Some terms might be hard to understand for those who just started following sports, and others can make you giggle. For example, there’s “bonk” in the running, which simply means “to run out of energy” or “to get tired.”
Also, there’s “pepper” in volleyball, and it doesn’t have anything with food. The term means a popular warm-up before the match, consisting of bump, set, and spike.
Exploring few weird sport terms
Let’s continue to the most exciting terms in different sports, what they mean and where they came from.
Hat-trick
As some sources state, the words originated in cricket in the 1800s after a big English player made an unthinkable action. He has managed to take out three batters with consecutive balls. Allegedly their hats were passed to the winner as a gest of respect after the game, thus the name.
The term is used when one player scores three times in a match, usually at soccer and hockey. One of the popular additional options for bettors at most betting operators is provided by https://bookmaker-ratings.com/. Interestingly, there’s a tradition to throw caps and hats on ice after the hat-trick is achieved.
Nutmeg
It’s a famous trick in soccer when the player sticks the ball between the opponents’ legs. The footballer must be very skillful to perform this. The trick is useful because it’s hard for the opponent to change direction quickly and start the chase.
The term has a significant history: in the 1870s, America exported nutmegs to England. Not the skills, but the nuts. The demand was so huge that the US couldn’t handle the amount. As a result, instead of the product, England got the wooden props. The story piece made the term “to be nutmegged” appear. It means: “to be fooled, make the victim look tricked, cheated.”
Full nelson
The words sound fun and mean nothing to anyone who doesn’t follow wrestling. But on the surface, it’s a straightforward and brilliant move: the fighter moves to the back of the opponent and takes him to the wristlock at the neck. This way, the rival’s under control, and he can’t move his hands and break the lock.
The term’s origin is debatable, but the most plausible version comes from the 19th century. The British admiral Horatio Nelson’s often used tactic moves when he surrounded his opponents. The professional anchors can also describe the wrestling trick like that.
Alley-Oop
The trick looks spectacular: the basketball player needs to jump high enough to put the ball to the hoop from the top. Since the opponent’s defense works on blocking the way to the ring, there are not enough chances to perform an alley-oop.
Sports fans can find the term history in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. The definition states that the word comes from the circus shout “allez-oop.” The circus acrobats still use this cry to indicate the moment of the jump, and might come from the French “aller” = “to go” and alternation of “up” = “oop” in English.
Conclusion
All these terms in sports are quite unique to say the least. Only sports lovers are supposed to know but only few of them. Now you know some of such sport terms to enhance your knowledge on the topic.
