By : Kadri KRASNIQI, Afrim Desku,Ajete Vojvoda. Games & Sports Idioms. By : Kadri KRASNIQI, Afrim Desku,Ajete Vojvoda.

“Blow the competition away” (Any Sport) Means – win easily. E.g. : If you wear that dress to the beauty pageant you are going to blow the competition away.

“Call the shots” (Snooker) Means – make the decisions. E.g. : While my boss is on holiday , I will call the shots.

“Get into the full swing” (Tennis) Means – be comfortable doing something after sometime. E.g. : I will probably take a month of working at my new job before I get into the full swing of things.

“Give one a run for one’s money” (Horse racing) Means – try your hardest to defeat another person. E.g. I know the other team is expected to win , but lets give them a run for their money tonight.

“Take the bull by the horns” (Bull fighting) Means – accept the challenge and try your hardest. E.g. Even though this new job will mean relocating, I think you should take the bull by the horns for once.

“Three strikes and your out” (Baseball) Means – you only get three chances. E.g. The school’s no smoking policy is three strikes and your out.

“Throw in the towel” (Boxing) Means – give up. E.g. If you don’t accept our offer this time we are going to throw in the towel and look at houses elsewhere.

“Have the upper hand” (Cards) Means – have a better chance of winning or succeeding. E.g. The blues have the upper hand in the tournament because none of their players are injured.

“Down to the wire” (Horse racing) Means – right at the end. E.g. Its coming down to the wire to get my research paper on time.

“ Swim against the tide ” QUESTION. Who would like to tell me the meaning of this idiom??? “ Swim against the tide ”

ANSWER. Means – A person who is doing / saying the opposite to most other people. E.g. : Perhaps it’s because she always swims against the tide that her books are successful.

That was all folks ! Hope you enjoyed.

- Sports and games idioms. Sports idioms generally originate from a specific sport such as baseball or sailing. Overtime these phrases have come to mean something that can be used in everyday life. While most sports idioms can still be used when discussing sports, they are even more common in other areas of life, especially the business world.

“Get a second wind.” (sailing) Meaning: have a burst of energy after tiring. E.g: I was exhausted after 3 kilometers of running , but I got a second wind after I passed the beach.

“Go overboard.” (Sailing) Meaning: Do or say more than you need to. E.g: You can’t believe everything Janice says about Rick. She tends to go overboard when she’s complaining about him.

“To be off base.” (Baseball) Meaning: Not making a fair or true remark. E.g: You were way off base when you said Bill needed to lose weight.

“On the ball.” (Baseball) Meaning: ready and able. E.g: The new receptionist is really on the ball when it comes to answering the phone.

“Take the wind out of one’s sails.” (Sailing) Meaning: Make someone feel deflated. E.g: I think I took the wind out of Angela’s sails when I told her she was a terrible singer.

Games and sports idioms By: Ajete Vojvoda

“Play games with someone” It means that you are not completely honest or behave in a way that is not fair. You are playing games with someone. Eg: Quit playing games and tell me the truth.

“Start the ball rolling” It means to start an activity in order to encourage other people to join us. Eg: It's time to start the ball rolling or we will have missed the opportunity.

“Keep your eye on the ball” It means to pay attention to a situation. It is commonly used in the game of baseball. It is used commonly in business and life outside of the baseball game as well. Eg: To do well in this office, you'll have to keep your eye on the ball.

“Give the game away” It means to reveal a secret or a plan, often unintentionally. Eg: I wanted my sister’s birthday party to be kept a secret, but my little brother gave the game away.

“To drop the ball” It means to make a mistake especially by doing something in a careless way. Eg: You cannot trust him to do the job right . He’s always dropping the ball.

“Give it your best shot” It means to try as hard as possible to achieve something. Eg: I did not win the game, but I sure gave it my best shot.

“Hit below the belt” It means to hurt someone unfairly. Eg: They hit the workers below the belt when they closed the factory.