[Ads-l] "split of a three-game series"

[Laurence Horn]

> On Jul 20, 2015, at 1:18 PM, Joel Berson <berson at ATT.NET> wrote:
> 
> I don't think "splits" of a three-game series that include one draw/tie negate the possibility of referring to a two wins--one loss series as a "split".  And I don't find that usage confusing or unacceptable -- it's the only possible "split" of a three-game (baseball) series (provided the three games are played to conclusion!).
> 
> 
> But if I saw "they split the five-game series", I would expect to see the numbers:  4--1 or 3--2.
> 
> In any case, isn't a "split" in contrast to a "sweep"?  I don't require a "split" to be even.
> 
> 
> I learn from Wikipedia that a split (pot) in poker can be 1/2 -- 1/4 -- 1/4, in "Omaha hold-em".
> 
> 
> Joel

And actually in *any* hi-lo game, if there's a secondary split.  So if it's a hi-lo split and one player wins the high half while there are, say, three players have a "wheel" or perfect low hand (5-4-3-2-A), the pot is split 1/2 - 1/6 - 1/6 - 1/6.  Not a good situation if you're the secondary split-ee.

LH

> 
>      From: Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM>
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU 
> Sent: Monday, July 20, 2015 10:49 AM
> Subject: Re: [ADS-L] "split of a three-game series"
> 
> Sounds odd to me too. Oxford Dictionaries covers the noun:
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.oxforddictionaries.com_us_definition_american-5Fenglish_split&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=JRdHPM5ZS-c_8ItWaSrRjpK0LiuNKZA2_eVGkHOdQm0&e= 
> "(North American) A drawn game or series."
> 
> And American Heritage has the verb:
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.ahdictionary.com_word_search.html-3Fq-3Dsplit&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=huInNJRfi8zl0sItniL7DP0nxuTcawuxPDXAcX7MfDs&e= 
> "(Sports) To win half the games of (a series or double-header)."
> 
> Here another uneven split (using the verb):
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.newsobserver.com_news_local_community_durham-2Dnews_dn-2Dsports_article20838948.html&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=yaGNOTJhegfPeXeIovb3HpvjUaxNkysg8_2oAPAPwHs&e= 
> "The Lady Eagles had to sweep a three-game series over the Aggies and
> hope for some help, but split the series 2-1 instead."
> 
> But far more often, "splitting" a three-game series requires a tie (as
> in college baseball or soccer) or some other extenuating
> circumstances.
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.fitsnews.com_2011_03_07_split-2Ddecision_&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=0-LTpKkzJp4cCVNH8Kp97Umxn_sWLKyDglQ2uZy36g4&e= 
> "Wait … they split a three-game series? Are we doing some S.C. public
> school math here? How is that possible? The second game of the series
> – which was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon at
> Greenville’s Fluor Field – was postponed due to inclement weather."
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.wildcat.arizona.edu_article_2014_05_arizona-2Dsoftball-2Dprepares-2Dfor-2Da-2Dmajor-2Dmatchup&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=TCfWWu6rO2v16eW3GqC6HoY-_6WvgmTpIH0GG1juUDM&e= 
> "The two schools actually split the three-game series. After the Sun
> Devils won the opening game and Oregon won the second, the third game
> ended in a tie. The third game was called during a 2-2 tie in the
> sixth inning due to rain."
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.revolutionsoccer.net_news_features_2015_06_preview-2Dhectic-2Dstretch-2Dbegins-2Dsaturday-2Dnight-2Dfoxborough-2Drevs-2Dhost-2Dfire&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=Avo7glL4gHmTV2ebuok93x6TZ74j72AfJKY-5mqXJdU&e= 
> "The Revs and Fire split a three-game series last year, each side
> winning once to go along with one draw."
> 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.mlssoccer.com_news_article_2014_04_10_montreal-2Dimpact-2Dvs-2Dchicago-2Dfire-2Dmls-2Dmatch-2Dpreview&d=AwIFaQ&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=wFp3X4Mu39hB2bf13gtz0ZpW1TsSxPIWYiZRsMFFaLQ&m=l1tGf_X0QRA1Xj7U5EzMnvPrADGVoGOtymhZXiBCcww&s=QdNyJ0pBloizztjd47OJaawYLrXxPv6hVxks-J5j9Es&e= 
> "The teams split their three-game series a season ago, each winning on
> their home ground before the clubs reached a 2-2 draw at Toyota Park
> on Sept. 28."
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jul 20, 2015 at 10:06 AM, Dan Goncharoff wrote:
>> 
>> This was baseball; there were no ties.
>> 
>> This was the summary sentence in an e-mail from The New York Times
>> regarding the Mets' victory over the Cardinals, which had won the first two
>> games, in the last game of a three-game series:
>> 
>> "The Mets' feeble offense continued to struggle for 17 innings, but two
>> runs in the 18th gave them a split of a three-game series in St. Louis."
>> 
>> Split has many meanings in a baseball context (split a series,
>> split-finger, split season, statistical splits), but I would never use
>> split to refer to a 2-1 result in a three-game series. Looks odd to me.
>> 
>> Google seems to have only one other use of "split of a three-game series",
>> and other variant searches were unsuccessful.
> 
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> 
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