soaking
n.— «A painful out: In base ball’s earliest years, a player could throw a runner out by hitting him with the ball in a practice called soaking. Soaking was outlawed by 1867.» —“A lesson in baseball’s beginnings” by Matt Wastradowski The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington) May 11, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
We tend to take the index of a book for granted, but centuries ago, these helpful lists were viewed with suspicion. Some even worried that indexes would harm reading comprehension! A witty new book tells the story. Plus, the Latin term bona fides...
Ever wonder what medieval England looked and sounded like? In Old English, the word hord meant “treasure” and your wordhord was the treasure of words locked up inside you. A delightful new book uses the language of that period to create...