full count

[ fool-kount ]

nounBaseball.

a count of three balls and two strikes on the batter, considered full because either a fourth ball or a third strike would end the at-bat by, respectively, walking or striking out the batter.

Origin of full count

First recorded in 1940–45

The sign is possibly the sign for twenty, but it is very generally used as a sign for a “full count.”
A Glimpse at Guatemala | Anne Cary Maudslay
I did and do full count it my duty to exercise my ministry as I am502 called thereunto.
Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) | John Howie
They are not so apt to go down under defeat, to take the full count, as I have done.
The Prairie Mother | Arthur Stringer
Tom's father was a worthy greengrocer who, according to the author of "Lalla Rookh," always gave good measure and full count.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 1 of 14 | Elbert Hubbard
"That's where I took the full count," continued Frederick, sadly.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 158, February 11, 1920 | Various

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