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end run

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noun
Football.Also called end sweep, sweep. a running play in which the ball-carrier attempts to outflank the defensive end.
Informal.
  1. an evasive or diversionary maneuver.
  2. an attempt to surmount a difficulty without confronting it directly.
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Origin of end run

An Americanism dating back to 1900–05
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use end run in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with end run

end run

Evasive action, as in The new department head was making an end run around the old hands who opposed her appointment. This term comes from American football, where it denotes an offensive play in which the ball carrier runs around one end of the opposing team's line. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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