People love sports, so it’s no surprise that there are many idioms related to sports in some way, and English is no exception. Don’t be behind the eight ball! Learn these useful sports idioms in English and be on the ball with your spoken English fluency.
Contents
- A Shoo-in
- Back the Wrong Horse
- Behind the Eight Ball
- Call the Shots
- Dark Horse
- Down To the Wire
- End Run (to do an)
- From the Word Go
- Full-Court Press
- Monday-morning Quarterback
- No Holds Barred
- On the Ball, to be
- On the Ropes
- Par For the Course
- Raise the Bar
- Right Off the Bat
- Run Interference
- Step Up to the Plate
- Throw In the Towel
- Whole New Ball Game, a
- Team Player
- Kick Off
- Off Base
- Ninth Inning
- Play Hardball
Meaning: something or someone who is certain or very likely to win. Often misspelled as shoe-in.
Example: “The Republican candidate is a shoo-in to win the race for Governor.”
Meaning: to make the wrong choice concerning who or what you support and to support a person or action that is later unsuccessful; to make a wrong choice; to guess wrongly concerning the final outcome.
Example: “Investing in such an unproven product was a mistake. He really backed the wrong horse on that one.”
Meaning: to be in a difficult or awkward situation; to be at a disadvantage; to be out of luck, in a losing position; to be baffled as to what to do or how to proceed.
Example: “The detective was behind the eight ball and had a lot of work to do to solve the case.”
Meaning: to be in charge or in control; to make the important decisions; or to have authority.
Example: “Everybody can’t be in charge,” said Frank.”Someone has to call the shots.”
Meaning: a person, in regards to a certain field, sport, political race etc., whose experience and abilities are unknown but who could unexpectedly win or achieve success over others; an unknown and unexpected winner of a race or other contest.
Example: “Having never won a race, she was a dark horse to win the Gold Medal in the 100 meters.”
Meaning: the very last possible moment or to the very end.
Example: “It looks like the budget negotiations will go down to the wire, with the president threatening another shutdown.”
Meaning: to do an end run is to maneuver around an obstacle or authority in order to accomplish a certain goal. This idiom means much the same as to go over someone’s head.
Example: “If you do an end run around me again, said Patrick’s boss, I’ll have you in the mail room.”
Meaning: from the very beginning or start.
Example: “It turns out the bank president was in on the scam from the word go.”
Meaning: to apply aggressive tactics using all the resources at your disposal to exert maximum pressure in order to achieve some desired outcome.
Example: “If we’re going to close this deal, it will take a full-court press.”
Meaning: a person who dissects an event and tells others how it should have been dealt with after the event has happened. This person has the benefit of hindsight and already knowing what decisions were made and what outcomes occurred.
Example: “Everybody loves his column but he is a typical Monday-morning quarterback. He tells everyone what should have been done after things have already happened.
Meaning: a situation without any restrictions, where anything is permitted. Anything goes.
Example: “I’ll never go out shopping on Christmas Eve again, it’s a no holds barred mob scene!”
Meaning: To be on the ball means to be highly competent, capable, skillful, proficient, etc.; to be highly aware of what is going on and be quick to understand and react appropriately to things.
Example: “We’ve waited long enough, it’s time to get on the ball and get this house fixed up.”
Meaning: regarding boxing matches, on the ropes refers to a fighter who has been forced back against the ropes by his opponent and is leaning on them for support, making it difficult to defend himself; when used generally to refer to a person, organization, business, or effort, on the ropes means that things are not going well and collapse or defeat is imminent.
Example: “His business was on the ropes, and his marriage was on the rocks. Tom was having a very bad year.”
Meaning: normal, expected, or the usual; something that is the usual outcome and is mediocre and unexceptional; something that past experience suggests should be expected.
Example: “Unfortunately, corrupt cops are par for the course around here.”
Meaning: to set higher standards or rules than before; to make something a bit more difficult than before; to raise the quality expected.
Example: “He was thought to have raised the bar in biking performance, but it turned out that his performance was artificially enhanced with drugs.”
Meaning: immediately; instantly; from the very beginning.
Example: “This new manager took over today and started firing people right off the bat. I’m lucky to still have a job!”
Meaning: to help someone accomplish something by dealing with potential problems so as to eliminate encumbrances or distractions; to intervene in order to help another person.
Example: “You just concentrate on the case,” said Erin, “I’ll run interference with the press.”
Meaning: to take responsibility for something; to take initiative or take action in response to a crisis or problem; to take action or do something in response to an opportunity; to accept a challenge; to rise to the occasion.
Example: “You’ve been engaged for ten years. When are you going to step up to the plate and marry her?”
Meaning: to quit or give up, admitting defeat.
Example: “My aunt and uncle’s marriage has been in trouble for years. They finally decided to throw in the towel.”
Meaning: completely changed situation or set of circumstances.
Example: “If you think parenting a toddler is difficult, get ready for the teenage years. That’s a whole new ballgame.”
More Sports Idioms
Team player: someone who works well in a team or group environment; someone who enjoys working in a communal situation. Example: “I need you to be a team player, here. Everyone else takes an extra shift once in a while.’
Kick Off: to start; to begin; to get things going. Example: “The band kicked off the concert with a brand new song.”
Off Base: wrong; mistaken; misinformed; not in touch with reality; inexact (often with way, i.e. ‘way off base’). Example: You’re way off base if you think this is my fault!”
Ninth Inning: when something is in the ninth inning, it is almost finished or near the end; the very last part of a process. Example: “The negotiations are in the ninth inning and both parties claim a final agreement is forthcoming.”
Play Hardball: to act aggressively or even ruthlessly to achieve a certain goal, usually in opposition to another person; to be unpleasant and threatening; to act tough and uncompromising. Example: “It’s time we play hard ball. I want you to dig up some dirt on our opposition.”
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