This week’s theme
Terms from ball games

This week’s words
Monday morning quarterback
slam dunk
bush league
googly
spin doctor

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(GOO-glee)

MEANING:

noun: In cricket, a ball bowled with a deceptive action so that it bounces in a direction different from what the batsman was expecting. (video)
adjective: (eyes) Staring, bulging, or wide open, in amazement or admiration.

ETYMOLOGY:

For noun: of unknown origin. For adjective, perhaps from goggle. Earliest documented use: 1901.

USAGE:

“Just as you settle on what you intend to do, on the sequence of actions that you need to take, fate bowls you a googly: other things happen that wreck your plans.”
Andrew Scholes; The Days Grow Short; Lulu; 2014.

“Because you thought that would make Saxon Walker go all googly over you, didn’t you? You actually thought he might take you in his arms and hug you?”
Jaclyn Moriarty; Feeling Sorry for Celia; St. Martin’s Press; 2001.

See more usage examples of googly in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: