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What’s a WAG? 15 soccer phrases to know

Offside, fixture are familiar, while WAG, cheeky, onion bag unique to sport

Image: Maria Jose Cote Lopez, Antonio Luis JimenezAP
Inter Milan chilean midfielder Antonio Luis Jiménez and his wife model María José " Coté" López arrive for a gala dinner in Milan, Italy on May 12, 2008.

Every sport has its own unique lingo — its words that are often exclusive to the game being played. If they are used in regular discourse, they can seem a bit forced and uncomfortable.

Soccer reaches the most people out of all sports (numbers in the billions), so it's easy to assume that the vocabulary is incredibly extensive. From simple words that replace the names of objects or equipment to more technical phrases that explain plays in the game, there is a second language that simply cannot be ignored.

With the World Cup barely two weeks away, it's time to go to school and have casual fans learn these specific phrases and for those who know them to refresh themselves on what will be heard thousands of times over in South Africa.

Here's a random selection of 15 that will constantly be on the lips of commentators during the month-long tournament.

1. Getting booked (verb)
When a player commits an offense that warrants a yellow or red card, the referee will produce and show said card then record the players name and number in his little book. For examples, watch Argentina.

2. Against the run of play (clause)
This is what happens when a team scores a goal when the other team was dominating the match. Soccer is a game about possession and control, and when you score a goal against the run of play, you clearly aren't the better team at that point in the match.

3. Offside (noun)
Probably the most confusing of all the game's rules, offside occurs when a player strays past the opposing team's deepest defender and receives the ball. The easiest way to describe it is cherry-picking, but that doesn’t really do it justice as even longtime admirers of the sport struggle with it sometimes. Simply put, if you can figure out offside, you deserve numerous gold stars and a box of freshly-baked cookies.

4. The onion bag, or bulging of (noun, verb)

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Used far too often by ESPN commentator Tommy Smyth, this is a genius reference to the net the goalkeepers try to defend. When it has been 'bulged,' well, someone has put the ball into it and caused it to pull at the sides.

5. Advantage, the playing of (verb)
This occurs when one player commits a foul, but the team who was fouled tactically still can make something from the situation and are pushing forward. The referee decides to 'play the advantage' in order to keep the game flowing rather than stopping for a free kick. Only the best zebras do it well.

6. Fixture (noun)
This is a game, a match, what's on the schedule. Seems to be too related to mounting shelves or that new ceiling fan, but it's what the soccer world calls a team's games.

7. Square ball (noun)
Bust out your rulers, everyone...we're getting mathematical. When one player plays a square ball to another, they are simply passing the ball parallel to the goal line, instead of forward or backward.

8. Near & far post (nouns)
Simple stuff here: near post is the big white stick in the ground that is closest to where the ball is currently situated. The far post is the goal post that is further away.

9. Handball (verb or noun)
If you're Irish, you know what this is. English, too. Unlike American 'football,' you aren't allowed to touch the ball with any part of your hand or arm. If you do, the ref will blow the whistle and call a foul and if it happens inside your 18-yard area (mini-definition: the big box that surrounds each net), it's a penalty kick for the other team.


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