horse collar n.— «A few years back the NFL initiated the “Roy Williams Rule,” banning the tackling of a player by grabbing the inside of the shoulder pads, or jersey from behind. This practice is affectionately known as the...
chessically adv.— «I can’t say I’ll miss Bobby Fischer. Chessically speaking, he died years ago. But I’ll continue to miss the player and artist that he was, his courageous honesty and sublime creativity. He wasn’t just a great player. He...
kryptonite n.— «The same things that lowly Washington and freshman Jake Locker used to throw a serious scare into the Trojans. The same things that one USC player referred to as the team’s “kryptonite” in the days leading up...
Fellow wordivas and wordudes, This week on A Way with Words we start a brand-new season! To celebrate, we noodled with anagrams, including the one in the title of this episode. Listen here. Also on the show: A New York City schoolteacher asks...
big timber n.— «As recently as 10 years ago, it was possible for a pool player to earn a living hustling, provided he was armed with the requisite chops and disposition.…Odds were good that there was at least one unsuspecting local...
on rails adj.— «One of the shorthand ways of criticizing a modern game is to say that part or all of the game is “on rails,” meaning that the player doesn’t have control over his or her character’s path through the level...