Wiffle Ball
2
3.2
- noun
- /ˈwɪfəl bɔl/
:
Wiffle Ball
- Wiffle Balls, model airplanes, stuff like that.
- hit a Wiffle ball
- Wiffle ball bat
- play Wiffle ball
I smack that wiffle ball so far and he goes, yeah, good job.
- I smack that wiffle ball so far and he goes, yeah, good job.
- You're playing with lacrosse sticks and you're playing basketball, but with a wiffle ball.
- And, you know, it's like it's like paddle ball, like a paddle tennis, but with a wiffle ball.
Examples
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Chris broke my nose once while playing Wiffle Ball in his backyard.
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My kid and I play Wiffle Ball every afternoon after school.
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I smack that wiffle ball so far and he goes, yeah, good job.
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"So now Browning holds his gin root beer in one hand and throws me the Wiffle ball with the other.
Fiction book (2002) -
Is that ping pong and like a a wiffle ball, like the ball with holes in it?
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It's a bunch of old nutters with giant paddles chasing a Wiffle ball.
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It feels different 'cause you think that's a wiffle ball bet that's what that is.
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He'd spend most of his day around the house, cleaning and dusting, scrubbing the bathroom, beating the upholstery with a Wiffle ball bat, and chasing the airborne dust with the Dirt Devil.
Academic text (2007) -
It's a beautiful day for a Wiffle Ball game.
Synonyms
3
7.6
A light hollow plastic ball with holes used for safe indoor play and backyard baseball
Surface Forms
Morphology
This is a straightforward noun‑noun subtype construction: 'Wiffle' specifies the kind of 'ball', so a learner who knows both constituents will understand it denotes a particular type of ball (plastic, designed for safe play). Although 'Wiffle' can be a brand name, the compositional pattern (X ball = a ball of type X) is common and therefore readily interpretable by learners.
Etymology
Wiffle Ball comes from a small, hollow plastic ball made with holes so it moves slowly and curves in the air. One popular story says the name wiffle comes from the word 'whiff' because batters would often 'whiff' or 'miss' when the ball curved, so today Wiffle Ball means that light, safe ball used for a backyard bat-and-ball game.