beeper ball
n.— «Staying in the vein of special needs, four teams of visually impaired baseball players met Saturday for New York’s first ever blind baseball tournament. Unlike traditional versions of our national pastime, beeper ball (or “beep ball” as it’s called) discourages crowds from cheering since sounds from buzzing bases and beeping balls are used in place of vision. The hometown Long Island Bombers kicked off the round-robin tournament with an 8-6 victory over the visiting Chicago Comets. And just in case you were wondering, National Beep Ball Association rules do not consider hearing aids performance enhancing devices, though steroids are frowned upon.» —“Real, Strange News: Monday Breakfast Bender” by Emil Steiner Washington Post June 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
You may have a favorite word in English, but what about your favorite in another language? The Spanish term ojalá is especially handy for expressing hopefulness and derives from Arabic for “God willing.” In Trinidad, if you want to ask...
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...