"bush league"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

On 1/19/06, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at yahoo.com> wrote:

>Does anybody still use "bush" in a general sense to mean "unprofessional,
>inept, childish, etc."  I first heard that in the late ' '70s.

Sure, mostly in sporting contexts, e.g.:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/nhl/news/2000/11/09/bag/
Sports Illustrated, NHL Mailbag, Nov. 9, 2000
How can you attack Craig MacTavish for his outburst against Bob
Hartley? Who calls a timeout when they are up by two goals and on a
two-man power play? That was a bush move and the Avalanche players
knew it.


--Ben Zimmer

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