2012 Olympics Vocabulary Words

Summary: Say goodbye to the Olympics and hello to a whole new list of Olympics-related words and phrases.

 The 2012 Summer Olympics in London have officially drawn to a close. But it's not too late to use your Olympics vocabulary—and expand your daily vocabulary with new, globally current words.

EnglishClub.com has a whole host of quizzes and other links on Olympics-related vocabulary, including sports idioms like the pan-athletic phrases "at this stage in the game" and "blow the competition away." Interestingly, most sports-related phrases are used repeatedly in business speak. How many do you recognize and hear (or use) on a regular basis?

One term from that very list that I learned the origin of is "hot shot" (also "big shot"). It makes sense that this hunting term has come to mean someone who either is important or thinks he or she is important. However, EtymOnline.com states that in the 1600s, the phrase (still likely derived from hunting) meant someone who was reckless. The ingenuity in hunting technology is likely to credit for at least some of the changes in the word's meaning: Someone who shot too quickly in the past was reckless, while someone who shoots quickly today—especially using ready-loaded guns with sites—is likely on-target ... which just so happens to be another hunting idiom that's commonly used in the business world. (For example: "Your presentation this morning was really on-target with the board's concerns.")

© KiKi Productions, Inc. 2012