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Glite Dictionary
to ride the pine

to ride the pine

2 9.5
Sit on the bench and not play during a sports game
  • idiom
  • /raɪd ðə paɪn/
  • Slang
translation icon : permanecer en la banca
  • Tomk4054 wrote: "Sweet, another receiver who can play special teams and ride the pine all year long."

Examples

  • Paying a guy $2MM to ride the pine is wasteful.

    Blog text (32)

  • Kurt must positively shine with hustle and aggression if he hopes to win a position; otherwise, he will find himself riding the pine in the fall and may lose the chance to renew the scholarship.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Not targeting Davis one time is enough to ride the pine, in my opinion; let alone miss numerous opportunities and take points off the board.

    Blog text (8)

  • When the big game's on the line, he's busy riding the pine.

    Me, Myself & Irene (2000)

  • You'll be riding the pine.

    The Comebacks (2007)

  • Thus, barring injury, he spends most of his time riding the pine.

    Blog text (22)

  • Almost every team was stacked back in the day. Now we have too many players who are not good enough to be in the NBA. We have owners that waste picks on a kid who, for the most part, is playing college ball against guys who really do not plan on going to the NBA or guys who will ride the pine in the NBA.

    Blog text (31)

  • The Suns were outscored by 19 points in his 38 minutes on the floor, which is to say the Suns made their one big run with Beas riding the pine (it began when P.J. Tucker checked in for him).

    Blog text (29)

  • After not performing well in practice, he expected to ride the pine during the next game.

  • She has been asked to ride the pine this season as a substitute for the starting player.

Synonyms

to bench
vsto ride the pine
  • Informal
31 5.5

To stop a player from playing in a game

describes the player experience of sitting unused rather than the act of removing them
to sit out
vsto ride the pine
11 3.3

Not take part in an activity, often because someone is hurt or chooses not to

means specifically being a nonplaying team substitute during a game
to ride the bench
vsto ride the pine
  • Jargon
2 7.5

To stay on the sidelines and not play in a game

is the North American informal idiom for the same situation
to warm the bench
vsto ride the pine
  • Informal
1 7.0

A player who sits on the side and does not play in games

is a North American informal phrase rather than a vividly worded expression

Antonyms

to play
∞ 1.0

Take part in a game or sport for fun

to join in
143 1.1

To take part in an activity that others are already doing

How Active

starter
140 3.0
regular
194 3.1
substitute
211 3.2
to ride the pine
  • Slang
2 9.5

Surface Forms

ride the pine infinitive
riding the pine present participle
rides the pine third person singular
rode the pine past
ridden the pine past participle

Morphology

ride + the + pine

The meaning 'to sit on the bench as a substitute' cannot be derived from the literal constituents: 'ride' (sit on/move on) plus 'pine' (tree or 'to yearn' in the given entry). The expression is regional sports slang (North American) and uses 'pine' metonymically (bench/wood), a use that is unpredictable for an average B1 learner, so the MWE is opaque.

Etymology

Ride the pine comes from old sports teams where substitute players sat on a simple wooden bench made of pine. They literally rode the pine while the others played, so the phrase now means 'to be a substitute' or 'to sit out and not play'.