to park the bus
1
7.7
- idiom
- Literature
:
defenderse a ultranza
- Celtic is not the first team to park the bus this season.
Examples
-
"When she parked the bus, everything just went from zero to 60—that fast—to the argument," the witness said when speaking to CBS Baltimore.
Blog text (20) -
Most teams by now know that the only chance to win against us is by parking the bus.
Blog text (21) -
I think Bayern scoring first makes this an entertaining match as it will force Chelsea to do more than park the bus and counter, but this game is probably going to penalties.
Blog text (5) -
This was pretty close to what Chelsea did against Barcelona, deploying a notoriously crude tactic employed by weak teams against strong ones that is known in the game as "parking the bus."
Blog text (17) -
Teams often choose to park the bus when they want to defend against a stronger opponent.
-
In the final minutes of the match, the coach decided to park the bus to secure their lead.
-
By parking the bus, the team aimed to prevent any goals from their rivals during the tense game.
Antonyms
How Defensive
- Literature
1
7.7
42
3.4
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase uses the literal meanings of 'park' (stop and leave a vehicle) and 'bus' as a large vehicle to create a blocking metaphor, so there is a partial, interpretable connection to preventing forward movement. However, the specific tactical sense in football — positioning players defensively near one’s goal — is sports-jargon and not fully predictable from the words alone, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would likely need exposure or context to grasp the exact meaning.
Etymology
Park the bus may come from the picture of a large bus being parked in front of the goal to block the way. That's why in football it means putting many players near your goal 'to stop the other team from scoring'.