googly

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a cricket ball bowled as if to break one way that actually breaks in the opposite way

Etymology

Unknown; perhaps derived from googie (“an egg, in reference to the unusual direction of bounce”). Though the delivery was perfected and made famous by English cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, circa 1900, the term is recorded earlier in Australian English (1896).

In classic literature

Synonyms

wrong 'un, bosie, bosie ball

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