When a player is trying to score in Association Football (Soccer in American English) and kicks the ball with too much power and with misdirection, so that it completely misses the goal (typically by going too high), is there an idiomatic word in British English to express that?
6
-
I've heard 'punt', though I'm not sure it's what you're looking for.– Rayan KhanCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 18:55
-
1That's only in rugby or American football, no?– AdamCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 19:02
-
Maybe. I don't know about sports.– Rayan KhanCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 19:03
-
Sure, something like this, yeah– AdamCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 19:31
-
2'Clearance' is kicking the ball away from the goalmouth to avoid a goal being scored. Kicking the ball away from the goalmouth in an attempt to score would be 'ignorance'.– Nigel JCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 20:07
|
Show 1 more comment
2 Answers
To sky the ball:
when the player has hit the ball too hard and it has gone over the bar - not just over the bar but a long way over the bar.
(languagecaster.com)
answered Oct 2, 2020 at 19:36
-
-
1@SAdam That's a really good answer but only applies to shots that are too high. You seemed also to be interested in shots that went wide but not high, "skying' the ball would not apply to that.– BoldBenCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 21:57
-
@BoldBen - That’s true. Do you happen to have a more general word that applies to all situations?– AdamCommented Oct 2, 2020 at 21:59
-
-
1It is not always necessary to provide a source, and it is especially difficult for the contemporary spoken word. My own impression is that “sky” and “skyer” are both somewhat old-fashioned — rather “Roy of the Rovers”.– DavidCommented Oct 3, 2020 at 13:06
Although there are adjectives like “skyer” and simple phrases like “well wide” or “well over the bar”, a British football description more on the lines of what is requested is:
That one landed in row Z
The seating rows are numbered from A, at the bottom, so row Z is much too high.
or, if the ball wasn’t so high, a commentator would often say:
The ball was always rising
As regards the supplementary question/comment for an expression that is not specific to being too high or too wide:
The shot was well off target
is used, although not particularly idiomatic. A more colourful expression, would be:
That one scared the pigeons
although at Brighton, Blackpool or Bournmouth, it would be transformed to something like:
That one scattered the seagulls
