heart-attack attrib. in sports, connoting an animal, person, or group known for come-from-behind or very slight victories. Editorial Note: Especially common in phrases such as “the heart attack kids,” which has been a nickname for a variety of sports teams. Etymological Note: Directly related to the non-medical use of “heart attack” defined by Encarta as a “sudden shock.” (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Diane, a bridge player from Wilmington, North Carolina, asks about sitting with the bathtub, a phrase her friend uses for a lopsided game where one pair keeps getting the good cards. The phrase appears in newspaper columns about bridge starting in...
A magnificent new book celebrates the richness and diversity of 450 years of written and spoken English in what is now the United States. It’s called The People’s Tongue, and it’s a sumptuous collection of essays, letters, poems...