Chalk

[Johnny Dangerously]

When is the last time you dialed a number?

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Though the majority have gone electronic, a number of the betting boards in Nevada remain hand-written in Vegas . . . Leroy's . . . Cal-Neva
at Binion's . . .

 

[buckweaver]

When is the last time you dialed a number?

1990. At a then-81 year old relative's house.

Never used "dialed" in my life, although of course I'm familiar with the term. Doesn't make it any less outdated.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Oh, I was not dissing you or arguing. Just throwing that out there.

Sorta like a generation unfamiliar with the term clockwise.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Most phones do not ring anymore either, and I hear people say their phone rang. Phones chirp, blare music and make all kinds of sounds, but almost never do they ring.

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

Walk-off is the same thing. Players had been using it for years, I think, before it became common jargon. Chalk's akin to using, "I'll take UCLA and the points."

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Would that be the Fran Tarkenton Vikings or the Joe Kapp Vikings?

the Leif Ericson Vikings, I would surmise.

Maybe for an old fart like F_B (or JR) but not me.

Once, in Vinland, full of mead and ambition, I told Odin where to get off.
Now, I'm a tree in Newfoundland.
Go figure.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Let me remind some of you punks that an old fart does not smell as bad as a fresh one.

 

[spaceman]

At one paper I worked for, the handicapper was a self-described "chalk-eater"

 

[leo1]

Walk-off is the same thing. Players had been using it for years, I think, before it became common jargon. Chalk's akin to using, "I'll take UCLA and the points."

i never heard walk-off before in my life until about four years ago when ESPN popularized it. no one i played with used it (not that i played pro ball, obviously).

 

[fishwrapper]

When is the last time you dialed a number?

When was the last time you saw "flashbulbs" in the stands?
I see that in copy for every big event.

 

[buckweaver]

When is the last time you dialed a number?

When was the last time you saw "flashbulbs" in the stands?
I see that in copy for every big event.

Aren't modern flashes "bulbs" inside the camera, too? [/ignorant about camera technology]

 

[fishwrapper]

Walk-off is the same thing. Players had been using it for years, I think, before it became common jargon. Chalk's akin to using, "I'll take UCLA and the points."

i never heard walk-off before in my life until about four years ago when ESPN popularized it. no one i played with used it (not that i played pro ball, obviously).

The word "chalk" is not that abstract.
It is a term that has been used in Sports pages for more than a half century. It's almost always associated with horse racing. So, those not growing up around a track, it is understandable that the term may be foreign.
Red Smith used the term frequently (and so did Jim Murray). The earliest I could find was a 1953 reference to Native Dancer (a 7-10 betting favorite) losing the Kentucky Derby by a nose. 'Dancer then went on crush the fields in both the Preakness and Belmont.

 

[Satchel Pooch]

Alrighty, then. Thanks for the etymology class. It has a neat meaning, but I still can't stand that the media have co-opted it in the last week and all of a sudden we're back in a smokey pool hall in 1920.

 

[fishwrapper]

Guess you guys have never seen a Kentucky Derby? Preakness or Belmont? Breeders' Cup?
It's part of the lexicon.

 

[buckweaver]

Guess you guys have never seen a Kentucky Derby? Preakness or Belmont? Breeders' Cup?
It's part of the lexicon.

Seen those, but am a strictly casual observer of horse racing. And a non-observer of gambling on horse racing.

But using chalk for the NCAA tournament seems akin to saying that Bryce Drew hit a walkoff home run at the buzzer for Valpo.

 

[fishwrapper]

FLASHBULBS:

From Meriam Webster:

Main Entry: flash·bulb
Function: noun
: an electric bulb that can be used only once to produce a brief and very bright flash for taking photographs

 

[fishwrapper]

Guess you guys have never seen a Kentucky Derby? Preakness or Belmont? Breeders' Cup?
It's part of the lexicon.

Seen those, but am a strictly casual observer of horse racing. And a non-observer of gambling on horse racing.

But using chalk for the NCAA tournament seems akin to saying that Bryce Drew hit a walkoff home run at the buzzer for Valpo.

Ever step inside a Sportsbook?

 

[buckweaver]

Guess you guys have never seen a Kentucky Derby? Preakness or Belmont? Breeders' Cup?
It's part of the lexicon.

Seen those, but am a strictly casual observer of horse racing. And a non-observer of gambling on horse racing.

But using chalk for the NCAA tournament seems akin to saying that Bryce Drew hit a walkoff home run at the buzzer for Valpo.

Ever step inside a Sportsbook?

Will again in about nine days.

The point is: the term is having to be explained to a lot of people. We stay away from plenty of other terms that are either out-of-date or have to be explained. Why is this one en vogue again?

 

[spaceman]

why are people saying "en vogue" again?