Why do they call a curve ball "the ol' uncle charlie?"  AND is a "Yak-er" a curve ball?
372668
"Uncle Charlie" for curveball is a rather elusive term.  Most think it came from citizens' band radio, where Uncle Charlie is a term for another person you know.  As best I can find out, the sounds inherent in the two words, in particular the c and r, somehow helped the two terms morph into a recognizable expression for "curveball".  Very roundabout, and of debatable origin.\n\nA yakker is indeed a curve.  It comes from the word "yawker", which is a type of woodpecker with an interesting, curvy flight path... :)
967246
Ok, all puns aside. You strike me as a very educated man. Obviously you missed a class here. It happens to all of us. Why just last week I missed a class in.......well, never mind. So back to you question. \n\nUntil 1903, all ball parks were not built to a common standard. Some were flat, some were build on hillsides. The most famous Hilly (as it was called) was in North Carolina. Due to the extensive coal mining in the area, sink holes would appear. (interesting to note that there are many Sinks in the phone book) on a regular basis. The sometimes steep slope combined with the randomly  occurring sink holes, necessitated the use of a ladder quite often.\n\nWith the introduction of a common standard of a flat field, the ladder was no longer needed. But the terminology stayed. \n\nNot to disparage the previous answerers, but they have a few facts wrong.  \n\nWe must all be diligent so as not to impugn the true history of the wonderful game we love. \n\nI hope I have helped.
328686
The old American League Washington team was called both the Nationals and the Senators at various times in their history.  Even when they were the Senators, newspaper vernacular referred to them as the "Nats" in their headlines in the same way that the Red Sox are called the Bosox and the Yankees are called the Yanks.  Being an old time baseball traditionalist, I don't mind the Nationals being called that.  In fact, it makes more sense now that they are in the National League.
726277
Your great uncle, but I wouldn't call him that when i'm talking to him cause that just sounds dumb "Hey Great Uncle Joe."  It would sound better to just call him "Uncle Joe."  It doesn't matter cause he is still your uncle!
789141
The proper name is the cylinder.  In shooting circles it may also be called a "wheel" ... for example, "He's a good shot with that wheel gun."
658387
It's not a real word. You know it's the name of the mechas used by the Children, yes? It's a play on "Evangelical" used along with all the other religious overtones in the show.
554537
It's a curveball or slider that doesn't have the desired curve or slide to it, so it just hangs there like it was a fastball.\nThey use that term when a pitcher tried to throw a slider or curveball and it didn't have any movement to it. In other words, he just threw a bad curveball or slider.
239436
"hit the baseball"...real hard!! a baseball is often called an apple."chuck that apple in here".  one of the great things about baseball is its jargon, and colorfuull use of the engish language... not to mention its colorfull history and crazzy assortment of characters...an interesting subject even for those who dont know the game... see ken burns book or film.
915418
It's a corruption of the word 'haddocks'. Think it started in the thirties. Charlton always treated the opposition to fish & chips, they didn't bother to ask everyone what they wanted, just ordered haddock & chips for all. The visiting team would call them the haddocks, ie; ''we're playing the haddocks next''. Over time it became corrupted to 'addicks'.
14926
No, but if you ask a baseball player "does a curveball curve?" they'll tell you that it sure does, and they're right. It turns out it is a lot harder to prove than you may have expected.  In September 1941,  Life magazine claimed to have proven, through a series of high speed pictures, that the curve ball didn’t curve at all and it was just an "optical illusion." Again, as recently as November 1982, Science 82 magazine published an article that referred to the "apparent break in a curveball" as an "illusion."  If curveballs curve a lot, according to baseball players than where does this controversy stem from?\nThe bottom dotted line is tangent to the path of the ball when the pitcher releases the ball.  If the hitter thinks the ball is a fastball this is the path they would expect the ball to take, but the ball curves on its way to the plate, represented by the solid black line, and the hitter would claim the the ball curved the width of the plate.\n\nHowever, if you were to draw a line from where the ball leaves the pitcher's hand to where it crosses the plate. The largest deviation from this line, called the sagitta, is much smaller. If you were to have three poles in a row it would be very difficult to throw a pitch which passes left of the first, right of the second, and left of the third.
45608
I don't know what the bootie call is, but I like the cha cha slide more than the electric. Care to explain the bootie call?
1009459
Apparently it's possitive.  According to my research, I've found this:  diddly-squat actually comes from early American carnival lingo as workers referred to nickels and dimes, the going rate for games of chances as "diddle-e-squat".  \n\nSo, I guess it's worth nickels and dimes.....
627166
The slang word Rube was here long before Rube Goldberg adopted it as his moniker.\n\nRube is old circus sideshow slang for Rubber neck\nits a reference to people from the hicks who will pay money to look at anything.\npeople when they lean over to take a closer look very often will stretch their neck out  hence the term Rubber neck.
452154
I'm guessing it's sweetcorn. Choclo is aniother word for corn (OR CORNCOB). It was also used a a gambling term once.
193031
It is called the pitching rubber.
410271
We also call him the 'Easter Bunny' in Australia. Also we have an 'Easter Bilby', but I believe that the choclate marketers here are the only ones cashing in on this their creation.\n\nPersonally I call him 'Ostara'. (The one who brings eggs for health, wealth, and prosperity - and as a sign of fertility)\n\nHey 'bored', I live in Australia and have never seen a 'Easter Bunyip', where the hell do you by one of those.
863961
It makes you better then Jesus. I heard he was a sissy at bowling. His nickname is Twinkle Toes because he always stands on his tippy toes when throwing the ball. What a fairy!