# Question for non-Americans - sports talk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464 "2015-05-07T09:42:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/1 "2015-05-07T09:42:56Z")
In American language many times sports reference gets into our lingo. For example “up to par” is a golf term and refers to something that is up to a set standard. “Against the ropes” is a boxing term meaning being beaten down by something difficult. “Knock it out of the park” is a baseball term meaning doing very well on a task. So I’d like to ask, in your countries are there sports terms that are part of your national lingo? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/2 "2015-05-07T09:48:13Z")
The cricket-related “hit for six” is the most obvious one that springs to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/3 "2015-05-07T09:48:58Z")
In German, a fairly common term for an action that backfires against the person undertaking it is “Eigentor” (literally “own goal”), a soccer reference. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/4 "2015-05-07T10:23:10Z")
There are many cricket terms understood by people around the world whether they follow cricket or not. “It’s just not cricket,” meaning unfair, for starters. Others include: on the back foot - defensive sticky wicket - tricky situation let it go through to the keeper - ignore a difficult question bowled over - surprised or shocked had a good innings - lived to an old age ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/5 "2015-05-07T10:29:37Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > The cricket-related “hit for six” is the most obvious one that springs to mind. What does hit for six equate to? Is that a good thing? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/6 "2015-05-07T10:31:49Z")
From rugby, there’s the “hospital pass”, or throwing the ball to someone who’s about to get stamped by a bunch of defenders marking him: think handing the poisoned chalice or setting someone up to fail, except done with lack of forethought instead of malice. There’s also the “Hail Mary pass”, or to throw blindly and hope. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/7 "2015-05-07T10:41:37Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > There are many cricket terms understood by people around the world whether they follow cricket or not. “It’s just not cricket,” meaning unfair, for starters. Others include: > > on the back foot - defensive > sticky wicket - tricky situation > let it go through to the keeper - ignore a difficult question > bowled over - surprised or shocked > had a good innings - lived to an old age I’ve only heard of “it’s not cricket,” “sticky wicket,” and “bowled over” (that one was the one that really surprised me — I thought it came from bowling). The others aren’t common in America, in my experience. > [@Penfeather](#): > > From rugby… There’s also the “Hail Mary pass”, or to throw blindly and hope. You mean that didn’t originate in American football and Roger Staubach? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/8 "2015-05-07T11:37:12Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > What does hit for six equate to? Is that a good thing? No, because in this analogy the speaker isn’t the bowler or the batter; he’s the ball. In cricket, hitting the ball over the boundary scores six runs, the maximum for one shot (it’s a little like hitting it over the fence in baseball). In the analogy, the speaker is the one getting “hit for six”; it means being affected adversely by some devastating news, a metaphorical blow. It could also literally mean getting hit very hard but I’ve heard that usage less. Another cricket one not mentioned is “[rolling the pitch](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_pitch#Rolling_the_pitch)”, which in a metaphorical sense means to do some preparatory work to remove obstacles and to ease the way for one’s future endeavours. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/9 "2015-05-07T13:12:44Z")
I once heard a politician who was confident he was winning an election comment that he “had the hammer coming home,” which is a curling phrase. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/10 "2015-05-07T13:53:00Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > I’ve only heard of “it’s not cricket,” “sticky wicket,” and “bowled over” (that one was the one that really surprised me — I thought it came from bowling). The others aren’t common in America, in my experience. I’m surprised you’ve heard off any. By “around the world” I meant all the cricket playing nations - England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and all the newer ones. I thought of adding “except America.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/11 "2015-05-07T14:27:52Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > I’m surprised you’ve heard off any. By “around the world” I meant all the cricket playing nations - England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, West Indies, Bangladesh and all the newer ones. I thought of adding “except America.” “Bowled over” is certainly a very commonly used phrase in America (and Canada, where cricket is essentially a non-issue as well.) “Sticky wicket” is heard too, perhaps because it just sounds funny. I’ve heard folks from the UK use a surprising number of baseball and football (American football) terms - “home run” being a very common one. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/12 "2015-05-07T14:40:26Z")
A common phrase in Israel is “90th minute”, which basically means “last moment”. In soccer the 90th minute is the last minute of the game. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/13 "2015-05-07T14:43:32Z")
Also from cricket - “to bat above one’s average” In general, to perform above expectations. Most often used to refer to men whose romantic partner is considerably better looking than they are. ---
**Author:** ![Arch\_Trout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9f8e36/32.png) [@Arch\_Trout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arch_Trout)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/14 "2015-05-07T14:52:02Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > Also from cricket - “to bat above one’s average” > > In general, to perform above expectations. Most often used to refer to men whose romantic partner is considerably better looking than they are. Which reminds me of the boxing term to “punch above one’s weight” which is also usually used when a man has a romantic partner considerably better looking than they are. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/15 "2015-05-07T15:27:29Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Bowled over” is certainly a very commonly used phrase in America (and Canada, where cricket is essentially a non-issue as well.) “Sticky wicket” is heard too, perhaps because it just sounds funny. Mid-Western American here. I’ve heard “sticky wicket,” but I’ve never heard an American say it in earnest. Rather, it strikes me as more like one of those cliched things you say when you want to sound (stereotypically) British. You know: “I say, old chap, bit of a sticky wicket, eh, wot? Pip pip and cheerio, guv’nor!” Sort of the Dick Van Dyke school of linguistics. ---
**Author:** ![ashtayk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@ashtayk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ashtayk)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/16 "2015-05-07T15:47:04Z")
Another cricket term is “bowl a googly” that translates well into baseball lingo as “throw a curveball”. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/17 "2015-05-07T17:11:09Z")
Some phrases have been around so long, people have forgotten they were ever sports related. For example, we often say, “This is the best in the world, hands down.” We all know "“hands down” means “It’s not even close, it’s not up for debate, this one wins by a mile.” The expression comes from horse racing. In a close race, the jockeys are all whipping their horses down the stretch- but if a horse has a huge lead, the jockey crosses the finish line and wins the race with his “hands down.” ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/18 "2015-05-08T04:27:57Z")
The stance one takes with one or both arms in the air after a victory or winning shot is called a “Guts pose” in Japan. This is named after Guts Ishimatsu, (a pseudonym), who was a famous boxer in the 70’s. He struck this pose after KOing his opponent to capture the WBC lightweight belt in one of his fights and this picture was splashed across Japanese newspapers the next day. One sports writer coined it the “Guts pose” and the name has stuck ever since. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/19 "2015-05-08T05:14:54Z")
> [@ashtayk](#): > > Another cricket term is “bowl a googly” that translates well into baseball lingo as “throw a curveball”. Oh, I like that one! ---
**Author:** ![bluezooky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@bluezooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluezooky)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464/20 "2015-05-08T06:11:51Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > “Bowled over” is certainly a very commonly used phrase in America (and Canada, where cricket is essentially a non-issue as well.) “Sticky wicket” is heard too, perhaps because it just sounds funny. > > I’ve heard folks from the UK use a surprising number of baseball and football (American football) terms - “home run” being a very common one. I’m very surprised an American would have hard of sticky wicket. As an Australian, softball and soccer were a common school sport for every boy and girl so “home run” or “own goal” are universally recognized. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-sports-talk/719464.md?page=2)