ball hawking
- noun
- Jargon
:
intercepción de balón
- Her ball hawking abilities on the basketball court helped her team win the championship by stealing the ball multiple times.
Examples
-
The notorious ball-hawking safety will have plenty of opportunities for interceptions as the Raiders are averaging the league's third.
Blog text (29) -
The team's ball hawking defense intercepted four passes during the game, showcasing their exceptional skills.
-
He is known for his ball hawking skills, often catching the opponent's passes before they reach their intended target.
Synonyms
Good at taking the ball from opponents in games like football or baseball
Surface Forms
Morphology
ball + hawking
The phrase combines 'ball' with 'hawking' (from 'hawk' as a bird/verb meaning to swoop or seize), so the meaning 'seizing or catching the ball' is built via a concrete animal metaphor and is partially inferable. However, the verbal sense of 'hawk' (to swoop on or seize) is somewhat metaphorical and may not be known to a B1 learner, so the connection is not fully predictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Ball hawking comes from the image of a hunting bird: a hawk watches, dives, and snatches its food. So a player who quickly grabs or 'steals' the ball looks like that bird, and the phrase means being good at catching or taking the ball in a game.
