Questions tagged [sports]
English words or phrases that have special meanings when used in sports.
115 questions
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Where did the baseball term "lace" come from?
According to the baseball almanac, lace means:
To hit the ball hard. "In the second inning [Claude] Ritchey laced a single out in left field." (The New York Times, Apr. 28, 1908; Barry ...
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Is "She played good" a grammatically correct sentence?
As far as I understand, "good" is an adjective and "well" an adverb. Therefore,
She played good.
is incorrect and should instead be
She played well.
However, I am a tennis fan ...
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How are called the fouls made with the sole? Translation of ‘planchazo’
Need help for an English equivalent of this action, I didn't find anything:
planchazo (also plancha)
Adelantamiento frontal de la suela del pie, que constituye una infracción en varios deportes.
???
...
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What does "on the trot" mean in tennis?
Watching the pre-game broadcast for the Djokovic/Medvedev 2023 US Open men's singles championship match, I heard analyst Brad Gilbert say that Coco Gauff had won 12 in a row "on the trot" ...
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Scoring attempt in ice hockey slang
Please spell me that word which ice hockey commentators use when a player tries to score. For me it sounds like [vimaunt].
Example: https://youtu.be/53Gu1JsOmGI on the first seconds (00:02).
I’ve ...
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Where does the word "jacked" come from? (sports)
How the slang word "jacked" (having well-developed muscles) is formed?
The word jack itself may be related to drugs, however I don't think that the meaning comes from there.
There is a ...
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Etymology of the word "sauce" in context of steroids [duplicate]
The word "sauce" is used when talking about steroids, but I cannot figure out why. I have been trying to find why it is called this way on the Internet and have been looking for similar ...
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Etymology of slang term for steroids: juice/sauce
Where did the slang term juice/sauce for steroids come from? I suppose that it may be a metaphor because of being liquid or maybe the similarity in colour. I cannot find any information on its origin, ...
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Is there a word or phrase that describes the retention of a result in a sport game?
Is there some phrase, expression or idiom for a sports team that's simply playing to attain the result of whatever the score is at the moment? In my language, it's "dry the game up"
Let's ...
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Why does a draw mean a game/match/contest that ends with no winner?
A draw is a match/game/contest that ends with no outright winner, or both teams or players having the same score. The more usual term in North America is a tie, whereas a draw is usual elsewhere. A ...
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Etymology/origin of the term 'blazes over'?
In soccer (football), commentators often exclaim that "Player X blazes over the goal" or "...just blazes it over, really poor shot..."
It's also found in written form, either in ...
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Use of present simple tense in sports commentaries
Given that the present continuous is used for something happening now, e.g. "I am eating", and the present simple is used for general facts, e,g. "Lions eat meat", why does sports ...
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Is there a more British way to talk about tackling problems?
I can see that the Cambridge Dictionary is at least aware of the use of tackle meaning "come to grips with a problem" and I can see that the Sunday Times has used it on occasion. It still ...
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Does the defensive shift's prevalence in baseball change the meaning of "We covered all our bases"? [closed]
Historically, covering all of your bases means being careful and methodical, and preparing for any possibility. Also historically, this was the dominant defensive strategy in baseball.
However, ...
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What does "go out there" mean as used by athletes in baseball, basketball, etc
Here is an interview with a Utah Jazz basketball player after the game:
Donovan Mitchell acknowledged it was hard trying not to go all-out
early on: "I had a moment before the game, I was ...
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Looking for synonyms for fitness enthusiast
In my native language, there's a term for a person who works out and enjoys it, but does not incline towards extremes. Works out regularly, but in moderation, to stay healthy and also because they ...
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What does the expression "the school first XI rugger team" mean? [closed]
I found this sentence in a novel set in Cornwall. The complete sentence is:
Daddy is very proud that you have made the school first XI rugger team.
The boy in the team il 16 y.o. and he lives in the ...
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Word for Regular and Post-Season
Is there a word that signifies regular plus post-season games in sports? For instance, in American football, there is a pre-season consisting of games that do not count towards any league standings. ...
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Sport or sports psychologist
I need Your help with grammar since english is not my native language :)
I'm making an award look a like gift for my dear friend but I don't how to name his profession correctly - is it sport ...
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What does G2 (chapter title) refer to in Death by Meeting? [closed]
In Death by Meeting, by Patrick Lencioni (the book is about leadership), There is a chapter entitled "G2." Since it is the title, there is not enough context for me to figure out its meaning,...
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"Prop up the table"
Under Moyes, United have fewer home points (21) than Norwich City and Hull City, with their count of 18 goals the same as Fulham and Cardiff City, who prop up the table. (source)
The phrase "prop up ...
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play, go , do : sports
I am having some issues with using the right verb (go, play, do) with the following activities:
to do boxing or to go boxing;
to do archery;
to do high jump;
to do javelin;
to do or to go bungee ...
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Apostrophe in sports team age division: 12s vs. 12's [duplicate]
In youth volleyball teams are divided by age. For example, a team consisting of kids 12 and under is referred to as a "12s team" or "12's team", and they typically play teams in that same division. ...
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Difference between retiring and withdrawing a sports team from a season
What is the correct verb to say when a sports team decides to not take part in the running season: withdraw or retire?
Is there a difference between withdrawal and retirement of teams in the sports ...
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Top dog v Dark horse meaning difference [closed]
Could someone explain the difference between these 2 above please? Upon its win does a dark horse then become a top dog?
