Lesson 5 · Street Talk 2 Vocabulary List

a basketball play where one player throws the ball near the basket, and a teammate jumps, catches it mid-air, and scores, usually with a dunk or a layup

"The player threw an alley-oop pass."

"The basketball player threw an alley oop pass that his teammate dunked for two points."

an impressively successful event

"The game was a real barnburner."

"The championship game was a barnburner with both teams scoring last minute touchdowns."

(American football) the quarterback moves back as if to pass and then hands the ball to the fullback who is running toward the line of scrimmage

"The quarterback called a draw play."

"The quarterback faked a pass before handing the ball off on a draw play up the middle."

a pitch thrown at high speed when the count is 3 balls and 2 strikes, often as a crucial pitch to try and get the batter out

"The pitcher threw a three-two fastball."

"The pitcher threw a three two fastball right down the middle and struck out the batter."

(American football) the act of one player handing the ball to another player, typically the quarterback giving it to a running back

"The quarterback made a handoff."

"The running back fumbled the handoff during the big game."

(basketball) a shot taken from the free-throw line as a penalty for a foul, with no defenders allowed to interfere

"The free throw is taken from the line."

"The forward calmly sank both free throws after being fouled on a drive."

the area of the basketball court that is located between the two baskets, or a play or game involving only this section of the court

"The shot from half-court swished."

"The point guard heaved a half court shot at the buzzer but it bounced off the rim."

(basketball) a shot taken close to the basket where the player lays the ball into the hoop

"The layup bounces off the backboard."

"The guard drove the baseline and finished with a reverse layup off the glass."

to garb the basketball after a missed shot, either offensively or defensively

"He pulled down the rebound."

"The tall basketball player jumped high to pull down the rebound after his teammate missed the shot."

(American football) a play in which a player attempts to carry the ball through or past the opposing team

"The running play gained ten yards."

"The coach called a running play on third down because they only needed one yard."

(in the game of basketball) to take some shots without taking part in an actual game

"Let's shoot some hoops."

"Before the official game started, the players decided to shoot some hoops to warm up their shooting arms."

(football) a route where the receiver runs toward the sideline to catch a pass near the boundary of the field

"The receiver ran a sideline route."

"The wide receiver ran a sideline route and caught the pass with both feet in bounds."

used to rudely tell someone to go away or expresses annoyance

"You can get stuffed!"

"When he refused to apologize for his rude behavior, she told him to get stuffed and walked away."

the first half of the seventh inning in a baseball game, when the visiting team is at bat and the home team is in the field

"Top of the seventh inning now."

"The home team was leading by three runs at the top of the seventh inning of the baseball game."

a player in American football who specializes in catching passes from the quarterback

"The wide receiver runs a deep route."

"The wide receiver ran a quick slant route and caught the ball in traffic."

to describe a batter’s strategy of forcing the pitcher to throw a series of pitches, resulting in a 3-2 count, where the batter has three balls and two strikes

"He worked the pitcher to a full count."

"The patient batter worked the pitcher to a full count before finally hitting a home run."

a score or amount of zero, typically indicating nothing or a lack of something

"He scored zip."

"Despite his confident predictions, the candidate received zip votes in the local election."

(baseball) a pitch thrown with maximum velocity

"The pitcher threw a bullet."

"The relief pitcher delivered a blistering bullet that the batter couldn't even see."

to decrease or reduce the amount or quantity of something

"They cut the budget."

"The company decided to cut back on non-essential expenditures to improve profitability."

outside the boundaries of fair play, especially in baseball

"That was a foul ball."

"The umpire called a foul ball, much to the disappointment of the batter who thought he had hit a home run."

a major championship or series of victories in sports, typically tennis, golf, or baseball

"The player celebrated his grand slam victory"

"Hitting a grand slam with the bases loaded is every baseball player's dream moment."

(baseball) a successful stroke in an athletic contest (especially in baseball)

"He got a hit."

"The batter swung with all his might and connected for a crucial hit in the ninth inning."

(basketball) a dunk, where a player jumps and forcefully slams the ball through the hoop

"He made a jam."

"The star player executed a spectacular jam, bringing the crowd to its feet."

a situation where two teams or competitors have the same score, making it a tie

"It was a knot."

"With the score tied in the final seconds, the championship game ended in a disappointing knot."

a situation where a player loses possession of the ball to the opposing team, either by a bad pass, violation, or steal

"That was a turnover."

"A careless turnover in the backcourt gave the opposing team an easy basket."

(baseball) an advance to first base by a batter who receives four balls

"He got a walk."

"Despite striking out twice, the patient batter drew a walk to load the bases."