soccer usages

[Michael Quinion]

> Of course not.  A goal is something that you are trying to attain.
>  You don't guard your own goal.  Your goalie stands in front of the
> other team's goal. same priciple as in basketball.  The other team
> has a basket, or goal, and you try to keep them from scoring into
> it, i.e. their basket or goal.

Er, we are talking about the game we in Britain call football and you
call soccer, aren't we? The goalkeeper (also called the 'goalie')
guards his own team's goal (that is, the enclosure with the posts,
crossbar and net behind) and members of the opposing team can only
score goals by getting the ball past him.


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Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
E-mail: <TheEditor at worldwidewords.org>
Web: <http://www.worldwidewords.org/>