Glossary of football slang terms

A

• Agrikùn – Origin: Akach
  Meaning "farmer athlete". Refers to a "no nonsense" type player who does the job as simply as possible, but effectively. Usually a defender.
• Angry shadow – Origin: Cobrio
  See Piano carrier.

B

• Ball tamer
  See (to) tame the ball.
• Before coffee
  A bad performance typified by low energy. Implies the player needs a coffee (or similar drink) to "wake up", or some sort of energy boost.
• Butterfly hunter
  A goalkeeper who has misjudged the flight of the ball, and "flaps" at it with both hands, only to come up empty handed.

C

• Canoe foot
  A player who is inaccurate in front of goal, or has a poor first touch. The phrase implies this is because they have long feet.
• Cat chasing a fly
  See Butterfly hunter.
• (to) chop before breakfast – Origin: Cobrio
  An accomplished performance that looks effortless, languid, or otherwise slow. The phrase implies the player has not fully woken up yet, but is still able to "cook".

D

• (to) dance at (multiple) weddings – Origin: Cobrio
  To do well in multiple competitions at once.
• (to) dig under the mountain – Origin: Osarius
  To bring through talented young players. Also called "making glass" in Tubriss.

E

• Enyagha – Origin: Cobrio
  See War elephant.
• Erinogun – Origin: Cobrio
  See War elephant.
• Eristicean horse – Origin: Osarius
  Also sometimes referred to as an Erisian horse. A team that starts well but falls away toward the end of a competition. So called because Eristiceans are stereotyped as grifters and fraudsters.

F

• Fur – Origin: Novum-castrum
  Meaning Thief.

H

• Hungry child – Origin: Cobrio
  A ball hog.

I

• (in the) Ice
  A player left out of the team after a bad performance.

K

• Kléftis – Origin: Eristicea
  Meaning Thief.

L

• Ladrón – Origin: Aquillian
  Meaning Thief.
• Lleidr – Origin: Diwedd Ardal
  Meaning Thief.
• (to) lock the door
  To adopt an ultra-defensive strategy. Like "parking the bus" in English.
• Lumberjack – Origin: The Limey Isles
  A violent ball-winner. A "hatchet man".

M

• (to) make a cloud
  A hopeful long aerial punt into the box, particularly late in the game. So named because the ball falls like rain from a cloud.
• (to) make glass – Origin: Osarius
  A Tubrissian variation of Digging under a mountain.

O

• Onyo! – Origin: Cobrio
  Truncation of "onye ohi", meaning Thief.

P

• (to) Paint (with the toe)
  A beautiful piece of play that could be considered "art".
• Piano carrier
  A hardworking player who does the dirty work, so that a more talented teammate can shine. Variants on this phrase exist, referring to other bulky musical instruments.
• (to) piss in the wine
  To beat a team who have just won a trophy, thus spoiling their party.
• (to) play in a suit – Origin: Akach
  A deceptive performance (e.g. trying to get a player sent off), insinuating that people in suits are untrustworthy. Commonly used in Akach (Akachese: láti ṣeré nígbà tí a wọ̀ ọ́ aṣọ iṣowo)
• Plank
  Used to refer to any formation with "two banks of four" (e.g. 4-4-2, 4-4-1-1, 4-6-0, etc). Because it's "two-by-four".

R

• (to) reverse (the shirt/colours)
  Used to refer to a player leaving a club to join a rival.

S

• (to) set the grass on fire
  To play very intensely. Usually said at half time during a boring match or after a disappointing performance. "They will have to set the grass on fire in the second half", meaning they will need to "up their game" significantly.
• Shaving paint
  To hit the post or bar.
• Shoeshiner – Origin: Osarius
  See Piano carrier.
• Shuttle train
  A player who runs up and down the pitch a lot. Typically a fullback or wingback.
• (to) start the dance – Origin: Aquillian
  Dribbling aggressively toward someone, creating a one-on-one situation.
• (to) squeeze sand – Origin: Osarius
  Originating in the Tubriss region of Osarius, used to refer to a manager persisting with the selection of an out of form player. Sometimes the phrase "(to) squeeze a stone" is used in other regions.

T

• (to) tame the ball
  To master the fundamentals of the sport.
• Thief! – Origin: Various
  A shout made—typically in a player's native language—to warn a teammate that an opponent is approaching to make a tackle, similar to the colloquial English "man on!". See also: Fur, Kléftis, Ladrón, Lleidr!, and Onyo!.
• Tukarist(a/o) – Origin: Aquillian
  A hardworking, selfless player. Typically an attacker. Refers to the philosophy of Tukarism, named for revolutionary Cobre leader Tukari Kaita.

W

• War elephant – Origin: Cobrio
  A striker who leads the line aggressively, relying on physicality and brute force. Typically known as Enyagha or Erinogun within Cobrio (both phrases translate to "war elephant").
• Where the joiner works – Origin: Akach
  A shot placed right in the top corner of the goal, near the angle of post and bar. Also known as "where the bat sleeps" in The Limey Isles, or "in the spider's web" or "shaving paint twice" in other places.