charity shot
- noun
- /ˈtʃɛrɪti ʃɑt/
- US
:
tiro libre
- After the foul, the coach reminded his player to focus on his charity shot at the free-throw line.
Examples
-
In the last five minutes of the game, the team was awarded several charity shots for their opponents' fouls.
-
And I heard old Ollie dribble on his foot, and then make that charity shot.
-
The player calmly stepped up to the free-throw line and made his charity shot after being fouled.
Synonyms
50
2.8
A shot taken from the free-throw line without being blocked after a foul
3
2.6
A free throw in basketball taken from the line when an opponent breaks the rules
A shot from the foul line taken after a foul that scores one point
A shot from the foul line that a player takes after a foul without anyone trying to stop it
A shot taken from the foul line after a foul by the other team
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'charity' (a donation or kindness) and 'shot' (an attempt) would not reliably infer the sports-specific meaning 'free-throw'; the combination is a dialectal/sports slang usage rather than a straightforward compositional meaning. The metaphorical use of 'charity' to mean an uncontested or 'given' shot is language- and register-specific and therefore unpredictable for learners, so the expression is opaque.
Etymology
The noun charity shot comes from basketball slang. When a player is fouled they are given a shot with no defender, an easy 'free throw' that feels like a small charity or gift from the other team, so the phrase means the free shot given after a foul.