. That did not work, and chances were equal for most of the game.

2012 July 15, Dylan Loeb Mcclain, “Chess: Fischer and Spassky, Looking Back”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 2022-06-20:

8.Qd2 is the old main line of the Poisoned Pawn from the days of Fischer and Kasparov.

2015 May 6, Malcolm Pein, “Chess prodigy Wei Yi, 15, tops the chart”, in The Daily Telegraph, archived from the original on 2020-11-08:

Adams, the No1 seed in the Isle of Man, has always favoured 3 Nd2 against the French and, when his Polish opponent, below, followed a main line, Adams was very willing to go along.

2015 October 9, Leonard Barden, “Sergey Karjakin and Peter Svidler blunder through Baku World Cup final”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2016-09-11:

(chess) A standard sequence of opening moves considered to be best play.


main line

Caruana chose the Petroff 2 Nf3 Nf6, which used to be the weapon of choice for players aiming for a half point as Black, was relegated for some years due to the popularity of the Berlin 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6, but has returned to favour as the main line Berlin with an early queen swap has been outmoded by 4 d3.

2018 January 19, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Magnus Carlsen falls away from leading pack at Wijk aan Zee”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 2022-11-29:


turtling

(games, card games, computer games) A defensive strategy of avoiding conflict, by maintaining strong defense and little to no offense, while remaining in a fixed position.


chicken-wing

en-verb

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

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

Don't chicken-wing it!

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


off base

off-base (alternative)
offbase (alternative)

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

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

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


the bigs

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


run in

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

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

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

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


in-game

Shameless in-game purchases aimed at kids have been in the news recently.

2016, Patrick Aievoli, Veal: The Rise of Generation Interactive, page 41:

Interactive in-game music is also present in another sandbox game, Minecraft, as the player can change what music they play on a jukebox. These in-game musical activities can also present as very small mini-games or components on larger quests […]

2017, Alyssa Aska, Introduction to the Study of Video Game Music, page 79:

(gaming) Within an essential part of a video game, not including the character selection.


fruit machine

From fruit + machine.
* (slot machine): From originating with machines with fruit pictures
* (criminology): From being a machine used to identify fruits (“homosexuals”)
* (food): From being a machine containing fruits

(British, gambling) A slot machine, especially one having spinning wheels marked with pictures of fruit.


doorgame

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From door + game. See door (“software mechanism for BBS interaction”).

bulletin board system
bulletin board system

(online gaming) A computer game hosted by a bulletin board system.


fainaigue

fainaigue (third-person singular simple present fainaigues, present participle fainaiguing, simple past and past participle fainaigued)

fainaigues (present singular third-person)
fainaiguing (participle present)
fainaigued (participle past)
fainaigued (past)

Uncertain; perhaps:
* related to Old French fornoiier, fornier (“to deny”), from for- (prefix expressing error, exclusion, or inadequacy) + noiier, nier (“to deny”) (compare Late Latin forīsnegāre (“to renege, repudiate”), where the Frankish for- is rendered into Latin as forīs), from Latin negāre (“to deny; to refuse, say no; to reject, turn down (something)”), from nē (“no; not”) + aiō (“to affirm, say ‘yes’”)) (for the word ending, compare reneague (“to refuse to follow suit in a card game, renege; to deny, refuse; act of refusing to follow suit in a card game”) (Britain, dialectal)); or
* from feign (“to pretend”) + ague (“intermittent fever; (obsolete) acute fever”), or French aigüe (“(medicine) acute”) (as in maladie aiguë (“acute illness”)), literally “to act sick”.

der

When Mr. Simpson had spoken of the "Jack of Oaks" (meaning the Knave of Clubs), or had said "fainaiguing" (where others said "revoking"), we had pretended not to notice it, until at length we actually did not.

[1888, Q. [pseudonym; Arthur Quiller-Couch], “Of Deterioration; and a Wheelbarrow that Contained Unexpected Things”, in The Astonishing History of Troy Town, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, […], →OCLC, page 147:

(card games) To renege (“break one's commitment to follow suit when capable”).


bench jockey

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

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


WAD

(computing, gaming) Acronym of where's all the data?, commonly used when referring to the video game Doom.


Super Bowl

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

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

Jooł Yitalíjí Akéeʼdi Ahąąh Honinééhígíí


tute

From Spanish tute, previously from Italian tutti.

(card games) A trick-taking card game, originally from Italy.


move the yardsticks

en-verb

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

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

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


chessman

Curious to tell, this imperial negro, Ahasuerus Daggoo, was the Squire of little Flask, who looked like a chess-man beside him.

1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 27”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:


chess piece

en-noun

chess piece (countable and uncountable, plural chess pieces)

chess pieces (plural)
chesspiece (alternative)
chess-piece (alternative)

(chess) Any of the 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess.

gur shahu

any of the 16 white and 16 black pieces used in playing the game of chess


Junior Circuit

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


Senior Circuit

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


playable

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Is MAGICS a playable word in Scrabble?

