Sports idioms

ON THE BALL

Meaning: When someone's on the ball, they are well-informed and know what's going on in their area of responsibility or interest.

Origin: Some authorities have suggested that 'on the ball' originated in the sporting arena, and alludes to runners being on the balls of their feet, eagerly ready to run a race. This has some similarities with being 'up to scratch', which derives from boxers or runners being ready at the starting line. 

Example: If you were on the ball, this wouldn't have happened.

TIME OUT

Meaning: A brief cessation of play at the request of a sports team or an official for rest, consultation, or making substitutions.

Origin: It can be related to the end of a process. When someone dies, his time is out. so, it is like stopping the time, but only for a short period of time.

Example: Let's take some time out and grab a tea.

UNDER THE TABLE

Meaning: Usually refers to suspicious business dealings. Anything done out of sight.

Origin: 1879, originally from cricket, extended to other sports c.1909, especially ice hockey.  This term was used earlier for a different sort of magic trick:

Place a glass of liquor on the table, put a hat over it, and say, "I will engage to drink every drop of that liquor, and yet I'll not touch the hat." You then get under the table; and after giving three knocks, you make a noise with your mouth, as if you were swallowing the liquor. Then, getting from under the table, say "Now, gentlemen, be pleased to look." Someone, eager to see if you have drunk the liquor, will raise the hat; when you instantly take the glass and swallow the contents, saying, "Gentlemen I have fulfilled my promise: you are all witnesses that I did not touch the hat."

Example: I don't have a work visa, so they have to pay me under the table.

GET A SECOND WIND

- MEANING

Have a burst of energy after tiring.

- ORIGIN

We could say this idiomatic expression has scientific origins. Some researchers believe the second wind to be a result of the body finding the proper balance of oxygen to counteract the buildup some muscles component. Others claim second winds are due to endorphin production, while still others believe it to be purely psychological

- EXAMPLES

• I was exhausted after 4 kilometers of running, but I got a second wind after I passed the shopping centre.
• If you start to feel tired in the middle of the exercise, preserve; you will soon get a second wind!

BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL

- MEANING

A difficult situation or position from which is unlikely or difficult one can escape.

- ORIGIN

There is dispute about the origin of this phrase. However, the origin which is thought to be true is  the one that derives from the Eight Ball version of the game of pool. The balls are numbered and must be potted in order. A turn is forfeited if a player's cue ball hits the (black) eight ball first and the game is forfeited if the eight ball is potted by mistake. A 'behind the eight ball' position leaves a player in a difficult position. There is little agreement about when the game began to be played with eight balls, or when it was first called Eight Ball.

- EXAMPLES

• The economic recession has really pot our new business behind the eight ball; nobody's spending money.
• Now Joe is behind the eight ball because his final Maths exam is in two days and he hasn't started studying yet.

THREE STRIKES AND YOU'RE OUT

- MEANING

It means that you one has three chances for making mistake, next error and that person will be punished.

- ORIGIN

This idiomatic expression comes from baseball, a game in which the batter has three chances to strike. If he fails all of them, he is out of the game.

This idiom became famous when the former President of the USA, Bill Clinton, used it as a slogan in his 1994 State of the Union Address:

"Now those who commit crimes should be punished. And those who commit repeated, violent crimes should be told, 'When you commit a third violent crime, you will be put away, and put away for good. Three strikes and you are out”

This idiomatic expression has named an American law, colloquially called “the three- strikes law” (habitual offender law), which impose harsher sentences on habitual offenders who are convicted of three or more serious criminal offenses.

- EXAMPLES

• The school's no smoking policy is "three strikes and you're out".
• I'm fed up with your attitude; three stikes and you're out of the conversation, ok?

When studying English, as in sports, you need to be motivated. Thus, here you are the "Sports Song", by "Weird Al" Yankovic. Hope you enjoy it!

BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE

Meaning

To make a wrong assumption about someone or something.

If a person is being falsely accused of something, they might use this phrase to inform the accuser that they are mistaken.

Origin

The origin of this phrase is believed to be rooted in dogs and hunting. Dogs are sometimes used during hunting because of their strong sense of smell, their ability to chase and track other animals, and they add a bit of extra security for the hunter.

A dog can make a mistake and choose the wrong tree. There are a number of factors that could have led to the mistake. Perhaps the dog was unable to keep pace with the fleeing animal during the chase, or maybe it got distracted along the way by something. Whatever the case, if a dog fails to pick the right tree, then they are literally 'barking up the wrong the tree.'

This  goes back to at least the 19th century, where the idiom is already being used in a figurative sense.

Example

• Mary was barking up the wrong tree when she said I was the one that used her red dress, it was actually her sister. 

SKATING ON THIN ICE

Meaning

To be doing something that is dangerous or involves risks.

