circus save n. a spectacular or unorthodox sports move that prevents an opponent from scoring. Editorial Note: This is related to circus catch, which Paul Dickson, with Barry Popik’s help, traced back to 1886 in his 1999 New Dickson Baseball Dictionary. Also related is circus play, which Dickson dates to 1885. (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...