(games) Of a move, giving a reasonable result; able to be played without losing.

Some of the most playable games tend to be those that've been around the longest: the Breakout/Arkanoid/Batty imitators for instance, or, as here, the Asteroids clones.

1989, Matt Bielby, Blasteroids (game review in Your Sinclair issue 40, April 1989)

(games) Of a game, able to be played and enjoyed.

xugable

of a game, able to be played and enjoyed


Rover

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

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


blackwash

blackwash (countable and uncountable, plural blackwashes)

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

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


OP

I know they are going to tweak stuff in the next few weeks with patches as they find one class is OP and another is sucking...

2012 August 29, “Re: 5.0.4 first blush”, in alt.games.warcraft (Usenet), message-ID <k1l1nq$emb$1@dont-email.me>:


WFC

(soccer) Initialism of women's football club.


time of pitch

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


quodlibet

From Latin quod libet (“that which is pleasing”).

(card games) A card game that combines several different contracts.


declarer

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From Middle English declarer, equivalent to declare + -er.

(bridge) The person who wins the bidding and so declares what suit will be trump.


eight-ball

en-verb

eight-ball (third-person singular simple present eight-balls, present participle eight-balling, simple past and past participle eight-balled)

eight-balls (present singular third-person)
eight-balling (participle present)
eight-balled (participle past)
eight-balled (past)
8 ball (alternative)
eight ball (alternative)

She whips me in the first game of pool, I do not even get a shot. Eight-balled from the break.
“Have you been practising?” I ask my sister.
“Some,” she says, “play again?”
“One more.”
My sister beats me at pool in public a second time. I claim some dignity back by potting two of my balls before Tammy sinks the black.

2008, Edward Keating, The Joy of Ex: A Novel:

(pool, transitive) To outplay (an opponent) by potting all one's color balls and then the black (or eight-ball) without the opponent potting a single one.


baserunner

baserunners (plural)
base runner (alternative)

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


keycard

keycards (plural)
key card (alternative)

From key (“important”) + card (“playing card”).

compound

(bridge) In Roman keycard Blackwood, an ace of any suit or the king of trumps.


rebid

en-verb

rebid (third-person singular simple present rebids, present participle rebidding, simple past and past participle rebid)

rebids (present singular third-person)
rebidding (participle present)
rebid (participle past)
rebid (past)

(bridge) To bid a higher value of the current suit.


booster

(gaming) A package of cards or figurines designed to add to a player's collection.


trump card

(card games) A playing card, of the trump suit that is held in reserve until needed to win a trick.


seeing eye ball

en-noun

seeing eye ball (plural seeing eye balls)

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

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


shoestring catch

shoestring catch (plural shoestring catches)

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

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


squeeze play

squeeze plays (plural)
squeeze-play (alternative)

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

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

Squeeze play is an important part of the endgame.

(bridge) The tactic of running a suit to compel another player to waste potentially winning cards.


fungo bat

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

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


reducer

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

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

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


curler

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

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

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

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

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

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


basset

basset (countable and uncountable, plural bassets)

From French bassette, from Italian bassetta.

Some dress, some dance, some play, not to forget / Your piquet parties, and your dear basset.

We are to go and see Pope's new grotto, opened for the first time; then try Hampton Court, and see if Mrs. Howard will stake a little princely gold on a pool of basset.

1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, pages 173–174:

(uncountable, card games) A card game resembling faro.


utility man

(baseball) Alternative form of utilityman.


freeball

freeballs (plural)
free ball (alternative)
free-ball (alternative)

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

1981, National Volleyball Coaches Association Technical Journal:

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

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

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

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

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


freeball

en-verb

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

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

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

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


biddable

en-adj

biddable (comparative more biddable, superlative most biddable)

more biddable (comparative)
most biddable (superlative)


Proteas

(cricket) The South African cricket team


dewdrop

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

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

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


cash out

en-verb

cash out (third-person singular simple present cashes out, present participle cashing out, simple past and past participle cashed out)

cashes out (present singular third-person)
cashing out (participle present)
cashed out (participle past)
cashed out (past)

(US, gambling) To retire; to exchange gambling chips for money when finished gambling.


pigeonholes

From pigeonhole + -s (suffix forming regular plurals of nouns and pluralia tantum; and third-person singular simple present indicative forms of verbs).

affix

[Godfrey] Speed[well]. […] [H]ave you ſuch gold to give? / [Innocent] Lamb[skin]. Yes, yes, has vvon it betting at the bovvling Alleys, / Or at the Pigeon-holes in the Garden Alleyes.

c. 1610–1614 (date written), William Rowley, [possibly also Thomas Heywood, George Wilkins], A New Wonder, a Woman never Vext. A Pleasant Conceited Comedy: […], London: […] G[eorge] P[urslowe] for Francis Constable, […], published 1632, →OCLC, Act IV, page 52:

(games, historical, obsolete) An outdoor game played in the 17th and early 18th centuries in which each player bowls a ball towards targets (probably small compartments).


tighthead

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


front row

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


outside centre

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


inside centre

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


number eight

Naturally, Franco plays as a number eight (a midfielder who has both attacking and defending responsibilities), but he also has the capability to play as a defensive midfielder.

