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Reprinted with permission from The San Francisco Chronicle

Super Bowl Glossary
Released by yourDictionary.com

Glossary contains everything you need
to better understand the Super Bowl

To view the CNN article, Click Here

January 26, 2001, DANVILLE, California - yourDictionary.com, the linguistic portal of record, sent its linguistic specialists into the heart of football country to compile this glossary of terms, which is an indispensable aid for fans to better understand the Super Bowl.

According to Paul J.J. Payack, president and C.E.O. of yourDictionary.com, "The purpose of creating the Super Bowl Glossary is to help the worldwide television viewer better understand that unique American cultural phenomenon, the Super Bowl. It is a truly distinct American ritual with its own nomenclature and idiomatic expressions."

The Baltimore Ravens play the New York Giants for the championship of the National Football League in the Super Bowl on Sunday, January 28th in Tampa, Florida.

Super Bowl - yourDictionary.com

Commentary by Paul JJ Payack, Robert Beard and Peter Payack

NFL Term		Comment
1. Balmer		The largest city in Maryland; home to the Ravens. Often mispronounced as Balt' ti-more. Official abbreviation, Balto, of unknown origin.
2. Billions		As in Billions & Billions. The amount of money wagered on the Super Bowl; more than the Gross National Product of many countries.
3. The Donald		For New York, the Jersey Shore, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, of course, Donald Trump. In Central Florida (and the rest of the country), Donald Duck.
4. Draft		A cold one on tap.
5. Extra Point		The point made my Dennis Miller after he's losing an argument.
6. Fair Catch		A date with an NFL Cheerleader.
7. Football		The All-American game, descended from rugby, first played by Rutgers and Princeton in the 19th century and, later, popularized by Las Vegas odds makers.
8. Founding Fathers		George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and company, or Wellington Mara and Art Model.
9. Fuhgetaboutit		Jersey slang with 38 different nuances of meaning, depending upon inflection and accompanying gestures. Will be heard with ever increasing frequency as the game progresses by the fans of the losing team.
10. Hoffa End Zone		The end zone in Giants Stadium under which former Teamsters head honcho, Jimmy Hoffa, is reputedly buried. Gives special meaning to kicking into the 'coffin corner'. (See also, the Meadowlands.)
11. Hot Dog		The propensity to 'act out' in full view of the television cameras in a pseudo-ritualistic dance or rhythmic motions. Also, a culinary specialty of sports fans everywhere.
12. Incomplete Pass		Being turned down for a date by an NFL cheerleader. (See also, fumble).
13. isray (verb)		Balmer term meaning to sneak out, under the cover of darkness, as in 'to isray'.
14. Jints		Official pronunciation of 'Giants'. One syllable only, please; linguistic construction known as syllable reduction.
15. Kicked Off		(See Hoffa End Zone.)
16. Las Vegas		The site of the real action on Super Bowl Sunday.
17. The Meadowlands		Euphemism for the Swamps of New Jersey. Coined because The Petrochemical-Lands was too long to fit onto the stadium marquee. (See also, Hoffa End Zone.)
18. 'Nevermore'		Poe's Raven had it right. Never more Super Bowl games between these two quarterbacks.
19. New York Giants		Champions of the Jersey Swamplands. (See also, Jints.)
20. Neutral Zone		An area of the Middle Atlantic states, approximating the Mason-Dixon Line, where fans root for neither the Giants nor the Ravens. Another name for Delaware.
21. Over / Under		Exotic wager where you bet that the combined team scoring will be either higher or lower than the number designated. (See also, push.)
22. Overtime		What Tampa Bay residents have to work in order to pay for Raymond James Stadium.
23. Pancake		To flatten an opponent. Used in all areas of the country with the exception of Seattle, where the acceptable term is 'crepe,' as in 'to crepe an opponent'. (See also, scrapple.)
24. Parity		The effort to level the playing field in the NFL. Super Bowl XXXV is a direct result of parity.
25. Parody...		...of its former self. What the NFL has become since introducing the concept of parity,
26. Pocket		Something an owner has to reach deep into, in order to field a contending team. (Usage hint: Never use in the presence of Washington 'Skins management.)
27. Push		When your bet 'ties' the point spread. (There's no overtime for 'pushes'.)
28. Ravens		Balmer football organization with a very unusual pedigree: from 'colts' to 'browns' to 'crows'.
29. Raven Roosts		Favorite watering holes for Raven Fans.
30. Salary Cap		Favorite chapeau worn by team owners and general managers. Also, the number you must exceed to become a competitive force in the NFL.
31. Scrapple		A local Balmer favorite that's hard to describe like 'grits' or 'hush puppies'. Literally, a fried pork-cornmeal combo. Don't bother asking for it in Tampa.
32. Smash mouth		A style of football where a premium is placed on the 'smashing' the opponent's cavity lying at the end of the alimentary canal.
33. Snap		The act of the center hiking the ball. When used in the past tense, obligatory plea of any NFL player who commits an off-field crime.
34. Sopranos		How the Ravens will sing at the end of the game on Sunday. (See also, 'hitting the high notes'.)
35. Spread		Law enforcement maneuver; also, a lush presentations of food at Super Bowl parties.
36. Squares		The unofficial Super Bowl matrix used for friendly wagers in office pools around the nation.
37. Squares		Fans of Major League Soccer (futbol).
38. Tailgate Party		24/7 activity, with brief three-hour interlude on Sundays that includes fermented beverages, salty snacks, and salty language.
39. Time out		Each team is strickly limited to three time outs per half (see television timeouts).
40. TV Time out		A strickly unlimited number of televison timeouts when all action on the field comes to a complete standstill. Cost to teams: Possible loss of momentum. Cost to advertisers: $2.3 million per 30-second spot.
41. Touchback		What you do to the person who touches you for the price of an NFL ticket (archaic).
42. The Tuna		Nickname (condensed over the years from The Big Tuna) for Bill Parcells, the currently unemployed ex-Giant coach who took the team to two Super Bowl titles. (Warning: Do not order Big Tuna in Tampa seafood houses.)
43. Turnover		They're called Krispy Kremes in Tampa.
44. West Coast Offense		A 'run-and-gun type offense. Also known as the Left Coast Offense.
Bonus Word
NFL Term		Comment
45. 110%		Historically, the coach used to ask 100% from his players; currently, the minimum acceptable effort is 110%. (Apparently due to inflation in the Exertion Index.)

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