to sling the ball
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
lanzar la pelota
- As the crowd cheered, she sling the ball to her friend waiting near the goalpost.
Examples
-
He effortlessly sling the ball across the field, impressing everyone with his skill.
-
That's the reason they had Smith trying to sling the ball around.
Blog text (8) -
During the game, the quarterback managed to sling the ball to his teammate with incredible speed.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To send something through the air by a quick movement of the arm
53
3.6
To throw something very hard
41
3.9
To throw something with force or without care
25
2.0
A short throw of the ball to another player
22
3.5
To throw or hit something in a high arc
15
5.6
To throw the ball to a batter in baseball
Antonyms
How Hard
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'sling' already means to throw casually or forcefully and 'ball' is literal, so the combined meaning 'throw the ball quickly or casually' is directly compositional. A B1 learner who knows the constituents (and that 'the' is just the definite article) can readily derive the MWE's meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Sling the ball may come from the old image of a sling, a simple strap people used to throw stones in one quick movement. That quick, loose motion explains why sling the ball means 'to throw the ball quickly or casually'.