sports

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Athletic pastime

Nouns

1. sports, recreation, athletics, pastime; angling, hunting, chase (see pursuit); sportsmanship, fair play (see justice); sportswear (see clothing).

2. sportsman, sportswoman, Nimrod, hunter, angler; athlete, ballplayer, golfer, etc.; benchwarmer, free agent.

3.

a. baseball, national pastime; major or minor league, big league, National or American League; farm team or system; ballpark, home plate, [first, second, or third] base, infield, outfield, pitcher's mound; battery, pitcher, catcher, shortstop, infielder, outfielder, manager, coach; umpire; home run, homer, single, double, triple, pop fly, fly ball, line drive, liner, ground ball, grounder, foul ball; strike, walk, base on balls, out; base runner, batter; pitch, fast ball, change-up, curve, slider, spitball, knuckle ball; inning; World Series, playoffs, wildcard team.

b. football, National or American Football League, division; college football, conference, Rose Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, etc.; stadium, field, gridiron, line, end zone, goal line, yard line; lineman, end, tackle, guard, center, fullback, halfback, quarterback, receiver, punter; line, backfield; official, judge, linesman; [lateral or forward] pass, kick, handoff, rush; touchdown, conversion; period, quarter, half.

c. basketball, hoop; court, fore-, mid-, or backcourt, sideline, basket, backboard, free throw line, foul line; basketball player, basketballer, forward, guard, center, playmaker; official, referee, jump ball, dribble; screen, one-on-one, zone; basket, field goal, shot, lay-up, [slam] dunk, tip-in.

d. [lawn] tennis, singles, doubles; ball, racket; hard surface, clay court, grass court, composite court; service, ace; love, deuce, tiebreaker, set point, match point; volley, forehand, backhand, overhead, smash, groundstroke, drop shot, lob.

e. soccer, association football; forward, striker, lineman, defender, goalie; penalty kick, free kick; goal. Slang, kicking the bladder.

f. bowling, kegling, tenpin, candlepin, duckpin, or fivepin bowling, lawn bowling, bowls; alley, lane, gutter; pin, pinspotter, bowling ball; string, frame, strike, spare, split; perfect game.

g. hockey, ice, roller, deck, street, floor, or field hockey, banty, shinty, hurling; bench, squad, defense, wingman, line, goalie; pass, [body, hip, poke, or stick] check, [slap or wrist] shot, flip, power play, shoot-out; cross checking, high-sticking.

h. boxing, the noble art of self-defense, [prizefighting, pugilism, the ring; canvas, prize ring, corner; boxer, fighter, slugger, manager, trainer, handler, corner man; match, bout; referee, official; punch, chop, cross, jab, hook, haymaker, rabbit punch, uppercut; lightweight, bantamweight, featherweight, welterweight, heavyweight; knockout, KO, technical knockout, TKO, split decision; round, bell.

i. horse racing, sport of kings; jockey, rider, owner, trainer, breeder; racehorse (see animal); favorite, pacesetter, nag; backstretch, post, turn, straightaway.

j. cricket, batsman, wicket, bail, bowler, run, out, century; test match.

k. golf; golf course, fairway, dogleg, tee, rough, green, cup; golfer, duffer; hole-in-one, par [for the course].

4. gymnastics, rings, balance beam, [parallel or unparallel] bars, horse, tumbling, floor exercises, pommel horse; track and field, discus [throw], hammer throw, high jump, long jump, pole vault, shot put, javelin throw, decathlon, triathlon, biathlon; bicycle racing, motocross; target shooting, archery, skeet or trap shooting; weightlifting, bodybuilding.

5. martial arts; aikido, boxing, capoeira, Greco-Roman wrestling, jujitsu, judo, karate, kungfu, tae kwon do, kick boxing, wrestling, wu shu.

6. (animal sports) rodeo, bronco riding, calf roping, steer roping, steer wrestling, bull riding; bullfighting, bullfighter, toreador, picador, matador; cockfighting; dog or greyhound racing; harness racing; polo; steeplechase.

7. (water sports) swimming, [Australian] crawl, sidestroke, breaststroke, backstroke, dogpaddle, butterfly; scuba diving, snorkeling, deep-sea diving; surfing; synchronized swimming; water polo; windsurfing, sailboard-ing; canoeing, kayaking, boating, rowing, yachting; fishing (see pursuit).

8. hang gliding, parachuting, parasailing, sky-diving, bungee jumping, ballooning. See aviation.

9. (winter sports)

a. skiing, Alpine, downhill, or cross-country skiing, skijoring, ski jumping, extreme skiing, ski lift, rope tow, chair lift, slalom, ski jump, downhill, christie, herringbone, Telemark, snowplow, wideln, wedge, stem, tuck, bathtub, bunny, hot dog, langlauf, mogul, [off-]piste, schuss.

b. skating, figure skating, ice dancing, free skating, long or short program; jump, axel, butterfly, [camel, layback or sit] spin, choctaw, school or compulsory figure, death spiral, double or triple jump, Lutz, mohawk, Salchow, spiral, spread eagle, [toe] loop, Walley.

c. sledding, tobogganing, snow tubing, snowboarding, luge.

d. ice hockey (see

3.

g. above); curling; ice boating or sailing; skier, snowboarder. Informal, shredder.

Verbs — play sports, compete; take it on the chin, throw in the sponge or towel.

Adjectives — sportive, sporting; sportsmanlike; on the ropes, up to scratch, down for the count.

Phrases — nice guys finish last.

Quotations — The only athletic sport I ever mastered was backgammon (Douglas Jerrold), To play billiards well is the sign of an ill-spent youth (Charles Roupell), Golf is a good walk spoiled (Mark Twain), [Of sports: ] I used to think the only use for it was to give small boys something else to kick besides me (Katharine Whitehorn), The trouble with referees is that they just don't care which side wins (Tom Canterbury), Boxing's just show business with blood (Frank Bruno), Baseball is very big with my people. It figures. It's the only way we can get to shake a bat at a white man without starting a riot (Dick Gregory), In America, it is sport that is the opiate of the masses (Russell Baker).