brother-in-law

brother-in-law
 v. phr.— «That said, some players have found ways to make it look as if they’re working a lot harder than they actually are. It usually happens in training camp or, occasionally, in exhibitions. There’s even a name for it: brother-in-lawing. To brother-in-law means to have an agreement with the guy across the line of scrimmage, an understanding that you’re both going to take the play off, pretending to play hard when you’re just going through the motions. When it happens, it usually takes place in practice or exhibitions, and often in the trenches.» —“Off-Season Starts Early for Some” by Sam Farmer Los Angeles Times Dec. 30, 2005. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Further reading

Herd of Turtles (episode #1587)

Some college students are using the word loyalty as a synonym for monogamy. Are the meanings of these words now shifting? Plus, a biologist discovers a new species of bat, then names it after a poet he admires. Also, warm memories of how a childhood...

It’s All in a Dezzick

The word dezzick is defined in an 1875 dictionary of the Sussex dialect as “a day’s work.” This is part of a complete episode.

Related

Recent posts