break-huddle
Anakin
lots of slangs....
Perchprism
>From: Anakin Nerfh...@bbs.ee.ntu.edu.tw
>Date: Fri, 17 December 1999 06:51 AM EST
>Message-id: <83d83b$pqa$1...@thccy25.nthu.edu.tw>
>
>What does _break-huddle_ (cheers) mean? Some PC game magazines use
>lots of slangs....
I can only guess with so little information, but if the phrase is "break-huddle
cheers," it might refer to the hearty "rah" given by an American football
eleven when they leave the huddle and proceed to assume their offensive
formation. The offensive team goes into a huddle before each play--they gather
round the quarterback, their field general, about ten yards back from the line
of scrimmage (so their opponents won't overhear) to receive instructions about
the upcoming play. A rousing shout, often with a handclap, is customary when
breaking the huddle to show confidence and determination. I do believe the
quarterback says "break" when he's done talking, incidentally, and the shout is
his team's response.
"Break-huddle" would be a nonce formation if I'm right about your phrase.
"Break-huddle cheers" is not a standard figure of speech, in case you were
wondering.
--
Perchprism
(southern New Jersey, near Philadelphia)
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Anakin wrote:
> >What does _break-huddle_ (cheers) mean? Some PC game magazines use
> >lots of slangs....
>
> I can only guess with so little information, but if the phrase is
> "break-huddle cheers," it might refer to the hearty "rah" given by
> an American football eleven when they leave the huddle and proceed
> to assume their offensive formation. The offensive team goes into a
> huddle before each play--they gather round the quarterback, their
> field general, about ten yards back from the line of scrimmage (so
> their opponents won't overhear) to receive instructions about the
> upcoming play.
Actually, the huddle formation was invented at Gallaudet University, a
school for the Deaf, to prevent the other team from *overseeing*
signed instructions even at a distance.
> A rousing shout, often with a handclap, is customary when breaking
> the huddle to show confidence and determination. I do believe the
> quarterback says "break" when he's done talking, incidentally, and
> the shout is his team's response.
I'm not sure about football, but in other collegiate sports (notably
basketball and volleyball), at least at Stanford, it's customary for
the entire team to gather before coming out onto the floor for a short
last-minute pep talk from the captain and to break with a single
shouted word (often the name or nickname of the school or a goal)
after a count of three, generally after all touch hands in the center
of the circle.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |A handgun is like a Lawyer. You
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |don't want it lying around where
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |the children might be exposed to
|it, but when you need one, you need
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |it RIGHT NOW, and nothing else will
(650)857-7572 |do.
| Bill McNutt
willia...@my-deja.com
Evan Kirshenbaum <ev...@garrett.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
> > Anakin wrote:
> > >What does _break-huddle_ (cheers) mean? Some PC game magazines use
> > >lots of slangs....
> I'm not sure about football, but in other collegiate sports (notably
> basketball and volleyball), at least at Stanford, it's customary for
> the entire team to gather before coming out onto the floor for a
> short last-minute pep talk from the captain and to break with a
> single shouted word (often the name or nickname of the school or a
> goal)after a count of three, generally after all touch hands in the
> center of the circle.
True enough. But I would imagine in the context given that the cheers
are those of the spectators, not the players. In other sports, huddles
only occur during a time-out; in American football they occur before
nearly every play from scrimmage. In any event, the breaking of the
huddle signifies that play is about to resume, rousing the assembled
throngs back to a state of frenzied bellowing.
Gary Williams
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Maria Conlon
Gary Williams wrote in message
[...]
In any event, the breaking of the
>huddle signifies that play is about to resume, rousing the
assembled
>throngs back to a state of frenzied bellowing.
Someone mentioned the cheer, "Rah," earlier on in this
thread. Does anyone other than a rah-rah-siss-boom-bah
cheerleader say "Rah"?
"Rah" is unusual -- around here anyway. More common:
Yay!
Hurray!
Yeah!
[whistles]
Awright!
Let's Go!
Way to Go!
[applause]
"Rah" reminds me of the names "Fido" and "Rover" for dogs.
At one time (1950s? 1960s?) these were said to be the most
popular dog names in the US. I wondered then how they
figured this, since I had never heard of a dog being called
either of those names. Still haven't. (Though I did see the
names in another thread here recently.)
Do people outside my little corner of southeast Michigan run
around yelling "Rah" and naming their dogs Fido and Rover?
Maria
joseph ling
> In article <v9h902t...@garrett.hpl.hp.com>,
> Evan Kirshenbaum <ev...@garrett.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>> basketball and volleyball), at least at Stanford, it's customary for
>> the entire team to gather before coming out onto the floor for a
>> short last-minute pep talk from the captain and to break with a
>> single shouted word (often the name or nickname of the school or a
>> goal)after a count of three, generally after all touch hands in the
>> center of the circle.
> True enough. But I would imagine in the context given that the cheers
> are those of the spectators, not the players. In other sports, huddles
> only occur during a time-out; in American football they occur before
> nearly every play from scrimmage. In any event, the breaking of the
> huddle signifies that play is about to resume, rousing the assembled
> throngs back to a state of frenzied bellowing.
> Gary Williams
Actually the phrase is from an article describing a scene of _The Empire
Strikes Back_. If you are familiar with the movie, you know when the first
of the rebel transports successfully passes through the imperial blockade
the rebels on the ground give a cheer. That's when the writer use the
phrase _break-huddle cheer_.
willia...@my-deja.com
joseph ling <g87...@oz.nthu.edu.tw> wrote:
> Actually the phrase is from an article describing a scene of _The
> Empire Strikes Back_. If you are familiar with the movie, you know
> when the first of the rebel transports successfully passes through
> the imperial blockade the rebels on the ground give a cheer. That's
> when the writer use the phrase _break-huddle cheer_.
No, I wasn't aware of that. Does the phrase, then, come from the
screenplay? Is it a stage direction?
willia...@my-deja.com
"Maria Conlon" <mcon...@sprynet.com> wrote:
> "Rah" reminds me of the names "Fido" and "Rover" for dogs.
> At one time (1950s? 1960s?) these were said to be the most
> popular dog names in the US. I wondered then how they
> figured this, since I had never heard of a dog being called
> either of those names. Still haven't. (Though I did see the
> names in another thread here recently.)
Like you, I think of "rah" only in scripted cheers.
My guess is that "rah" is really a contracted form of "hurrah!" Now, I
confess I have never been seated near a fan at any athletic contest who
has leapt to his feet and shouted "hurrah!" either. I think i
tmight have been possible to spontaneously ejaculate such an
exclamation in the 19th century, however.
Maybe real dogs were name Fido and Rover in the 19th century.
Have you ever known a kitten named Puff?