And now as promised, my lesson.
IT'S A RACKET
Sports are part of the fabric of our culture. They're part of our language too. Here are the origins of a few common sports terms.
ALLEY-OOP
Meaning: In basketball, a high pass caught in midair by a teammate who tries to stuff the ball in the basket before landing.
Origin: "Probably coined by American Soldiers during WWI. It's from the French allez (go) plus oop, a French pronunciation of the English up. During the 1920's allez-oop became alley-oop, commonly said upon lifting something. In the late 1950s, San Francisco 49er quarterback Y.A. Tittle invented a lob pass called the alley-oop that was thrown over the head of defenders to his very tall receiver, R.C. Owens. By the 1970s, it had been adapted to describe the schoolyard basketball play it is today."
BOGEY
Meaning: In golf, one stroke over par
Origin: "Bogey, 'an imaginary thing that causes fear,' gives us the bogeyman, who scares children, and a popular 1890 song called 'Colonel Bogey.' In England, when you were doing exceptionally well it was said Colonel Bogey was playing with you. When someone did well on a particular hole, they thought the Colonel was lending a hand; a player doing poorly was said to be losing to Bogey. As golf became organized, par became the standard score and a bogey became one more than the duffer's aim."
BONEHEAD PLAY
Meaning: A very stupid play
Origin: "The original bonehead play was made in 1908 by Fred Merkle, the New York Giants first baseman. It was the bottom of the ninth inning. There were two outs. Moose McCormick was on third and Merkle was on first. The next man up singled to center, and McCormick scored the winning run. But Merkle ran into the dugout-he never touched second base. Johnny Evers of the Cubs got the ball and stepped on second, forcing Merkle out. The winning run was nullified and the Giants lost. The Cubs and Giants finished the season tied for first place, and the Cubs won the pennant in a play-off game. A sportswriter's reference to Merkle's blunder as a 'bonehead play' introduced the phrase into the lexicon."
HAT TRICK
Meaning: The scoring of three consecutive goals in a game-usually hockey or soccer-by the same player
Origin: "This American phrase comes from the 19th-century tradition of awarding a new hat (or the proceeds of passing a hat) to British Cricket Bowlers when they bowled down three wickets with three successful balls. Although it's now mainly associated with hockey, hat trick has also been used for a jockey who wins three consecutive races, or a soccer player who scores three goals in one game."
RACKET
Meaning: In tennis, a bat with an oval frame, strung with nylon
Origin: "Tennis balls were originally hit with the palm of the hand, called raquette, probably from the Arabic rahat meaning the same. As tennis evolved, gloves were used, then boards, then paddles, and finally the long handled racket used today. All were called by the name raquette, which became the English word racket. The French call tennis le jeu de paume (the palm game)."
TEE
Meaning: The small peg with a concave head that is placed in the ground to support the ball before it is struck
Origin: "The first tees were just small handfuls of sand or dirt off which golf balls were hit. The Scottish word was first recorded in 1673 as teaz, but people thought this was the plural. of tee and over the years, tee became the singular form. The little wooden pegs we call tees today were invented in the 1920s by William Lowell, a dentist from New Jersey."
Thanks for inviting me into yet another awesome pass Phil. :thumbs:
). It was pretty amazing.