Sunday, May 24, 2009

Cricket

I know about as much about cricket as I do korfball, which is next to nothing. Still, cricket has added some fun words to the English language.
Cricket - From the Old French word criquet meaning goal post. The insect name comes from a different French word, criquer meaning to creak. Using cricket to mean fair play as in "That's just not cricket" dates to the 19th century.

Hat Trick - The usage familiar to North Americans is to score three goals in ice hockey. The term originated in cricket and means putting down batsmen three times on three consecutive throws.

Sticky Wicket - Mostly a British slang that Americans occasionally use. As slang is means a difficult situation. In cricket it means a wet playing field (pitch).

Googly - Meaning bug-eyed from the comic strip Barney Google. In cricket a googly is a spinning delivery akin to the curveball in baseball.

Mullygrubber - My favorite cricket term it refers to a pitched ball that doesn't bounce. There are even some obscure non-cricket slang uses.

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