Dear Mr. Sportsknowitall, 10/5
Dear Mr. Sportsknowitall: What is a thin clad? T.B.
If you go way back to about 1890 or so, the New York Times referred to track and field athletes as thin clads. This was because track and field athletes are usually clad in thin clothing, often exposing arms and legs. Football players, at the time, wore heavy sweaters, canvas leggings and heavy boots.
This subject was discussed here before. Football players were called “gridders,” because the field was marked in such a way that the field resembled a grid, although it looked more like a waffle iron, so football players could have been called “wafflers.” Long before “cage match” was used in pro rasslin, basketball players were often called “cagers,” because the early games through the 1920s were played with a net surrounding the court to cut down on fan interference.
“Grapplers” and “matmen,” for wrestlers, “diamondmen,” “the nine” for baseball players, “anglers” for fisher folks and “keglers” for bowlers were also terms used by headline writers who tried to cram colorful words into short headlines. Note: Keglers came from the German “kegel” for bowling pins, and angler for the angle between the rod, line and water.
We also got “toting the pigskin” for a ball carrier, and “hurling the horsehide,” even though pigskin has not been used for a football in more than 50 years and cowhide is the covering for baseballs the last 40 years or so.
The “portsider on the bump, hurling aspirins” would be a left-handed pitcher throwing fastballs.
We also got “trey” for a three-point shot, even “old-fashioned three” for a basket and free throw.
All the cliches come from a lack of imagination and all help form the basis of much of Mr. Sportsknowitall’s efforts.
The early bird gets the answer at Mr. Sportsknowitall at khambleton@journalstar.com.
If you go way back to about 1890 or so, the New York Times referred to track and field athletes as thin clads. This was because track and field athletes are usually clad in thin clothing, often exposing arms and legs. Football players, at the time, wore heavy sweaters, canvas leggings and heavy boots.
This subject was discussed here before. Football players were called “gridders,” because the field was marked in such a way that the field resembled a grid, although it looked more like a waffle iron, so football players could have been called “wafflers.” Long before “cage match” was used in pro rasslin, basketball players were often called “cagers,” because the early games through the 1920s were played with a net surrounding the court to cut down on fan interference.
“Grapplers” and “matmen,” for wrestlers, “diamondmen,” “the nine” for baseball players, “anglers” for fisher folks and “keglers” for bowlers were also terms used by headline writers who tried to cram colorful words into short headlines. Note: Keglers came from the German “kegel” for bowling pins, and angler for the angle between the rod, line and water.
We also got “toting the pigskin” for a ball carrier, and “hurling the horsehide,” even though pigskin has not been used for a football in more than 50 years and cowhide is the covering for baseballs the last 40 years or so.
The “portsider on the bump, hurling aspirins” would be a left-handed pitcher throwing fastballs.
We also got “trey” for a three-point shot, even “old-fashioned three” for a basket and free throw.
All the cliches come from a lack of imagination and all help form the basis of much of Mr. Sportsknowitall’s efforts.
The early bird gets the answer at Mr. Sportsknowitall at khambleton@journalstar.com.
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