body English

noun

, Sports.

1. a twisting of the body by a player as if to help a ball already hit, rolled, or kicked to travel in the desired direction.

Word History and Origins

Origin of body English¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Idioms and Phrases

Movements of the body that express a person's feelings, as in His body English tells us just how tired he is . This expression originated about 1900 in such sports as bowling and ice hockey, where a player tries to influence the path of a ball or puck by moving his body in a particular direction. (It was based on the earlier use of English to mean “spin imparted to a ball.”)

Example Sentences

Big name stars like Jessica Drake host soirees in the casino nightclubs including Vanity and Body English.

From The Daily Beast

Related Words

• act
• gesture
• passage