to have to punt - Glite Dictionary

Examples

They're gonna have to punt it away on fourth down.

Facing the Giants (2006)
He drops the pass and the Jets have to punt.

Blog text (27)
It only got to midfield before NU had to punt.

Blog text (25)
The quarterback recovered, but the Vikings had to punt, and Harvin stormed angrily toward the sideline.

Blog text (19)
The Vikings started the second half with a spunky return from Marcus Sherels and some good energy out of Christian Ponder, but a number of penalties ended up stalling the drive, and they had to punt.

Blog text (4)
The team realized they had to punt on their initial plan and come up with a new strategy that was more feasible.
When faced with too many obstacles, the project manager decided they would have to punt and revisit it later.
After several lengthy discussions, the committee determined they had to punt rather than risk making a hasty decision.

Synonyms

to sit on

vsto have to punt

34 4.2

Delay making a decision about something while thinking about it

chooses delay mainly to avoid decision because of uncertainty or difficulty

to waffle

vsto have to punt

15 8.3

To delay giving a clear answer or making a choice

avoids commitment in the same way, often because the situation is unclear

to stall for time

vsto have to punt

Informal

6 4.8

To delay doing something to get more time

uses delay similarly but often to avoid deciding under uncertainty

to dally

vsto have to punt

4 7.7

To waste time by moving or acting slowly

delays too but does so as a chosen avoidance due to uncertainty

to waver in

vsto have to punt

3 6.6

To feel unsure about making a decision or taking action

shares uncertainty but delays specifically to avoid committing under difficulty

to punt on

vsto have to punt

Informal

1 8.2

Delay deciding about something to avoid commitment

chooses delay specifically because of uncertainty or difficulty

to shilly-shally

vsto have to punt

Informal

1 9.9

To hesitate before making a decision

is similar but focuses on choosing delay because of uncertainty

to dither over

vsto have to punt

1 7.9

To hesitate before deciding, often about small things

delays alike but usually to avoid decisions that feel difficult or uncertain

to punt the project

vsto have to punt

Informal

8.8

Delay a project to work on more important tasks

delays action to avoid a decision because the situation feels difficult

to sit on a decision

vsto have to punt

4.2

Delay making a decision by waiting instead of choosing

chooses to delay for the same reason of uncertainty or challenge

to drag one's heels

vsto have to punt

Informal

7.5

To delay doing something because you do not want to do it

delays too but mainly from unwillingness rather than uncertainty

to stand shilly-shally

vsto have to punt

Archaic

9.9

To be unsure and not decide

hesitates similarly but tends to delay specifically due to difficulty or doubt

Antonyms

to decide

∞ 1.0

To make a choice after thinking about the options

to act

∞ 1.0

Take action to deal with a problem or situation

How Delaying

to defer

Formal

15 5.5

to postpone

234 3.4

to delay

562 1.4

to put off

113 2.9

to have to punt

Informal

1 9.2

to keep one's options open

15 4.2

Surface Forms

have to punt infinitive

had to punt past

had to punt past participle

having to punt present participle

has to punt third person singular

Morphology

have + to + punt

The sense 'to delay or avoid making a decision' is a colloquial, sports-derived metaphorical extension of 'punt' (not the literal meanings 'have' or the provided sense 'to place money on an event outcome'), so the overall meaning cannot be composed from the parts. This register-specific idiom is unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words, making it opaque.

Etymology

Have to punt comes from American football. When a team cannot move the ball forward they kick it away in a punt to give themselves more time, so saying you have to punt means 'to delay or avoid making a decision'.