Sports Slang. a batted or served ball that skims along near the ground.
Military Slang. an antipersonnel fragmentation bomb.
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
First recorded in 1785–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A high line at a deep free-kick was sliced open with one delightful daisy-cutter, and a scrambling Jack Butland was left blushing for a second time in the first half.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
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
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
Almost immediately Marlon Harewood shot against Stephen Bywater's left-hand upright, and after 29 minutes equality was restored by Andy Gray's crisp, daisy-cutter of a finish from the 18-yard line.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 13, 2011
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
Brentford's second five minutes before half-time was deserved, as Clayton Donaldson picked up a short pass 25 yards out and hit a daisy cutter that found the corner.
From The Guardian ● May 6, 2013
Stone started it again with a cracking two-bagger, and, when Eliot poked a daisy cutter into right, Ben scored on it.
From Rival Pitchers of Oakdale by Scott, Morgan
Merriwell hit it, and sent a "daisy cutter" down into right field, exactly where he wished to place it.
From Frank Merriwell at Yale by Standish, Burt L.
His action is easy and graceful, a regular daisy cutter, and from his style and carriage must go a distance of ground.
From History of the Kentucky Derby, 1875-1921 by O'Connor, John Lawrence
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
