INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE STUDENT
OF AMERICAN ENGLISH :

Idioms are words or phrases which cannot be understood literally. Webster's dictionary defines an idiom as, "a peculiar way of saying something which has become established after long use". Because sports and games have been a part of the American way of life from the time the first settlers arrived on its shores, there are many American English idioms derived from these sources.

Idioms are difficult for the non-native speaker to learn in isolation from their original source. Grouping of idioms into categories according to a particular sport or game, such as baseball, facilitates the process of learning. The student or reader uses his or her analytical ability to learn an idiom in the framework of the game from which it originated. Within each category the sport or game is described and a schematic drawing of the field on which it is played is included to enhance understanding. Sports and games are further grouped into categories such as "Team Sports Idioms", or "Hunting, Shooting and Western", which include idioms basic to activities and sports associated with the settling and expansion of the United States, and finally, Games Idioms, those phrases associated with cards and gambling.Phrases and idioms including words such as "ball", "game" and "play" which are general to many sports and games are found in the section, Idioms inherent to American English Sports and Games. (link here)

After the introduction to each sport or game, each idiom associated with that game or sport category is presented with its original or literal meaning and at least one sentences illustrating this meaning ( MEANING 1 and SENTENCE 1) and then presented using the idiomatic meaning (MEANING 2 and SENTENCE 2). Two strikes against him, an statement from the sport of baseball, denotes that one strike is left before the batter is declared out and "He hit a home run into left field with two strikes against him" is the sentence given for the student to practice using this phrase in its literal sense. The idiomatic meaning, to have only one more chance, is then given followed by a sentence, such as "He had two strikes against him when he interviewed for the job, because he had no experience."

A DERIVATION for each idiom is given if there is interesting background information. Some phrases, such as play hardball are much more common in the derived or idiomatic sense. The sentence, "Let's play hardball on this contract", used in business or negotiations is more typical of this phrase than, "We play hardball when we play baseball". If the idiom is infrequently or never used in its original sense, no first sentence is given.

Students or readers will find an alphabetized list of idioms with page numbers in the appendix for easy access to individual idioms. However, the learning process will be facilitated if the student tries to learn groups of idioms within the context of groups of sports and games with which they are associated.