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body English

noun

Sports.

a twisting of the body by a player as if to help a ball already hit, rolled, or kicked to travel in the desired direction.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of body English¹

First recorded in 1905–10

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Idioms and Phrases

Movements of the body that express a person's feelings, as in His body English tells us just how tired he is. This expression originated about 1900 in such sports as bowling and ice hockey, where a player tries to influence the path of a ball or puck by moving his body in a particular direction. (It was based on the earlier use of English to mean “spin imparted to a ball.”)

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Santana used some body English in hopes the ball stayed fair.

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And he is a living embodiment of "body English."

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And how about this body English on the greens?!

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No need for body English when you know where the ball's going, when you're in control.

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Schaefer’s foot stamps could be heard all over the arena, and his body English on the sideline was that of a spinning top.

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