Origin

  
The word “skate” goes back to the Dutch language in the 17^th century. This is not surprising as the Dutch were well known for skating and they were early colonizers in North America. Children were no doubt warned not to do that in Holland and all other countries where skating was popular. Metaphoric usage probably followed shortly thereafter.

Example                

• You are skating on thin ice when you lie to the police.

LEARN THE ROPES

Meaning

Learn something new.

Origin

A nautical term, from the days of sailing ships when new recruits had to learn how to tie knots. After which of course they would know the ropes.

Example

• It will take some time for the new secretary to learn the ropes.

I hope you like it!

(CLICK HERE TO SEE CORRECTLY THE EXERCISE) SPORT IDIOMS

Sport Idioms Crossword

Crossword about Idioms related to Sports.

  

Fill the blank squares in the crossword and then click on 'Check' in order to know the result of this prove. If you are lost, click on 'Hint' and it will be appear the clue that helps you to find out the solution. Click on a number in the grid to see the clue or clues for that number.

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Across: 2. They know our position, so the ball's in their ________. If they want to pursue the matter, they'll have to make the next move 3. Frustrated with our lack of progress, our boss finally shouted, "Make a decision today about which one to use, and let's move the ________ on this." 4. Tanya tried to get some money from her uncle, but she was _________ up the wrong tree. He doesn't have a dime. 6. Carlo is behind the __________ ball now because his final exam is in two days and he still hasn't started studying for it. 8. I want you to learn the ________ before you start doing anything more sophisticated! 11. My brother is always on the ________, so it's hard to trick him or catch him unawares. 12. If you keep your _______ on the ball, you stay alert and pay close attention to what is happening. 13. We had a great time and it all started to come together at the end of last year and now I am hoping I can keep the ball _________. 15. My cousin had a difficult exam for what he didn't study and the professor didn't come to class. He was saved by the ________.

Down: 1. The school's no smoking policy is three ____________ and you're out. 5. Don't you think you will be skating on thin ______ if you go to U.S without getting health insurance? Medical care is incredibly expensive there. 7. Nowadays if something falls out of a cracker and rolls under the ________ , the kids don't even bother to look for it. 9. While Linfield had a shocking campaign last time ________ , Rangers had their best season for years. 10. The annual flowers seem to be getting their ________ wind and are performing gloriously. 14. My high school prom date was way out of my __________ at the time we met. She was a couple years older.

PRESENTATION ABOUT COLORS IDIOMS

Hi, mates! In this entry, you can reproduce a video that explains seven idioms, from the hand of Adam, very interesting. I hope you enjoy it!

• See through rose-tinted/coloured glasses. Origin: This term began to be used figuratively in the 1850s and found its way into print in 1861, when it was first recorded in ‘Tom Brown at Oxford’ by English novelist Thomas Hughes. Example: He is very optimistic! Mr Macawber sees through rose-tinted glasses (The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens). The quivalent in spanish is ‘ver el mundo de color de rosa’.

• Give someone the green light. Origin: The term is a reference to the green traffic signal, indicating "go ahead". Example: John wants to cook in my house, and I gave him the green light. The equivalent in Spanish is the same, ‘dar la luz verde’.

• Pass with flying colors. Origin: This term is related to the flags of ships. It was used to express a commitment. Example: He pass the interview with flying colours. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘salir airoso de…’.

• To be tickled pink. Origin: The tickling pink concept is of enjoyment great enough to make the recipient glow with pleasure. In 1910, in an Illinois' newspaper - The Daily Review, in a piece titled 'Lauder Tickled at Change', we have:  "Grover Laudermilk was tickled pink over Kinsella's move in buying him from St. Louis”. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘estar encantado o como unas castañuelas’.

• Paint the town red. Origin: This term comes from the metaphor applied to bonfires painting the sky or scenery red. This originates from US slang. The earliest recorded use is 1884, and the OED quotes the Chicago Advance (1897): `The boys painted the town [New York City] red with firecrackers [on Independence Day]'. The equivalent in Spanish is ‘salir, de parranda, de fiesta, de marcha’.

• Blue/white/pink collared worker. Origin: White-collar work is performed in an office, cubicle, or other administrative setting. Blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor and a pink-collar worker, whose labor is related to customer interaction, entertainment, sales, or other service-oriented work. The term refers to the white dress shirts of male office workers common through most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in Western countries, as opposed to the blue overalls worn by many manual laborers. The term "white collar" is credited to Upton Sinclair, an American writer. Example: His first response was a plan to streamline management, reducing the company's white-collar ranks through attrition. The equivalent in Spanish is literally ‘trabajador de cuello blanco, azul o rosa’.

• See things in black and white. Origin: This term is based on the clear difference between the colors or refers to the connotations of the color white (bright, positive, happiness) and the connotations of the color black (darkness, negative, sadness). Example: He is very comprehensible, he sees things in black and white. The equivalent in Spanish is literally ‘ver las cosas en blanco y negro’.