Ace
Image: Stephen Pond/EMPICS Sport
Why we use it: There are only so many characters you can fit in a headline so, sometimes, you have to describe Emile Heskey the same way you’d describe Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Starting on the bench
GIF: SB Nation
Why we use it: Some of us in TheScore.ie think this is an oxymoron and should never be used but, when it is, it’s a far nicer way of saying a player was dropped.
Sweating on an injury
YouTube: Mark Frauenfelder
Why we use it: We want you to think David Moyes is ploughing through bottles of Lynx — or any other brand of deodorant — every time Wayne Rooney hobbles out of training.
Farmed out on loan
Why we say it: Despite the fact you’d never farm your DVDs out to your mates, it adds colour to the most mundane of moves in sport, the loan.
Midfield maestro
Why the media uses it: Sports journalists love alliteration more than they love coffee, free food at press conferences and footballers saying stupid stuff on Twitter.
Altercation
YouTube: nickxjones
Why we use it: To describe it as a fight might make you think contact sport is only played by thugs and we couldn’t have that.
Reeling
Embattled
Why we use it: It’s a bit nicer than saying somebody, particularly a coach or manager, is nervous about getting their P45.
