Sports Jargon
The world of sports terminology is a fascinating one. There are terms that are self-explanatory (double dribble, jump ball, three-point line, goal, kickoff), terms that have pretty obvious or intuitive origins (field goal, “taking a charge,” free throw, play action), and there are terms that are just plain weird. Let’s discuss those.
Alley-Oop
The term “alley-oop” seems a bit random right? It turns out its origin is in the phrase “Allez hop!” from French, which was what a circus acrobat would yell before attempting a leap so that everyone else would clear out of the way. This is now the second good thing France has contributed to modern life, after Bordeaux wine of course. It was popularized in the 1950s in practices by players like Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain who would apparently judge a teammate’s shot trajectory to be missing the hoop, and instead, jump in the air, catch their errant shot, and slam it down. Teammates were pissed but it was worth it.
Hat Trick
A hat trick is when a player accomplishes some sort of feat three times in an single sporting event. Examples include three goals in a soccer or hockey game, three bulls-eyes in a row in darts, or three wickets on three consecutive balls in cricket. The origin of this term is said to come from cricket in 1858. H.H. Stephenson, an English bowler, took the first recorded hat trick in cricket history, dismissing three batters in consecutive deliveries. The fans were so shocked by this display of brilliance that they organized a collection of donations to go to Stephenson after the match. The vessel that collected these donations? A hat that was passed around the crowd.
Drop a Dime
In basketball, the phrase “drop a dime” refers to a beautiful assist. It’s origin derives from the olden days, where pay phones were the only way to call someone quickly when you were away from your home or office phone. In the era of mobster crime, police forces had to depend heavily on informants or undercover agents to report on impending criminal activity. This was especially helpful for coordinating sting operations, or catching the criminals red-handed. At the time, pay phone calls cost 10 cents, or a dime. So when an informant would “drop a dime” in the coin slot and pay for a covert phone call to clue the police in on some shady shit, the informant was giving a big assist to the cops. The connection is a bit loose, but this is indeed how the phrase “drop a dime” came to describe noteworthy assists in basketball.
Hail Mary
One of the most famous Hail Mary passes was thrown by Roger Staubach against the Vikings in the 1975 playoffs. At the time, however, there was no name for this type of end-of-game desperation ploy. As his pass sailed downfield, Staubach called on his devout Catholic roots, and closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary. The pass floated through the air and somehow found the waiting arms of Drew Pearson for a 50-yard touchdown to steal the game 17–14 at the last second for the Cowboys. It’s pretty funny to listen to the commentary for that touchdown — because passes of that length were pretty uncommon at that time and there was no well-known term for it, the commentators were just like “whaaaat was that.”
The Packers Hail Mary against the Cardinals is so ridiculous. They went 97 yards in 55 seconds with no timeouts to score a game-tying touchdown on the back of essentially TWO Hail Marys. Wtf. Love you, Aaron.
Coffin Corner
In football, a “coffin corner” punt is one that goes out of bounds right at the goal-line, pinning the other team deep in their own territory. It’s extremely hard to execute, but can be beautiful when done correctly.
Why is this 5x5 yard corner of the field where the punt is aimed called the “coffin corner”? Funnily enough, it’s based on a now debunked myth about Victorian times. The story goes that, in those times, many people died of old age or natural causes at home, rather than hospitals. And Victorian-era homes primarily had the large bedrooms on the second floor. So when someone who had passed away had to be carried out of the house in a coffin, the pallbearers had to find a way to get the coffin up and down the stairs. In many Victorian-era houses, you can find a niche cut out of a wall on the staircase. People hypothesized this cutout was used to facilitate the turning of the coffin around the spiral of the staircase.
It turns out many historical accounts of Victorian architecture roundly refute this myth, but it was so well-known that commentators began calling these punts “coffin corner kicks,” and it’s stuck ever since.
Nutmeg
In soccer, one of the most embarrassing things an offensive player can subject a defender to is the nutmeg (similar to posterizing someone or breaking their ankles with a crossover in basketball). It happens when the player with the ball uses his technical skills to slot the ball through the defender’s legs and run past him. It often ends with the defender in a figurative and/or literal puddle on the ground and it’s amazing to watch.
The term comes from the 1870s when nutmeg exports were soaring between America and England. The spice was such a valuable commodity that exporters would always try to find a way to pull a fast one on unsuspecting importers. In a sack of nutmegs that were sold to an importer, the exporter would try to sneak in some hollow, wooden replicas and save the good stuff for later, a la Michael Scott and the Caprese salad.
This coined the term “getting nutmegged” which was Victorian slang for a foolish victim being deceived by a clever trickster. Let me use it in a couple sentences for you:
Adil, desperate to purchase a Secret Santa (Snowflake? lol) sweater, was viciously nutmegged by the Belk sales clerk — his credit score will never be the same.
Over the years, the Aristocrats have nutmegged Davis several times, calling on various supporting characters in Davis’ life to submarine him in the most savage ways.
As the practice of slipping the ball between a player’s legs became more popular as a showy display of skill in the late 1800’s, the phrase “getting nutmegged” began find application in soccer as well. Interestingly enough, there is a form of street soccer (often played 2v2 or 1v1) called Panna where you can score normal goals by kicking the ball into the small goal, but you can catch the proverbial Golden Snitch (end the match early as an automatic win) by nutmegging a player of the opposite team. It’s dope.
