Keeping score of idioms

Which sport brought us the most sayings? The answer will surprise you!

Can you identify idioms that originated in sports? Maybe it’s trickier than you think. Sure, some expressions are obvious: Why else would we talk about "throwing a curveball"? But in this article, you might find a few sayings that you thought had other origins. Can you guess which sport has introduced the most expressions on this list? Let’s step up to the plate and dissect 13 sports idioms!

Gold is such a valuable material that "going for gold" appears valid in many different arenas. That very expression could have originated during the Gold Rush era, for example.

But the phrase became popular via repetition in sporting competitions. When athletes applied their full efforts to win first place, they were revered for "going for gold." Today, we use it for anyone striving for excellence in any discipline.

We have gotten very used to using "hands down" as an expression of certainty and hyperbole. "Chocolate ice cream is my favorite, hands down." But what did the hands ever have to do with it?

It traces back to horse racing. When a jockey was far ahead in a race, they would relax their grip on the reins and lower their hands: In short, a certain win. Over time, "hands down" became a term to emphasize something as undeniably the best or easiest.

You can’t be blamed for thinking that a "full-court press" was some sort of judicial strategy. But it isn’t; The court here refers to a basketball game.

It’s a tactic that involves the defending team advancing and disrupting the opponent’s play, applying pressure across the entire court. That’s why we use this expression for all-out team efforts to achieve something, be it in business, politics, or personal matters.

In baseball, a "curveball" is a pitch that spins and curves unpredictably. Basically, a batter’s nightmare, because it is designed to catch them off guard and make them miss.

The dramatic image of facing an obstacle set up by the competition clicked with people. So they started using the expression "being thrown a curveball" when something tricky or unexpected was coming their way.

When you hear that someone "won by a nose," do you picture two human faces lunging for a finish line? You may have, but that’s not the precise origin of the idiom.

It comes from horse racing, where a horse’s snout is really the first part of him (and his rider) to cross the line. Today, we use it for scenarios where we win what we want by a small margin. Like getting to our flight right before the gates close!

A frustrated chef in a cooking competition might also "throw in the towel," but that’s not the origin of this metaphor for surrender. This saying, like so many others, comes from boxing.

When a boxer is taking a beating and can't continue, a dramatic way for the trainer to interrupt or surrender the game would be to throw a towel into the ring. The image has evolved to stand for any form of surrender.

In American football and rugby, you have to catch and hold on to the ball if you want to keep the game alive. Let the ball slip from your hands and you’ll also be letting the rest of your team down.

That’s the origin of the expression. Dropping the ball means someone fumbled an endeavor, usually compromising the luck of other people.

We all understand that this alludes to a person rooting for you and helping. Maybe when you heard this phrase you pictured someone figuratively in the corner of your mind, or of your heart –or of any room you were in.

But the origin is much more literal. As any boxing fan knows, the player’s support staff stay at a designated ringside corner. They are the ones tending to the player with help and encouragement between rounds.

You probably didn’t think that stepping up to the plate was advancing towards a dining table where a delicious feast awaited. But someone else probably did.

The actual meaning of the expression (which means to "rise up to the occasion") comes from baseball, where "the plate" refers to home plate –the spot where the batter stands to face the pitcher. If you are approaching it, it means it’s your turn to take action, face the challenge and deliver results.

This one is easy to guess: Of course, it comes from boxing, where expecting blows is the norm. What isn’t the norm is to courageously accept punches in the face.

To take something on the chin means to face a figurative blow with resilience. A hit directly to the chin is one of the most jarring blows a fighter can endure, so when you are congratulated for having done something equivalent, it means you have withstood a challenge with grace.

When someone says something is a "slam dunk," you probably imagine a sure success or an effortless win.

The term, as you may know, comes straight from basketball. A "slam dunk" is when a player jumps high and forcefully scores by slamming the ball directly into the hoop. Not effortless at all, but by the time the player has the opportunity to perform a slam dunk, their win is usually a sure thing.

No, it does not derive from people putting aside their fancy gloves before having tea. It comes from harsh, bare-knuckle boxing.

In the early days of the sport, fighters wore padded gloves to soften their punches and reduce injury. When the gloves came off, the fight became more brutal and raw: No more pretense. Over time, the phrase evolved to describe any situation where politeness or restraint is abandoned.

It isn’t a race to a punch bowl at a party. This is yet another expression derived from the world of boxing, which, as you have seen, is a sport that launched more expressions into our language than any other!

This one refers to moments when one fighter manages to hit the other before receiving a blow.

We now use it for people who seize an opportunity and act faster than an opposing party.

Secret uses

There’s a hidden microphone in your phone, and here’s where it is

You’ve probably twisted a bread bag closed, filled up your car, or pulled a sheet of aluminum foil from the box thousands of times without giving it a second thought. But many of the everyday objects we’ve used for decades have clever features that most people never notice. From the tiny pocket on blue jeans to the little arrow next to your gas gauge, these hidden designs have practical stories behind them, and once you know them, you’ll never look at these familiar items the same way again.

If you own an iPhone, you’ve probably noticed the tiny black dot next to the rear camera. It’s small, so people tend to assume it’s another camera sensor or even part of the phone’s design. The small hole found near the camera bump on every iPhone is actually a rear microphone.

