If only I would use my predictive powers for good things like winning the 50 million dollars this Friday. Sorry Spain, I did mention that there should be some surprises today but I didn't really think you would lose. And South Africa, that red card I did not see in my vision for surprise and entertainment. But who wasn't impressed by Chile today? They are real contenders.
What will happen next matchday? Who knows? Hopefully Greece will be well rested and make a show of things. We are waiting eagerly for the France vs. Mexico game too. It should be exciting!
For today's selection of words used by English announcers describing football plays:
1) a "feisty encounter" - "Feisty" is used like the word "spirited". It means full of energy and a little risky. Like sometimes happens in a football match - with luck. It is common to use when describing a person or animal's behaviour in general or during a specific time / event. You could say: "My grandmother is a feisty lady. She loves to go out dancing and talk with all the young men." Generally, this is a positive adjective but it can be used to caution someone about their behaviour too. As in: "Don't get too feisty with that puppy or you may get bitten."
2) He's moving a little "gingerly". - Here "gingerly" is used as an adverb to explain that the player is showing care or caution in his movements like he may have an injury. You would touch your arm "gingerly" after you were stung by a bee. You would be careful with it because it was painful and you were unsure of the extent of the damage. "After having her baby, she sat very gingerly on the sofa."
3) "ducking for cover" - In this instance, the announcer was describing the movements of a player on one team who was trying to get out of the path of a player on the other team. The one player had his boot high and the other player was trying to move away from the high boot so as to avoid injury. He bent his knees and made himself small by bending towards the ground. This is "to duck". If you are very tall and the height of the door is less than your height, you have to "duck" under the door frame to get through the space.
"Ducking for cover" is to get your body low so as to find a protected space. "Cover" is the protected space you want to find in case there is a fight or, heaven forbid, someone shooting a weapon. It is a common phrase used in police-action movies.
4) "largely one-way traffic" - "One-way traffic" is referring to the direction all the plays seem to be moving. It suggests that most of the "action" or activity is happening at one end of the pitch (playing field for football). Only one team seems to be constantly trying for a goal. In this case the announcer was describing Spain vs. Switzerland and Spain had possession of the ball most of the game.
"Largely" is equal to "mostly". You can use "largely" in the same way: "I am largely a fan of Cameroon, but I like Cote d'Ivoire too." or "This store sells largely women's clothing but there is a men's department on the fifth floor."
5) "So far this Cup, many stars have failed to shine. The Rooneys, Ronaldos and Riberys." - The "stars" are the most celebrated players as this announcer listed. Most peole know that the Hollywood actors are often called "stars". A "shining star" is one we can see. Essentially this star is doing what we expect it to. In this case, these "stars" haven't yet done the job we (the viewers) were expecting. Of course, they each have only played one game so we have time yet to see the stars shine. Maybe on Matchday #6 we will see at least one of these stars "blind us with some brilliant play" and "shine like we all want to see".
To "shine" is also used to describe anyone or their actions that are obviously better than others. As in: "My sister really shines when she is teaching a class. All her students love going to her classes." or "I hope to shine at my interview tomorrow."
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