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Baseball is an etymologist's delight. The game coins words and phrases faster than Mark McGwire hits home runs (a.k.a. dingers, taters, round-trippers, four-baggers), and much of what begins as baseball-specific verbiage seeps into common usage. But why exactly is a high, lazy fly ball called "a can of corn," a pop-up that falls between the infield and the outfield a "Texas leaguer," a vicious curveball "Uncle Charlie," a poke that bounces off the plate a "Baltimore chop," and the minor leagues "the bushes"? Paul Dickson explains them--and about 7,000 more terms and expressions, names and events--in a wide-ranging work that's as much fun to browse through as it is specifically useful. Like its 1989 predecessor (which only sent 5,000 entries to the plate), the
Dickson Baseball Dictionary arranges everything alphabetically, supplies definitions, offers examples, provides cross-references, and, most fascinating of all, traces word and phrase origins. As references go, it brings out the "lumber," looks "yard," and pretty much "touches 'em all."
--Jeff Silverman
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One would not think that a mere game, a sport, and not even a world sport at that, could be the basis for a lexicon of some 7,000 terms. Could the same be true for other games or team sports, such as soccer, which is played around the world and has a pedigree at least as old? It does not seem possible, unless languages other than English are taken into account. The game of baseball has, for various reasons, always stimulated more and better writing than rival sports. Baseball has been known as the more thoughtful of the mass sports, with writers waxing eloquent about its balletic grace, its convoluted rules, its strategies, and its lack of a time clock. The many colorful figures who have played and coached the game, and announcers such as Dizzy Dean, who made famous the word
slud, only add to the mix.
Readers will enjoy the scope of this dictionary, a revised edition of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Facts On File, 1989). It is intended to represent the "words, phrases, and slang expressions that define the game." There are definitions not only for designated hitter, ground ball, and unassisted triple play but also for Black Sox, Cactus League, and Lou Gehrig's disease. No term has been included unless the author could collect at least two examples of its use. He identifies which terms are archaic, uses cross-references, and points out parts of speech. First use, etymology, a note on usage, and extended use in the language of everyday life may be given, along with pungent quotations. Besides the language of baseball, the book covers the lingo of its poor relation, softball. Dickson obviously knows his subject, but he could have used the services of an editor who is also a fan. Occasionally players are misnamed (Gary Maddux for Greg Maddux of the Atlanta Braves).
The book includes a brief thesaurus, a list of baseball abbreviations, and a partially annotated bibliography of works on baseball terminology, all of which add to its reference value. Illustrations consist of photographs and drawings from the game's storied past.
The Baseball Encyclopedia (10th ed., Macmillan, 1996) provides a record of player, team, and league statistics; and The Cultural Encyclopedia of Baseball [RBB D 15 97] covers the customs, folklore, and social significance of the sport. Dickson's focus on language is unique. As the author of several other books on baseball, and some others on words, he has shown himself to be one of the better sports lexicographers in terms of clarity of definitions and currency. The result of his efforts is an engrossing, highly readable reference book that could well become a standard in the public library.
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