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Glite Dictionary
🐭 A mouse catcher 🏈 A trick play 🐭 To catch mice
mousetrap

mousetrap

1 9.0
An American football play that blocks a defender to open a lane for the runner
  • noun
  • /ˈmaʊsˌtræp/
  • Jargon
translation icon : jugada de trampa
  • In the final quarter, they called for a mousetrap to catch the defense off guard and secure a touchdown.

Examples

  • Judge Standwell ended the evening with a warning: "Watch out for mousetraps."

    Academic text (2009)

  • The coach used a play called the mousetrap to confuse the opposing defense.

  • During practice, the team successfully executed the mousetrap to allow their runner to gain extra yards.

Synonyms

trap play
vsmousetrap
  • Jargon
7.3

A play that lets a defender pass the start line then blocks them to open a gap for the runner

is the same play but stresses blocking timed as the runner moves through

Surface Forms

mousetrap singular
mousetraps plural

Morphology

mousetrap = mouse + trap (semi-transparent) = mouse + trap

Components are visible, but the football usage is a specialized, metaphorical extension that is not directly inferable by all learners.

Etymology

Mousetrap in football borrows the image of a mouse and a trap: a defender is lured into a spot and then blocked, leaving a clear path for the runner. A helpful way to remember it is to think of baiting and then trapping, so it means a play that tricks a defender and opens a lane for the offense.