Does anyone know where the word “rick”, meaning a mistake or blunder, comes from? I’m not sure if it is used outside the UK — or even very widely even here. I’ve mostly seen it used in relation to gambling, for instance if someone has inadvertently placed a large ante-post bet on a horse that’s withdrawn that afternoon, or gone all-in with a junk hand playing poker, you might say they’ve “made a rick”. I’ve heard it used in relation to sporting blunders, too.
Anyone have a clue? Or, at least, has anyone else heard the expression used?
Nice sighting (see also the official Ronglish site, although “rick” doesn’t seem to make an appearance). Surely Big Ron didn’t invent the word though?
Incidentally, for Americans and others not au fait with the phrase, “Ronglish” is the particular brand of English used by one-time football manager and now (sadly disgraced) TV pundit Ron Atkinson. A master of the incomprehensible but nonetheless entertaining and enlightening précis of the game: “Tell you what, I know Big Quinny’s lightning slow but he was JCBing it there. Reckon I’ve seen the QE2 turn faster and the big lad’s gone in the box in installments.”
(see the Ronglish link above for a rough translation)
Interesting find – “crick in the neck” is absolutely the widespread American usage.
“Rick”, in the sense of “blunder”, is virtually unknown in the U.S. It would fall into the same class of obscurity as British terms like “skint” (cf. American English “broke”).
My dictionary lists “rick” as a noun meaning “a wrench or sprain, as of the back”, and a verb meaning to cause such an injury. I have certainly heard it used in the expression “I’ve ricked my back.”
I’m not sure how this relates to rick = mistake, though. I can’t really see the connection.
I’ve only heard it used in sporting related mistakes so i suppose it could be meaning he made the mistake due to ‘having a rick’ but I admit it’s a tenuous connection at best