2021 December 21, Caleb Adams, “Alan Franco 'is like the cement in the midfield'”, in Charlotte FC:

box-to-box midfielder
box-to-box midfielder

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

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

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

vazač

rugby player who controls the movement of the scrum


flanker

Audio (US)

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

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

rváček

rugby player in the back row of the scrum

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


break one's duck

en-verb

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

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

From cricket, where duck means a score of zero.

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


granny shot

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granny style

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

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


ring up

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

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

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


all fours

'Twas a bad leg allowed me to read the Pilgrim's Progress, and Mark Clark learnt All-Fours in a whitlow.

1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd:

Other games were cribbage, all fours, ruff and honours, French ruff, five cards, costly colours, bon ace, putt, plain dealing, Queen Nazareen, pennech, post and pair, bankafalat, beast.

1882, John Ashton, Social Life in the Reign of Queen Anne, page 104:

(card games) A card game similar to whist.


shirtfront

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


nightcap

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

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


scudetto

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

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

(soccer) The Italian Serie A Championship title.


finisher

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

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

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


wheel of fortune

en-noun

wheel of fortune (plural wheels of fortune)

/ˌwiːl‿əv ˈfɔːt͡ʃuːn/

-ɔː(ɹ)t͡ʃuːn

From Wheel of Fortune, referring to the spinning of the Roman goddess Fortuna’s wheel which determined people’s fortunes.

(gambling) A gambling or lottery device consisting of a wheel which is spun horizontally to determine, by its stopping position, whether a gambler will receive one of the prizes marked around its circumference.


forkball

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

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

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


Russian roulette

From roulette, a game of chance involving a revolving wheel. The first description is apparently in "The Fatalist," an 1840 short story by Russian writer Mikhail Lermontov.

(idiomatic, games) A deadly game in which a person loads a single bullet in the cylinder of a revolver, spins the cylinder so that the bullet's location is unknown, points the muzzle at his/her head, and pulls the trigger. In its most lethal form, played by multiple participants each of whom takes a turn until the weapon discharges.

رُولِيت رُوسِيّ

deadly game with revolver and random spinning


dry-stone

drystone (alternative)
dry stone (alternative)

dry-stone wall

The first part of the book traces the history of dry stone walls from medieval times to the present. The standard form of most walls probably dates from Tudor times but the great era of wall-building in the uplands took place comparatively recently, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

2016, Angus J. L. Winchester, Dry Stone Walls: History and Heritage, Amberley Publishing, →ISBN:

(of a wall, bridge, building, etc.) Constructed by laying carefully selected stones on top of each other, and bedding them down with no mortar.


follow-the-leader

(games) A children's game in which each person in a line replicates the actions of the one in front.


suicide squeeze

suicide squeeze (plural suicide squeezes)

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


ribbie

(baseball, slang) Synonym of run batted in.


take sign

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


stolen base

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

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

when a runner is unsuccessful and is thrown out

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


power play

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

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

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


discovered check

discovered check (plural discovered checks)

(chess) A check by means of a discovered attack against the opponent's king.


nurdle

en-verb

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

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

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


round robin

round robins (plural)
round-robin (alternative)

/ˌɹaʊnd ˈɹɒbɪn/

From round (adjective) + robin. Sense 1 (“senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around”) is connected with the word round, while sense 2 (“senses relating to people, animals, or plants”) is connected with some English regional senses of the word robin where it is used in the names of various fish and plants which are not related to the red-breasted bird. However, apart from the alliteration, it is not clear why the two words came to be linked together in compounds. It is possible that the term was first used to refer to sense 1.13.1 (“consecrated host”) which appears to be the earliest attested sense, and then extended to other senses either having the sense of round or robin.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a corruption of French ruban rond (literally “round ribbon”), referring to the practice in 17th-century France of signing on ribbons which were then attached to petitions of grievances in a circular manner: see sense 1.1. However, this etymology does not explain the senses of the term unrelated to a signed document.

der

(also attributive) Senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around.

(gambling) A form of bet on the full set of possible combinations from a group of events, racehorses, teams, etc., such as the outcomes A and B, B and C, and A and C from a group consisting of A, B, and C.

round robin -järjestelmäveto

form of bet on the full set of possible combinations from a group of events, etc.

(online gaming) A method of dividing loot among a party of players by having the game assign loot, or an enemy corpse to loot, to each player in turn.


spray

en-verb

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

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

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

der

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

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

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

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

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


slogger

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