# What's the term for "legal but unsporting" tactics? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 8, 2005, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882 "2005-05-08T01:20:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/21 "2005-05-08T13:05:12Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > As a unrelated side note, a few weeks ago, I was playing pool with a friend, she was going to win no matter what happened, I knew what her next shot was going to be, so as she walked over to line up the shot I put a quarter behind the ball she was going to hit thinking it would make the ball roll a different way… Here’s some advice, don’t do it in a crowded bar, the ball jumped the table and flew about 10 feet in the air, then rolled quite a distance away. I also did this once, but not in a crowded bar. In my case, the quarter was knocked into the pocket and the ball went flying off the table so my opponent had no idea what I’d done until I couldn’t stop laughing. My answer to the OP’s question would be: “unsportsmanlike” ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/22 "2005-05-08T14:59:15Z")
Although more often applied to non-athletic games, “sandbagging” is another term that may apply to one particular form. This is where you misrepresent your abilities or situation so as to make your opponent drop their guard, or up their stakes. The classic pool hustle is a form of this - you play shitty until somebody makes a sizeable enough bet, then you take them to the cleaners. It can also be used in various “win by losing” situations. I became well acquainted with the concept as a kid by losing at Gin Rummy to my uncle. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/23 "2005-05-08T15:13:25Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > gamesmanship was the term that sprang to my mind. Likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/24 "2005-05-08T15:59:36Z")
“Dodgy” comes to mind, as something not quite right but not clearly wrong, either. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/25 "2005-05-08T16:27:36Z")
Like two warriors in an arena, where the clearly overmatched warrior just runs in circles around the arena, wearing his opponent out. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/26 "2005-05-08T17:50:34Z")
Magic The Gathering weighs in on this one as well; [http://gatherer.wizards.com/gathererlookup.asp?set=Tempest&name=stun](http://gatherer.wizards.com/gathererlookup.asp?set=Tempest&name=stun) On the card “Stun” which prevents a player from blocking an attack, the following flavor text (Non-game play essential) is given: "I concede it was a cheap shot, but it was the only one I could afford.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2005, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/27 "2005-05-08T20:05:19Z")
> [@Joey P](#): > > … so as she walked over to line up the shot I put a quarter behind the ball she was going to hit thinking it would make the ball roll a different way… Putting an obstruction on the table is not “dirty pool”, it is “blatently against the rules” of pool. In business we call it “thinking outside the box”. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/28 "2005-05-09T03:00:29Z")
Joseph Campbell used the following in discussing ethics. In American sports there are rules to cover almost every possibility. However, there are very few rules that govern rugby in England. Two Americans went to Britain during the early part of the last century and soon their team was winning all of their rugby games. These two were using the forward pass which had just become popular in American football. After a few games the British students went to these two and explained that even though there was not a rule against it, they just did not use the forward pass. It was stopped not because of a rule against it, but because it was unethical. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@Dr.Kenneth\_Noisewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Kenneth_Noisewater)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/29 "2005-05-09T03:48:31Z")
We called it “playing cheap” in the arena of teenage arcade fighting games. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/30 "2005-05-09T04:25:51Z")
There was a video fighting game that used to display a hunk of “cheese” when a player would over-use any one move, after that, the “cheesy” player would start taking damage when over-using that same move. I call people who do that sort of thing either cheap, or lame. Most times, such play is considered underhanded, but sometimes it makes things more interesting. Very subjective. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/31 "2005-05-09T11:37:13Z")
> [@kniz](#): > > Joseph Campbell used the following in discussing ethics. > … After a few games the British students went to these two and explained that even though there was not a rule against it, they just did not use the forward pass… > . Unlikely - offisde, knock-ons, and “throwing forward” were all disallowed by the 1871 RFU laws. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/32 "2005-05-09T12:08:42Z")
