The more involved we become in our hobbies, the more likely we are to start using terms and phrases associated with those fields. For the most part, these are designed to simplify complex ideas and make them easier to communicate. Depending on how technical of a hobby it is, terms might also be highly nuanced—and involve some memorization.
But many of us are also borrowing terms and phrases from hobbies we don’t share with others. In fact, some of the more storied pastimes of the last century, namely boxing and poker, have bled into everyday language. And even people who have never played Texas Hold’em or watched a boxing match have probably used them.
Keep reading for a dive into both of the hobbies mentioned above, along with American football. Just like with poker and boxing, even if you’ve never caught a touchdown, you’ve probably used some of these phrases before.
Poker
For the most part, many in the general public are familiar with a few general terms from poker. Off the top, terms like ‘poker face’ and ‘house are probably immediately recognizable. A poker face is a hard-to-read expression that makes a player more difficult to predict, while the house is simply whichever establishment is hosting the poker game.
But what about phrases like ‘going all-in’ and ‘upping the ante’? These are both commonly used—even if someone isn’t aware of their origins. For those who don’t know, ‘going ‘all-in’ on something is a way to signify that someone isn’t holding back, while ‘upping the ante’ is literally about raising the stakes—in poker and just about any other activity.
The same goes for the word ‘tell’. The word’s original use comes from poker, where it stemmed from the word ‘telegraph’ or from a player who ‘tells’ you what they’re going to do with a certain tick or facial expression. To read someone’s tell is to know what they’re going to do ahead of time based on their facial expression or body language.
Boxing
Just like poker, boxing has a ton of real-world terms that have slowly bled into the common lexicon. And this makes sense—just like poker, boxing is a larger-than-life competition in which the stakes are high and the audiences are highly engrossed. Action in the ring closely parallels life’s tougher situations.
And there are literally dozens of expressions that highlight this. For example, ‘hitting below the belt’ and ‘beating someone to the punch’ are both ways to signify a type of action. The former is a cheap shot, the latter a quick and decisive move. A ‘blow-by-blow’ breaks down a course of event act by act.
Then there’s ‘punch drunk’, a phrase that describes a boxer’s wayward movement—which mirrors a man in love. But a few more turns of phrase from the boxing world may surprise you. For example, ‘groggy’ also stems from the boxing world, along with the word ‘on the ropes’. Both describe fighters nearing their end.
Then there’s ‘throw in the towel’, an expression for those about to give up. Unless, of course, they’re ‘saved by the bell’, which marks the moment that the fight ends, or they’re able to ‘roll with the punches’, and keep up with the fight.
Football
Competition lends really well to creating new expressions. Just like poker and boxing, American football has also become a huge part of the North American English lexicon. There are dozens of words that describe a variety of situations. For example, a ‘fumble’ or a ‘muff’ is a missed opportunity, while a ‘huddle’ is a chance to regroup, and a ‘blitz’ is a high-risk, high-reward move.
To ‘call an audible’ is another common term. Calling an audible in football is when the offensive or defensive squad changes up the play at the last minute; in everyday life, it signifies that someone is taking the reins and calling the shots. Another common term is a ‘Hail Mary’, a phrase borrowed from a popular prayer.
The ‘Hail Mary’ is a type of long pass that’s headed for the end zone—but that doesn’t have a huge chance of success. For this reason, it references a prayer. The phrase was first used back in 1975 by a Dallas Cowboys player but has since become a common turn of phrase in the US. Anyone hoping for a Hail Mary is hoping for a long shot to pay off.
