alligator arms
n.pl.— «Some of the best players in the NBA have developed “alligator arms”— sports parlance for not extending the arms—under the pressure of big free throws.» —“The fine art of shooting free throws” by Eric Plummer Bonner County Daily Bee (Sandpoint, Idaho) Dec. 31, 2008. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Quiz Guy John Chaneski insists that the names of modern Olympic sports resulted from changing one letter in the original names for each activity. For example, he says, the pole vault must have originated from an earlier sport in which participants...