Sometimes it seems that almost all Americans either play sports or watch them. Because competition occupies such a central place in American life and imagination, we hear a kind of democratic poetry in the sporty metaphors that make our English language so athletic. These phrases and expressions are vivid emblems of the games that we, as a people, watch and play.
The grandest of all celebrations of sport, the Olympic Games, will start coming our way next week. Let’s take a metaphoric look at one knockout Olympic sport:
Straight from the shoulder, boxing metaphors pull no punches in our English language. When fate has us on the ropes and hits us with a low blow in a knockdown, drag out fight, we can take it on the chin, get knocked for a loop, go down for the count or throw in the towel or sponge. Or we can throw our hat in the ring, roll with the punches, beat our opponent to the punch, come out swinging or be saved by the bell.
Would you believe that the expression ducks in a row, meaning “all the details in order,” comes from bowling? Early bowling pins were often shorter and thicker than modern pins, which led to the nickname ducks. Hence, having one’s ducks in a row originally meant having all of the bowling pins organized and properly placed before sending the next ball down the lane.
Even cockfighting contributes to the poetry of our daily prose. From the cockpit (yes, the modern meaning of the word derives from the cramped arena of flying feathers), we gain several modern metaphors:
A hackle is a long, narrow, shiny feather on the necks of certain birds, gamecocks among them. In the heat of battle, a fighting cock’s hackles become erect to show its fury. That’s why, when the going gets rough, people get their hackles up.
If the going gets too rough, people can become crestfallen. Crestfallen, meaning “defeated or dispirited,” does not refer to the act of dropping one’s toothpaste. As victory approaches, the crest of a fighting cock rises, deep red and rigid. But when defeat is imminent, the crest droops — and the bird becomes crestfallen.
OK, sports fans and Olympics junkies. How many sports and games can you find hidden in the following passage? It’s a slam dunk (basketball) and a drop kick (football) that you employ many of these expressions in your everyday conversations.
When the chips are down and the situation is up for grabs because our opponent is tossing in a red herring, we must knuckle down, hold the line, call the shots, hit the bull’s-eye, get on a roll, get the ball rolling, take the bull by the horns with no holds barred, and put the ball in the other guy’s court. Otherwise, we may end up jumping the gun, not up to par, down and out, out in left field, behind the eight ball, barking up the wrong tree, coming a cropper, taking the bait hook, line and sinker or facing a sticky wicket.
Answers
Twenty-one sports and games are represented:
When the chips are down (poker) and the situation is up for grabs (basketball) because our opponent is tossing in a red herring (fox-hunting), we must knuckle down (marbles), hold the line (football), call the shots (billiards), hit the bull’s-eye (archery), get on a roll (dicing), get the ball rolling (soccer), take the bull by the horns (rodeo), with no holds barred (wrestling) and put the ball in the other guy’s court (tennis). Otherwise, we may end up jumping the gun (track), not up to par (golf), down and out (boxing), out in left field (baseball), behind the eight ball (pool), barking up the wrong tree (coon hunting), coming a cropper (horse racing), taking the bait hook, line and sinker (fishing) and facing a sticky wicket (cricket).
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