The Name of the Game in Sport Idioms

BLOCK AND TACKLE
Football, Rugby:
The basics, to get back to the basics. When referenced, it's usually speaking of changing the behavior or going back to an earlier time when things were functional or building basic skills to ensure the success of various endeavors.

CALL AN AUDIBLE
Football:
To improvise; often in the spur of the moment. The term is based on the practice of changing a play right before the play is run in football.

CARRY THE BALL
Football, Rugby:
To take charge, to assume responsibility. In some ball games the ball can be carried to advance toward a goal.

COME OUT FIGHTING OR COME OUT SWINGING
Boxing:
To go immediately on the offensive, often preemptively; or, to strongly defend oneself or one's beliefs.

DOWN AND OUT
Boxing:
Lacking money or prospects; penniless or destitute. A boxer who is "down" has been knocked to the canvas, and one who is also "out" is unconscious or unable to resume the fight; thus a down-and-out boxer is utterly defeated.

The term probably came from boxing, circa 1900; references to boxing cite first figurative usage to 1889.

DOWN FOR THE COUNT; OUT FOR THE COUNT
Boxing:
To be defeated. Refers to a boxer being knocked down; the referee will count off ten seconds, the time allotted for the boxer to regain his feet or lose the fight. Down for the count may imply a temporary setback, as down does not necessarily imply out.

References date "down for the count" to the 1920s; out for the count dates back to 1930.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
Horse racing:
To the very end or last minute. From the length of wire stretched across a racetrack at the finish line.

References date its figurative use back to about 1900.

DROP THE BALL
Baseball, Rugby, Football:
To make an error, to miss an opportunity. In games where a ball may be legally caught (baseball) or carried (Football), a player (or the player's team) may be penalized for dropping the ball;

References date the figurative usage back to about the 1950s.

DROP THE GLOVES
Ice Hockey:
To engage in a fight, whether figurative or literal. Refers to the act of hockey players throwing off their gloves to punch with bare knuckles.

END AROUND
Football:
An evasive tactic; an attempt to avoid or bypass opposition. In football, it is an attempt to run around one's own end (of a line of players) and towards the goal.

References date football usage back to 1902, figurative to 1952.

GAMBIT
Boxing:
A stratagem or tactic; chess: an opening system that involves a pawn sacrifice to gain the initiative right from the start. The term arrives in modern language through chess, but originates in wrestling from the Italian gambetto, tripping the opponent.

References date back in chess to 1656, the figurative usage to 1855.

GLASS JAW
Boxing:
Vulnerability, especially of a public figure, to destructive criticism. In boxing, a fighter who is especially vulnerable or susceptible to a knockout is said to have a glass jaw.

GO TO THE MAT
Wrestling:
To engage in an argument or dispute, especially until one side is victorious. In wrestling, it means to engage in a wrestling bout, the mat being the surface on which the contest is fought.

References cite the wrestling usage back to 1908, the figurative to 1912; however, others state it has been used in its figurative sense "since about 1900".

MOVE THE GOALPOSTS
Football:
To change plans or rules, thus making it difficult for others to achieve something.

HANDS DOWN
Horse racing:
With great ease; unconditionally; often (and originally) in the phrase to win hands down, in which a jockey, certain of victory, drops his hands relaxes his hold on the reins.

The horse-racing phrase is first cited in 1867, figurative usage in 1913.

HEAVY HITTER
Boxing:
An important or influential individual or organization. Refers to a boxer who is able to hit hard; The ability to end a bout with one swing;

References date back to the mid-1900s.

HEAVYWEIGHT
Boxing:
A person of great influence or importance. In boxing, it was historically a weight division of 175 pounds or higher, but the lower limit is now set at 200 pounds; the term is also used for a boxer fighting in this division.

References date the boxing usage back to 1877, although it was used in newspapers as early as 1849. (It was previously used in horse-racing, and in wrestling as early as 1838).

HIT BELOW THE BELT
Boxing:
To act unfairly or unscrupulously, in disregard of the rules. To hit an opponent below the belt is an illegal move in boxing.

References date this use back to 1941–46; others cite 1891.

HOME STRETCH OR HOMESTRETCH
Horse racing:
The final phase of an endeavor or project. On a racecourse, the home stretch is the final part of the track on which the race finishes.

References date racing usage back to 1841

HURLER ON THE DITCH
Hurling:
A non-participant who criticizes from outside. Derives from a spectator (typically a man too old to play any more) criticizing the players while observing from a ditch; most hurling clubs do not have stands so the crowd stand at the pitchside.

iN-FIGHTING
Boxing:
Close-quarter fighting. Also, conflict between members of the same organization, often concealed from outsiders. Infighting in boxing is fighting in close quarters; when the fighters are extremely close, it may sometimes be difficult for spectators (or even the referee) to see each blow.

References date back the boxing usage to 1812, and the first non-boxing meaning to 1928, and the first non-physical meaning to 1960.

KEEP ONE'S EYE ON THE BALL
To remain alert. In most games involving balls, it is important for players to keep track of the ball. References date back to circa 1900.

KEEP THE BALL ROLLING
To keep a conversation or endeavor from flagging. In some games, the ball must be kept moving or play stops. References date back to the late 18th century;

KISSER
The mouth or face. Although the etymology is obvious – that which kisses – it apparently first appeared as boxing slang in 1860

LEAD WITH ONE'S CHIN
Boxing:
To speak without caution, or to leave oneself unprotected. Refers to a boxer leaving his chin, a vulnerable point, unprotected.

