colemanballs
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A malapropism, mixed metaphor or other humorous misspeaking, especially in sports commentary.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "On a point of order, Miss Fookes. Is it in order for my hon. Friend to use a Colemanballs in this Committee?"
- "British TV viewers may think themselves lucky that all they got for commentary on the last Olympics was the usual load of Colemanballs"
- "It is footballers though, rather than commentators, presenters or pundits, who when interviewed have provided some of the best Colemanballs."
- "I read out a quote from Harry Cavan, who was Northern Ireland's FIFA representative. He had made a Colemanballs with "The Scots are still refusing to meet us in Belfast, so we may have to compromise on this and meet them halfway.""
Etymology
From Coleman + balls (“nonsense”), from the football commentator David Coleman. Originally the title of a column in Private Eye magazine collecting mistakes in sports commentary.
Usage
- British usage
- Countable
- Uncountable