Chin music

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Chin music is a slang term with several different meanings.

Contents

Street slang

In American slang, chin music is a term for idle talk. In the US it dates back at least a century — "There's too much chin music an' too little fightin' in this war, anyhow" is a quote from Stephen Crane's 1895 novel The Red Badge of Courage — and is recorded in Australian newspapers from as early as 1836. [1] It can alternatively be used as a euphemism for punching someone in the jaw.

Baseball

In baseball slang, it means a pitch that is thrown near the batter's face. The pitcher's intent may be to cause the batter to move "back" such that it is more difficult to hit a future outside pitch, to frighten the batter into a poorer batting approach, to intimidate opposing batters, or to actually hit the batter with the pitch. If the umpire suspects the pitcher of either of the latter two intentions, he may eject the pitcher immediately or warn both teams that any similar pitch will result in automatic ejection. The pitcher's manager may also be ejected or warned if the umpire believes the manager ordered the beanball.

In the late 1800s, at baseball's inception, the phrase "chin music" was used to describe razzing or heckling from the fans. It began being used as a synonym for a brushback pitch around World War II.

Cricket

In cricket, chin music is a term for a bowling strategy where bouncers are aimed at the batsman's throat or chin. [2] Rising rapidly off the pitch, the ball is difficult to play unless the batsman has quick footwork. If fended rather than avoided, it may yield a ballooned return catch to the bowler or to close-in fielders. This is a difficult ball to bowl, since a few inches on either side would present the batsman with a short ball that can be easily put away on either side of the pitch. It is not illegal in cricket, but the number of short deliveries allowed in an over is usually restricted, and bowlers who exceed this may get a warning from the umpire or may lead to a no ball, often given a free hit.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowling (cricket)</span> Cricket delivery

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strike zone</span> Target zone for a pitched baseball

In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's knees and the midpoint of their torso. Whether a pitch passes through the zone is decided by an umpire, who is generally positioned behind the catcher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fielding (cricket)</span> Collecting the ball to force dismissal

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of cricket terms</span> Cricketing terminology

This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of cricket. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics. Certain aspects of cricket terminology are explained in more detail in cricket statistics and the naming of fielding positions is explained at fielding (cricket).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wide (cricket)</span> Type of illegal delivery to a batter

In cricket, a wide is a type of illegal delivery to a batter that is judged by the umpire to be too wide or too high to be hit by the batsman by means of a normal cricket shot. It is also a type of extra, being the run awarded to the batting team as a consequence of such an illegal delivery.

Dead ball is a term in many ball sports in which the ball is deemed temporarily not playable, and no movement may be made with it. Depending on the sport, this event may be quite routine, or more uncommon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batting (cricket)</span> Cricket terminology

In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the ball with a bat to score runs and prevent the loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since September 2021, officially referred to as a batter —regardless of whether batting is their particular area of expertise. Batters have to adapt to various conditions when playing on different cricket pitches, especially in different countries; therefore, as well as having outstanding physical batting skills, top-level batters will have quick reflexes, excellent decision-making skills, and be good strategists. Although batsman is still widely used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count (baseball)</span>

In baseball and softball, the count refers to the number of balls and strikes a batter has in their current plate appearance. If the count reaches three strikes, the batter strikes out; if the count reaches four balls, the batter earns a base on balls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batting order (baseball)</span> Sequence in which the members of the offense bat against the pitcher

In baseball, the batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. In Major League Baseball, the batting order is set by the manager, who before the game begins must present the home plate umpire with two copies of his team's lineup card, a card on which a team's starting batting order is recorded. The home plate umpire keeps one copy of the lineup card of each team, and gives the second copy to the opposing manager. Once the home plate umpire gives the lineup cards to the opposing managers, the batting lineup is final and a manager can make changes only under the Official Baseball Rules governing substitutions. If a team bats out of order, it is a violation of baseball's rules and subject to penalty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Run (cricket)</span> Unit of scoring in cricket

In cricket, a run is the unit of scoring. The team with the most runs wins in many versions of the game, and always draws at worst, except for some results decided by the DLS method, which is used in rain-shortened limited-overs games when the two teams have had a different number of opportunities to score runs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseball field</span> Field on which baseball is played

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beanball</span> Baseball slang for a pitch intended to hit the batter

"Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head. A pitcher who throws beanballs often is known as a "headhunter". The term may be applied to any sport in which a player on one team regularly attempts to throw a ball toward the general vicinity of a player of the opposite team, but is typically expected not to hit that player with the ball. In cricket, the equivalent term is "beamer". Some people use the term "beaner", though that usage is discouraged due to its use as an ethnic slur in the United States.

Baseball and cricket are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games. Both have fields that are 400 feet (120 m) or more in diameter between their furthest endpoints, offensive players who can hit a thrown/"bowled" ball out of the field and run between safe areas to score runs (points) at the risk of being gotten out, and have a major game format lasting about 3 hours.

Law 41 of the Laws of Cricket covers unfair play. This law has developed and expanded over time as various incidents of real life unfair play have been legislated against.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bat-and-ball games</span> Field games played by two opposing teams

Bat-and-ball games are field games played by two opposing teams. Action starts when the defending team throws a ball at a dedicated player of the attacking team, who tries to hit it with a bat and run between various safe areas in the field to score runs (points). The defending team can use the ball in various ways against the attacking team's players to force them off the field when they are not in safe zones, and thus prevent them from further scoring. The best known modern bat-and-ball games are cricket and baseball, with common roots in the 18th-century games played in England.

This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.

References

  1. "Police Incidents". The Sydney Gazette and South Wales Advertiser. 29 December 1836. p. 3. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  2. Vaughan is ready to face West Indies' 'chin music', Independent, Retrieved on 29 February 2024