References date back this usage to the "mid-1900s"; others cites Erle Stanley Gardner in 1949.

LAST MAN OUT
Baseball:
A person who is ignored. Comes from when the team comes in and the last person comes straggling in feeling small and ashamed or disgraceful.

LIGHT THE LAMP
Hockey:
To score a goal. Comes from the red light behind the net that goes off when a goal is scored.

LIGHTWEIGHT
Boxing:
A person or thing of little importance, consequence, intelligence or ability. In boxing, it is a weight class for boxers weighing between 130 and 135 pounds.

References cite boxing usage to 1823, figurative usage to 1885.

LOW BLOW
Boxing:
An unscrupulous or unfair attack, action, or insult. Refers to an illegal blow aimed at the area below another boxer's waist or belt. Also known as "hitting below the belt".

References date back this usage to about 1950.

MISSED AN OPEN GOAL/NET
Football/Hockey:
To miss an easy opportunity. Relates to the act of failing to score when there is no-one protecting the goal.

MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK
Football:
A person who criticizes or passes judgment with the benefit of hindsight. Monday morning refers to the games played or broadcast on Sunday, with criticisms leveled by commentators the following week.

References cite football usage back to 1932.

NO HOLDS BARRED
Wrestling:
With all restrictions relaxed. The rules of wrestling bar or proscribe certain holds or grips on one's opponent.

References cite figurative usage back to 1942

ON THE BALL
Football:
To be alert and aware of what is going on around you. Relates to the act of being in control of the ball in football.

ON THE ROPES
Boxing:
On the verge of defeat. Refers to a boxer who has been knocked against the ropes that enclose the boxing ring and kept there by the blows of his opponent.

References cite the boxing usage back to 1958, figurative use 1970.

NO ONE-TWO (PUNCH), THE OLD ONE-TWO
Boxing:
An attack consisting of two punches in rapid succession with alternate hands.

References cite boxing usage back to 1811, figurative usage to 1948.

QUARTERBACK
Football:
One who directs or leads; a mastermind; also used as a verb, to quarterback. It is also used as a term for a supporter or critic of a team or game, and by extension, an uninvolved observer who criticizes or second-guesses. In football, the quarterback is the player on the field responsible for coordinating and directing play, and the one to whom the ball is snapped at the beginning of each play.

References cite figurative use of "leader" back to 1961; the verb usage to 1952, which in itself cites the term to 1945.

SAVED BY THE BELL
Boxing:
To be saved from misfortune or unpleasantness by a timely interruption. Alludes to a boxer who is knocked to the canvas, and must regain his feet before a count of ten or lose the contest; if the bell signalling the end of the round is rung before the count is finished, the fighter now has until the start of the next round to recover and resume fighting.

References date this to back the "mid-1900s"; others cite first boxing use in 1932, figurative use in 1959.

SCORE AN OWN GOAL
Football:
To do something that has the unintended effect of harming your own interests. Relates to the act of scoring a goal for the opposition in association football, unusually unintentionally.

SIDELINE; ON/FROM THE SIDELINES
To remove from participation. A player who it is injured, benched, etc. is removed from play and forced to sit on or observe from the sidelines. The sidelines themselves are the lines on the side of the playing field which define the playing area from that of spectators, non-playing team members, etc.

References cite figurative use from 1934.

SLAM DUNK, SLAM-DUNK
Basketball:
A forceful, dramatic move, especially against someone. In basketball, it is a forceful shot in which the player jumps to the basket and slams the ball in.

References cite the basketball definition back to 1976; others date a figurative usage from "about 1980 on". Figurative usage commonly includes the sense of "can't miss", a sure thing.

SLAP-HAPPY
Boxing:
Synonym for punch-drunk, also, dizzy with happiness; carefree, casual, thoughtless, irresponsible.

The "punch-drunk" meaning cites back to 1936; the "dizzy" meaning appears two years later. The "carefree…etc" connotation appears in 1937

SQUARE OFF
Boxing:
To assume a fighting stance or attitude. In boxing, the term derives from the square shape of the ring, and the stance fighters assume immediately before the fight commences.

References do not specifically refer to boxing, but cite a physical fighting usage to 1838 and a figurative in 1873.

SUCKER PUNCH
Boxing:
An unexpected blow. In boxing, a sucker punch is one delivered unexpectedly.

References date boxing term to 1947, but do not cite first figurative usage

.
SUNDAY PUNCH
Boxing:
A destructive blow to an opponent as in "knocked him into next Sunday". In boxing, a Sunday punch is a knockout blow.

References cite a meaning of a knockout punch to 1929, figurative use to 1944, but do not ascribe it to the sport of boxing directly.

TAKE A DIVE
Boxing:
To pretend or feign, with intent to deceive. Refers to boxers who would pretend to be knocked out by a light or even non-existent punch, thus intentionally losing the fight; this was one method of losing a "fixed" fight (one with an unlawfully prearranged outcome, for gambling purposes).

References cite the boxing reference as 1952, the non-boxing in 1982.

THROW ONE'S HAT INTO THE RING
Boxing:
To signify one's candidacy for (political) office or election; to enter a contest. In early days of boxing, one signified a challenge by throwing one's hat into the boxing ring.

References date back the boxing use to 1900; figurative to 1928.

WIN BY A NOSE
Horse racing:
To succeed by a very narrow margin.

References date back the sports usage to about 1900, the figurative to sometime after 1950. Others cite a literal usage to 1851, but a figurative usage of 1997, in the phrase "lost by a nose."

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THE NAME OF THE GAME IN SPORT IDIOMS