Would a dark horse be more similar to an underdog?
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Before hockey, did the word “puck” exist?
I was trying to search history on the word puck, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. It seems that before 1870 there were only ever instances of “puck” when used as a name. Some sources, like ...
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What do we call people who are into various sports?
What do we call someone who is into different sports including biking, mountaineering, tracking, and other similar sports?
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Is 'fer' a somewhat usual spelling of 'for', or is it perhaps restricted to cricket ('five-fer')?
-fer
a suffix to any number, meaning the number of wickets taken by a team or bowler. (See also fifer/five-fer)
Wikipedia
I assume that 'fer' means, or is derived from, 'for' with the usually ...
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Single word for a sidelined or late soccer player?
I am looking for a single word that describes an instance where a soccer player is either late for a match, injured, or deemed unable to play for some span of time.
In all instances, the player may ...
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Word for a zero score in sports -- BrE/ AmE
What would be a word for a zero score in sports in BrE/ AmE?
Suppose, in a game of baseball or football (soccer), a team (Team A) scores one point, but its opponent (Team B) scores none, so Team A ...
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The meaning of "popped harmlessly" in a baseball game
What does "harmlessly" mean in the following context?
The unnatural silence was broken by the crack of Pujols’ bat, but the ball popped harmlessly into right field.
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the meaning of "do damage" in baseball context
What does do damage mean in the baseball context as in the following excerpt from the Japan Times?
[Tanaka and Kikuchi] are a formidable combination at the top of the order, each able to do damage ...
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The meaning of ‘find’ and ‘break’ in sporting contexts [closed]
The words ‘find’ and ‘break’ appear in the following football (soccer) context, in a manner that does not seem to correspond to any dictionary definitions I can find:
“Off the post! Another ...
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Name for top sports team at university
In France, and probably in some other countries, university players of team sports are generally divided into tiered teams, with the strongest players going to the strongest team ("team one"), and ...
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Why is the singular “Olympic Athlete From Russia” used for an ice-hockey team?
It’s definitely more than one athlete in the Russian team.
On TV:
On the web
And they did it all the time till the finals:
Clearly, it wasn't an arbitrary error or slip-up.
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What would one call the difference between lap times?
Let's say I ran a 200m. And my lap times would be: 14.50 seconds on the first 100m and 13.70 seconds in the last 100m.
What would one call the difference between those two lap times (0.80 seconds).
...
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What does the phrase "stone-gloved first baseman" mean?
I have been reading an article of Charles Krauthammer written about baseball. To be honest, I'm not a fan of this sport then when I bumped into the above phrase, I didn't have any clue of what "stone-...
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What's the most common expression for "rovesciata" in the UK?
On Wikipedia, I see a few options that can be used for the Italian word "rovesciata":
Bicycle kick
Overhead kick
Scissors kick
The 1st and 3rd expressions exist in Oxford's dictionary, but the 2nd ...
user244475
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What does falling to a team in basketball games mean?
This is the sentence I have problems with:
It was the second straight overtime game for Tulsa, which fell to
Washington on Monday.
source:link to article
Obviously it's a sports report about WNBA.
...
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Word for different style of sport
In basketball, you can actively block your opponent's shot. You can get in your opponent's way, and impede his progress actively.
In golf, you and your opponent perform independently of each other. ...
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Origin of the expression one-two
In football, the expression "one-two" (or "give-and-go") means: Player A passes the ball to Player B, who immediately passes it back to Player A.
Why is this called "to play a one-two"? Where does ...
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Verbs for Martial Arts, Dance, and Performances
My students keep writing "I play kendo", "He plays diving", "they play ballet", etc. I've been correcting them to use "do"/"does", but are there other better verbs? I've considered using "practice" ...
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Positioned in a way that is ready to intercept?
If you were to anticipate something, perhaps an opponents serve in a racket sport like tennis, what would you call such anticipation? It's an interception of course, but what else can it be called?
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What is the name of this exercise where you lie flat on your back and then touch your feet, without bending your knees? [closed]
Can anyone tell me what is the name of the following exercise?
Lie straight (first image)
Touch your feet (second image).
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How to describe the lower area of upper ray in a 'hockey stick'-shape angle?
I am trying to describe the area depicted below. It is the beginning of the upper ray coming from the vertex of the obtuse angle in a 'hockey stick'-shaped function. (In other words, it's an area past ...
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What's the word for an incompetent athlete?
What would you call an athlete who is weak, slow-moving, in bad shape etc. As in, for example,
"No wonder he won in a fight with Kyle, that guy is just a ___."
As you can tell, I am looking for ...
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Is there a SPORTS PHRASE [in particular, one relating to “soccer”] similar to "make sure all our bases are covered"?
The expression mentioned in my question’s title is a baseball reference, of course, which I fear could potentially limit its understandability to only those English speakers who are familiar with that ...
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Origin and earliest recorded use of 'fungo'
In baseball, a fungo bat is, according to Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Collegiate Dictionary (2003), "a long thin bat used for hitting fungoes," and a fungo is either "a fly ball hit esp. ...
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In Baseball, is there a specific term for the team that bats second?
I am studying the similarities between Cricket and Baseball.
I understood that every Baseball game consists of a series of innings (7-9 depending on the league) where one team tries to score as much ...
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What happens with the score when the first point is scored?
What happens with the game score when a player scores the first point in match.
E.g. in a football match someone scores the first goal. The score became 1:0.
What happened to the score? In Russia we ...
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