Many dance terms are French because the 17th-century French monarchy made it an official courtly art and codified many core ballet techniques.
Today, the French terms persist because they help ensure standardized dance techniques around the world.
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A kook in surfing is someone who lacks experience, judgment, or awareness in the water and often disrupts other surfers. A kook might paddle into waves out of turn, drop in on people, block the takeoff zone, or use equipment improperly.
This surfing term doesn’t necessarily refer to a beginner but rather a surfer who behaves recklessly or who ignores etiquette.
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In the sport of cricket, it is innings (with an “s”) not “inning.”
In cricket, an innings is a team’s “turn” to bat instead of field.
The plural of the cricket term “innings” is also “innings” (e.g., “In test cricket, the teams get two innings”).
The word “inning” (without an “s”) is a baseball term.
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A sticky wicket is a British English cricket idiom meaning “a tricky situation” (e.g., “We’re on a bit of a sticky wicket here because we promised two important customers we’d deliver projects next week, and we’re going to have to disappoint one of them”).
It comes from a cricket term meaning a playing surface that is difficult to play on if you are a batter because it is wet and soft.
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If you are bowled over by something, it means that you are very impressed with it, often unexpectedly (e.g., “I was bowled over by the quality of the performances at the talent show”).
This idiom may come from an old cricket term meaning to hit the wooden “sticks” behind the batter.
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A “deke” in hockey is a move or fake a player uses to outsmart an opponent or goaltender. “Deke” is a shortened form of the noun “decoy.”
Understanding terms like “deke” will help you better keep up with the game. If you have questions about other hockey terms, ask QuillBot’s AI Chat.
“High-sticking” in hockey is when a player raises their stick above shoulder height and makes contact with an opponent, the puck, or the goal.
High-sticking is considered a penalty and can result in a minor or major infraction depending on the severity.
For more information, or for questions about other hockey terms, ask QuillBot’s AI Chat.
A “hat trick” in hockey is when a player scores three goals in a single game. It’s a notable achievement celebrated by players and fans.
This term is also used in other sports like cricket, soccer, and baseball.
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“Offsides” in hockey is a colloquial form of “offside,” when an attacking player enters the offensive zone before the puck does. To be “onside,” the puck must cross the blue line before the player.
If a player is offside, this stops play and results in a faceoff in the neutral zone. The offside rule exists to stop players from hanging out near the goal waiting for a long pass.
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An “enforcer” in hockey is a player whose role is to protect teammates and respond to aggressive opponents—often through physical play or fighting—instead of focusing on scoring.
QuillBot’s AI Chat can give more depth about enforcers or define other hockey terms.
Some common slang pickleball terms include:
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you understand confusing pickleball slang terms.
“Gnarly” means “gnarled and knotted,” or—as a surfing term—”extreme, impressive, or challenging,” especially when referring to waves.
As a slang word, “gnarly” can also mean “awesome or amazing.” So, it’s important to pay attention to the specific context of this word to understand its meaning.
To learn more about the meaning of “gnarly,” ask QuillBot’s AI Chat.
The shaka sign means friendliness, goodwill, and a laid-back attitude. In surfing culture and in Hawaii, where it originated, the gesture is used to say “hang loose,” “thank you,” “everything’s good,” or simply to acknowledge someone in a positive way.
To make the shaka sign, extend your thumb and pinky while curling the three middle fingers inward.
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“Hang ten” is a classic surfing term that refers to riding a longboard in such a way that all ten toes are placed over the nose of the board.
It’s considered one of the most stylish and technically difficult maneuvers in longboarding, so when someone “hangs ten,” it signals control, finesse, and confidence on a wave.
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Dance terminology refers to specialized vocabulary used to describe specific movements and techniques in different styles of dance.
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The main dance terms used in ballet are tendu, plié, relevé, and pirouette.
You can find out more about these words by using QuillBot’s free Translator to discover their meanings in English.
Jazz dance terms are ball change, isolations, pivot turn, and forced arch.
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Some slang football terms (for North American football) include:
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A drop shot in tennis is a softly played shot that lands close to the net, forcing your opponent to rush forward from the back of the court to reach it. To be effective, a drop shot should be:
QuillBot’s free AI chat can give you definitions of tennis terms like drop shot.
