Another kind of [anti-]buddy -- a fellow

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Thu Jun 14 16:17:06 UTC 2007


Said by a high school lacrosse player, of the play that won a
match:  "I was up top and I saw my fellow attack Derek Sweet.  He was
looking around, and I knew we had a connection. I cut one way, faked
my guy out, and Sweet faked one way, passed to me, and I
quick-sticked it five hole."  [Boston Globe, June 14.]

Since the player speaking and Sweet are teammates, the "fellow" is on
the opposing team.  Thus someone one is paired with in opposition --
"guarding" if one is on defense -- is not a "buddy" but a
"fellow".  The later "my guy" in this quote surely is much more
common.  The speaker isn't even from a prep school.

(Someone else will surely write about "quick-stick" (not in the OED
in this sense, nor as a verb) and "five hole" for lacross.)

Joel

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