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American football: To improvise, often in the spur of the moment. The term is based on the practice of changing a play right before the play is run in American football. [4] carry the ball American football, rugby, etc: To take charge, to assume responsibility. In some ball games (for example American or Canadian football, rugby, etc.), the ...
Originally the word traditionally muttered by actors in a play to provide background noise. Online Etymology Dictionary attributes the "loud squabble on the field" usage to broadcaster Garry Schumacher in 1938, [104] while OED and CDS both credit sportscaster Red Barber at a baseball game in 1943. OED's first non-baseball cite is 1949. [105]
Several of the states that derive their names from names used for Native peoples have retained the plural ending in "s": Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, and Texas. One common naming pattern has been as follows: Native tribal group → River → Territory → State.
Online Etymology Dictionary. The Online Etymology Dictionary or Etymonline, sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the Oxford English Dictionary, which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the origins of English words, written and compiled by Douglas R. Harper. [ 1]
An old-fashioned word referring to a baseball bat, which is typically made of wood from an ash tree. "The shrewd manager substitutes a fast runner for a slow one, and sends in a pinch hitter when the man he takes out is just as good with the ash as the man he sends in." [ 16 ]
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, sometimes referred to simply as Brewer's, is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical . The "New Edition revised, corrected, and enlarged" from 1895 is now in the public ...
The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology is an etymological dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press.The first editor of the dictionary was Charles Talbut Onions, who spent his last twenty years largely devoted to completing the first edition, published in 1966, which treated over 38,000 words and went to press just before his death.
The American Dream is a main theme in the book by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. The two friends George and Lennie dream of their own piece of land with a ranch, so they can "live off the fatta the lan'" and just enjoy a better life. The book later shows that not everyone can achieve the American Dream, although it is possible to achieve for ...