I believe the behaviour might be described as _unchivalrous_, although the term encompasses a rather broader spectrum of ungentlemanly actions than just unsportsmanlike stuff in duels etc. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/33 "2005-05-09T13:12:18Z")
> [@Bearflag70](#): > > Like two warriors in an arena, where the clearly overmatched warrior just runs in circles around the arena, wearing his opponent out. Did anyone think Ali was being unsportsmanlike when he used his Rope-A-Dope on Foreman? ---
**Author:** ![max\_power](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/db5fbb/32.png) [@max\_power](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/max_power)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/34 "2005-05-09T13:30:51Z")
to echo cugel, rugby has loads of rules. the story sounds apocryphal… anyway, another vote for gamesmanship… it’s what popped into my mind. It is commonly used on this side of the atlantic at least. > **[Definition of GAMESMANSHIP](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gamesmanship)** > > the art or practice of winning games by questionable expedients without actually violating the rules; the use of ethically dubious methods to gain an objective… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2005, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/35 "2005-05-09T13:42:11Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Did anyone think Ali was being unsportsmanlike when he used his Rope-A-Dope on Foreman? Nope. More like boxing genius. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/36 "2005-05-16T14:18:36Z")
I don’t know if the original question was ever answered, but one example was the “fumblerooski” that was once used in college football. Since then (mid 80s?) I think the rules have been changed since to make it illegal. Basically it involved a QB placing the football underneath a guard, technically making it a fumble. The QB then draws back, as if he still has the football, while the guard, who would typically never handle the ball, lumbers forward. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/37 "2005-05-16T14:50:55Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Although more often applied to non-athletic games, “sandbagging” is another term that may apply to one particular form. Sandbagging is sometimes done (or alleged) in handicap league bowling. Handicap uses your average score to add points to lower averaged bowlers, evening out different skill levels. If you were way ahead and purposefully bowled lousy to keep your average down, that’s sandbagging, very much frowned upon. Gamesmanship, I always thought of it as more clever and crafty than dirty or cheap play. I think unsportsmanlike fits, though it has other connotations as well. Scratching on purpose in pool, I think of that as dirty play. As far as playing the game goes, that strategy is no more fun than just having your opponent rack up all the balls and say “you win”. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/38 "2005-05-16T16:11:06Z")
To address Lumpy’s OP – you’ll sometimes hear the expression “bush league”, or just “bush”, especially in (American) football or baseball. Usage: \*“Laying out our kicker after a kickoff? That’s completely bush league.” “The Denver Broncos offensive line thrives on the bush tactic of spearing the opponents knees with their helmets.”\* ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/39 "2005-05-16T17:55:57Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > To address Lumpy’s OP – you’ll sometimes hear the expression “bush league”, or just “bush”, especially in (American) football or baseball. > > Usage: > > \*“Laying out our kicker after a kickoff? That’s completely bush league.” > > “The Denver Broncos offensive line thrives on the bush tactic of spearing the opponents knees with their helmets.”\* Except that both of those examples are illegal, and thus don’t meet the criteria of legal but unsportsmanlike. ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882/40 "2005-05-16T20:40:47Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > There was a video fighting game that used to display a hunk of “cheese” when a player would over-use any one move, after that, the “cheesy” player would start taking damage when over-using that same move. Here in the US, “cheesy” or “cheese” is also used in the world of Games Workshop’s hobby games (like [Warhammer](http://us.games-workshop.com/games/warhammer/gettingstarted/intro.htm) or [Warhammer 40,000](http://us.games-workshop.com/games/40k/gettingstarted/intro.htm) to mean someone who, while adhering strictly to the letter of the rules has skirted their intent or stretched the limits of game balance by employing unorthodox tactics or army composition purely to exploit an opponent’s weakness. One such tactic, for example, is called “min/maxing,” where the player will compose his army of the maximum number of minimally sized squads of soldiers because he knows each squad may only be issued one or two squad support weapons, then relying on said weaponry to lay waste to the opponent’s forces instead of trying to achieve the objective of the particular match; thus winning by default. The equivalent term on the opposite side of the pond (i.e. the UK) is “beardy.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-term-for-legal-but-unsporting-tactics/302882.md?page=3)