A bagel in tennis is a slang term to describe a set that is won by six games to zero (“six love”). For example, “Alcaraz handed Smith a bagel in the final set.”
You can also use it as a verb: “Alcaraz bagelled Smith in the final set.”
If you’re new to tennis, QuillBot’s free AI chat can help you understand tennis terms like “a bagel.”
A Grand Slam in tennis is one of the four major tournaments: The Australian Open (played on courts with a hardcourt surface), the French Open (played on clay courts), the Wimbledon Championships (located in the UK and played on grass courts), or the US Open (played on courts with a hardcourt surface). For example, “She has missed the last two Grand Slams due to injury.”
“The Grand Slam” means winning all of these tournaments in the same calendar year (e.g., “Steffi Graf completed the Grand Slam in women’s singles in 1988”).
QuillBot’s free AI chat can help you understand tennis terms like Grand Slam if you’re new to the sport.
A Golden Slam in tennis is when a player wins all of the four major tournaments (the Grand Slams) and the Olympic or Paralympic gold medal in the same discipline in the same calendar year (e.g., “Diede de Groot completed the Golden Slam in 2021”).
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Basketball slang terms include:
When you’re curious about basketball slang, QuillBot’s AI Chat can provide quick answers to your questions.
Some of the most common sports idioms in English include:
When you’re curious about the origin or meaning of different sports idioms, QuillBot’s AI Chat will provide instant answers, and it’s completely free to use.
Basketball betting terms include:
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The Caitlin Clark effect is a term for the impact of Caitlin Clark’s skill and success on the popularity of women’s basketball. Clark was a Point Guard for the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and began her WNBA career with the Indiana Fever in 2024.
During the 2023 and 2024 college women’s tournaments, Clark drew national attention by setting records for the most points and three-pointers. Her 2023 and 2024 NCAA championship games and her WNBA games have broken records for the most-watched women’s basketball games.
When you’re curious about basketball players and records, QuillBot’s free AI Chat can answer questions in seconds.
The term break point in tennis describes a stage in a game when the player who is not serving (the receiver) can win the game if they win the next point (i.e., when the score is 0-40, 15-40, or 30-40, or there is a “deuce” and the receiver has the “advantage”). If the receiver wins this point, they have “broken” their opponent’s serve.
In professional tennis, most games “go with serve,” which means that the server wins the game. This is because having the serve makes it easier to win a point.
A break point is therefore a significant stage in a set because if you “hold” (win) all your service games in a set, you only need to break your opponent’s serve once to win the set, by six games to four or seven games to five.
You can ask QuillBot’s free AI chat for definitions of tennis terms like break point.
Fantasy football is a game where each person creates a fantasy team with real NFL players (from different teams) and earns points based on each player’s performance in real NFL games. Some of the most important fantasy football terms are:
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Football betting involves predicting the outcome of games and placing wagers based on odds set by sportsbooks. Football betting terms include:
QuillBot’s AI Chat can provide instant answers to questions about football betting or football terms.
Baseball pitchers use a variety of different pitches to make the hitter’s job harder (and prevent the other team from scoring). There are several baseball pitching terms for these techniques.
Whether you’re new to baseball or brushing up on baseball terms, QuillBot’s free AI Chat can provide instant answers about all things baseball.
The name of the Major League Baseball (MLB) championship is the World Series (with no apostrophe). “World” is a singular noun, and it’s not possessive. People sometimes mistakenly write “World’s Series,” because the event used to be called the “World’s Championship Series.”
These types of mistakes are common, but luckily, QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker can help you with correct spelling and punctuation.
Because the World Series only involves US teams (and one Canadian team), it’s no wonder that people often ask how the World Series got its name.
It’s called the World Series because when the first event took place in 1903, the US was the only place in the world with professional baseball games. Therefore, the winning team at that time would be the literal world champion. Now, baseball is an Olympic sport, and there are international baseball leagues.
When you’re curious about baseball’s history or baseball terms, QuillBot’s free AI Chat can instantly answer your questions.
There are some common terms in English that come from either fencing or swordfighting. These include:
Many fencing terms come from French because of its popularity and the importance of French when dueling and swordfighting were at their peak.
If you are unsure whether a word has come from fencing, you can ask QuillBot’s AI Chat to tell you.
There are lots of funny pickleball terms:
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you understand the funny pickleball terms you come across.
