Every sport has its own jargon, a lexicon of language that at least initially is unique to a particular past time. However, the terms used in one activity are sometimes borrowed or adopted by other, sometimes very different endeavors. Hunting is no exception, and hunters have borrowed liberally from a variety of other sports.

It’s hard to say who first used the term “opening day.” As baseball was invented before the Civil War, and modern sport hunting didn’t really become popular until the rise of the conservation movement in the early 20th century, credit should probably go to the former. Regardless, deer, turkey and waterfowl hunters all look forward to the first day of the respective seasons even more than the most rabid baseball fans.

Baseball has the grand slam, a term for a four-run homer that was adopted by sheep, moose, caribou and turkey hunters who collect four species, subspecies or races of their respective quarry. Over the course of those hunts, the prey might do something totally unexpected, throwing a curveball to their pursuers.

Football fans are familiar with the red zone – inside the 20-yard line. Bowhunters and turkey hunters also use it to describe when game is in range, which is often inside 20 yards. Conversely, a particularly long shot might be deemed a bomb, or a Hail Mary.

A point break in surfing is a type of wave – a good thing. In upland bird hunting, it’s when a bird dog gives up its rigid position and charges after a bird – a bad thing.

Bowhunters borrow from basketball and golf to describe a particularly easy shot as a layup or a chip shot; and if they pull it off, a slam-dunk. If they don’t, it’s a swing and a miss. A hunter who goes a particularly long time without success, like a baseball player who hasn’t had a hit in a while, is declared to be in a slump.

Sometimes the door swings the other way. Hunters get credit for the shotgun, which we use to shoot birdies, and in football describes a quarterback set up several steps behind the center. Ducks on the pond could mean a good place to hunt, or runners on base. A bloop hit that sails over the infield and drops short in the outfield is sometimes called a dying quail. A forward pass that flies straight and true is a bullet.

Even boxing is not exempt from a little linguistic appropriation. As the end to a particular hunting season draws near – the bottom of the ninth, or the fourth quarter – you might declare it’s time to throw in the towel and head for home base. Don’t be so hasty. As the great Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over ’till it’s over.”

Bob Humphrey is a freelance writer and Registered Maine Guide who lives in Pownal. He can be reached at: bhunt@maine.rr.com


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