Boxing terms in everyday language

Low blow.

 

"heavyweight", as in e.g. "he's a political heavyweight"

opposite meaning with "lightweight"

 

"Pound 4 Pound" sometimes makes it way into main stream language.

 

throw in the towel

saved by the bell

go fifteen rounds for

slug it out

 

"Up to scratch"

 

More of a boxing-negotiation term than boxing per se, but personally, whenever I blew out or dumped a woman, my excuse was 'she didn't bring much to the table' or 'she couldn't go the full 12 rounds'

 

"Down for the count."

I hear that around closing time at the bars.

 

"on the ropes"

Ben Carson's presidential campaign is on the ropes.

 

"land a telling blow".............. i.e. a decisive comment in a debate or exchange.

"ducking and weaving"- using evasive measures or language.

"haymaker"- see "telling blow"-

 

"verbal jabs"..........suggests clean but not decisive comments.

"verbal sparring"- see above.

 

Drunk at a bar: "Give me the other bottle, the one I mixed"

 

My family likes ice-fishing. I have to often tell them "you are on thin ice, brothers"

 

Roll with the punches
body blow
On the ropes
counterpunch
ropeadope

is 'playing posom' a boxing term?

 

it comes from the American Opposum.

 

:: forget to log into your captain obvious account?

I reckon it might be a boxing expression tho

 

Thought I'd edited this to give an explanation. In the bare-knuckle era they didn't have ten counts, instead a line was drawn in the centre of the ring, which was called the 'scratch'. If a fighter went down he had to reach this line before a certain period of time or else he would lose the bout, hence not being "up to scratch".

 

I think most of the ones posted originated from boxing. Playing possum did not, and it's not even used that commonly.

 

In women's boxing, a body blow that lands well below the belt is an "uppercunt."

 

hahahahahaha!

Exceedingly funny.

 

:l3:

 

"60/40"


Always hear this term in business and in life, and everytime I'm soooo tempted to chime in with... "And I'll kick yo ass!"

 

No.

Playing posom is a term that comes from actual posoms playing dead when they feel threatened.

 

Ffs..... Yes, but it must've been invented by someone, somewhere to describe human behaviour which was analogous to the behaviour of a posom. I'm positing it might've been by boxing commentators/trainers. It'd be my first guess

 

Nope. I just looked it up.

The phrase was originally used in the mid 1800s by the Washington Globe commenting on a politcal campaign.

 

Ah! Well that settles that then

 

Did the Washington Globe have a sports section?

 

:atu: