stall ball
n.— «He also should tone down rhetoric on gambling, labor initiatives and social issues so as not to offend. With a big lead, it’s best to be somewhat bland, the experts said. In essence, he needs to concentrate on not making mistakes, or, in basketball parlance, to play “stall ball.”» —“Steve Beshear” by Dan Hassert Kentucky Post (Cincinatti, Ohio) Oct. 13, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Old. Elderly. Senior. Why are we so uncomfortable when we talk about reaching a certain point in life? An 82-year-old seeks a more positive term to describe how she feels about her age. And: a linguist helps solve a famous kidnapping case, using the...
Carrie Ann and her cousin Danielle from Minneapolis, Minnesota, wonder about the pronunciation of the word rhetoric. Is the stress on the first syllable or the second? This is part of a complete episode.
Related