money
adj.— «A good ball player is one thing. A money player is something else. There are both money ball clubs and money ball players.…A star performer may carry a high batting average opposite his name. He may have but a few mistakes recorded in his fielding figures. His workmanship, both on the offense and defense, may be spectacular and brilliant, but if he cracks in the critical pinch plays he doesn’t qualify for a money ball player.…When a play comes up to them on which rests the outcome of a battle they’ll deliver the goods. If a hit is needed to score the winning run they’ll crack it out nine times out of ten. If a bit of super-fielding will save a game they rise to the occasion.» —“The Money Players! You Tell ‘Em” by Dean Snyder Iowa City Daily Press (Iowa) Sept. 27, 1920. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Advice about college essays from the winner of a top prize for children’s literature: Kelly Barnhill encourages teens to write about experiences that are uniquely their own, from a point of view that is theirs and no one else’s. Plus, why do we say...
While compiling the Oxford English Dictionary, lexicographer James Murray exchanged hundreds of letters a week with authors, advisors, and volunteer researchers. A new collection online lets you eavesdrop on discussions about which words should be...