It captures clearer audio when you’re recording videos and helps reduce background noise during FaceTime and regular phone calls. If you own an iPhone Pro model from the iPhone 12 Pro onward, you'll also see a larger dark circle. That’s the LiDAR scanner, which sends out invisible infrared light to create a 3D map of your surroundings. It helps the camera focus faster in low light, powers Apple’s Measure app, and makes augmented reality features much more accurate.

Whether it's a holiday dinner, an anniversary, or simply a nice meal with friends, you’ve probably held a wine bottle and noticed the deep indentation in the bottom. Many people tend to think the deeper the indent, the fancier the bottle.

That indentation is called a punt, and it’s been a part of the bottle-making for centuries. Originally, it helped strengthen hand-blown glass bottles, making them less likely to crack under pressure. Today, it still adds structural stability, particularly for sparkling wines, while also giving servers a comfortable place to rest their thumb when pouring, though some say it helps collect the sediment as wines age. In any case, a deeper pun doesn’t automatically mean a better or more expensive bottle.

Almost every driver has experienced that awkward moment at the gas station. You pull up to the pump, step out of the car, and suddenly realize the fuel door is on the opposite side.

To help prevent exactly that situation, many modern vehicles include a small arrow next to the gas pump symbol on the dashboard’s fuel gauge. The arrow points towards the side of the vehicle where the fuel filler door is located. It’s a small detail on the dashboard, yet once you notice it, you’ll never have to circle the pump again.

All elevators look pretty much the same. Bigger or smaller, they all look similar, a gray box with a mirror and buttons. But if you pay close attention, you may notice there’s a small round opening near the top of the door.

That opening is a keyhole used by trained maintenance technicians and emergency responders. With a special elevator key, they can manually unlock the landing doors when repairs are needed or if passengers become trapped inside. The system allows professionals to reach the elevator safely without damaging the doors or relying solely on electrical controls. Hopefully, most of us will never need to see it in action. But in an emergency, that tiny opening becomes one of the most important parts of the system.

If you’ve ever stood in the bread aisle comparing loaves, you’ve probably noticed the colorful plastic clips or twist ties holding the bags shut. Contrary to what many think, they’re not simply a part of the packaging.

For many bakeries and grocery stores, the colors indicate the day a loaf was delivered or baked. While the exact color schedule can vary between bakeries and regions, employees use the system to quickly spot older inventory and rotate fresher bread to the back of the shelf. That way, customers are more likely to pick up the freshest loaf available.

Whether you wear jeans every day or only pull them out for yard work, you’ve probably noticed the tiny extra pocket tucked inside one of the front pockets. It’s too small for a phone and not very useful for loose change, but there’s a reason for it.

Back in the 1800s, when Levi Strauss & Co. created rugged denim pants for miners, ranchers, and cowboys working across the American West, pocket watches were commonplace. Workers needed a safe place to carry their watches while riding horses, so that little pocket was designed specifically to protect the watch from damage. Pocket watches disappeared, but the tiny pocket became such an iconic part of blue jeans that manufacturers have continued including it for well over a century.

Almost everyone has had the same frustrating experience. You pull on a sheet of aluminum foil, and suddenly the entire roll slides out of the box and lands on the kitchen counter.

That’s exactly why major manufacturers such as Reynolds introduced the small side tabs, known as end locks, in the mid-1990s. By pressing the tabs inward, they hold the cardboard roll in place like built-in axles. This keeps the roll from sliding out of the box, makes it much more stable as you pull, and helps the serrated edge cut a cleaner, straighter sheet. It also reduces waste by preventing the foil from bunching up or tearing unevenly. It’s a simple design, yet useful as it can get.

Every household has pens lying around for all kinds of purposes. And most of them have a common feature, a hole in the cap, which isn’t simply part of the design.

BIC and other pen manufacturers included the opening as a safety feature. If someone, especially a child, accidentally swallows a pen cap, the hole can allow a small amount of air to pass through, reducing the risk of complete airway blockage while emergency help is on the way. The design became part of border efforts to improve consumer product safety after choking incidents drew attention to the danger of small plastic objects.

If you grew up sewing or watching somebody do it, you probably remember the classic tomato-shaped pincushion sitting beside the sewing basket. Hanging from it was a tiny red strawberry that looked like nothing more than a cute finishing touch.

In reality, that little strawberry has its own job. Instead of soft stuffing, it’s filled with emery, a gritty material made from crushed abrasive minerals. Running pins and needles through it helps polish away tiny spots of rust, smooth rough edges, and keep the points sharp enough to glide through fabric more easily.

Think back to the first time you learned to type. Maybe it was at work, or on a family computer. Wherever it was, someone probably told you to keep your fingers on the "home row." That’s exactly why the F and J keys have tiny raised ridges.

The bumps let your index fingers find the correct starting position by touch alone, allowing you to type without constantly looking down at the keyboard. The technique, known as "touch typing," is widely credited to American court stenographer Frank Edward McGurrin, who demonstrated it in 1888. As typewriters became more common, manufacturers experimented with different ways to help typists orient their hands, and by the mid-20th century, companies such as IBM standardized the subtly raised plastic bars that remain on nearly every keyboard today.