daisy-cutter

American

[dey-zee-kuht-er] / ˈdeɪ ziˌkʌt ər /

noun

Sports Slang. a batted or served ball that skims along near the ground.
Military Slang. an antipersonnel fragmentation bomb.

daisy cutter British

noun

soccer a powerful shot that moves close to the ground
cricket a ball bowled, kicked, or hit so that it rolls along the ground
a powerful bomb with a huge blast effect

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of daisy-cutter

First recorded in 1785–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It's a bit of a daisy-cutter and straight at Sven Ulreich.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2024

A ball kicked barely above ground is a daisy-cutter, while a ball on a curved trajectory is a banana.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2016

Words such as blinder, banana and daisy-cutter are used in other sports of the former British Empire, such as cricket.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 12, 2016

And they Middlesbrough began on the backfoot as Jonny Howson powered into the box and drove a shot over the bar, before Robert Snodgrass sent a daisy-cutter into the hands of Jason Steele.

From The Guardian • Oct. 16, 2010

So I just sent him a swift ball—a regular daisy-cutter.

From Harper's Young People, July 20, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023