bracketology, braces, etc.

[Victor Steinbok]

Bracketology appears to have been last mentioned here by LHorn on 13 Mar
2005 20:56:41. But the expression has since gone outside
basketball--it's been seen and heard with respect to any playoffs or
elimination-style tournaments, including, for example, tennis. But it
need not be limited to sports.

http://goo.gl/mQ0B5
Bracketology update: Newt oozes into the lead
> Way back at the end of March, nine long months ago, we decided to set
> up a bracket-like approach for determining the Republican nominee.
> Forget all those polls and all that insider nonsense that Chris the
> Fix peddles. It’s time for bracketology. ... It was a good idea, good
> enough that other columnists and bloggers have now swiped it,
> including Joe Klein.

I suppose, it's still a sports metaphor, but without the actual bracket
to go with it.

Bonus snowclone:

> To those of us not intimately familiar with Texas, Perry seems just
> like W. But I am told by my Texas friends they are very different.
> Eskimos have twenty words for snow. Texans must have twenty different
> types of asshole.

BTW, OED seems to have no entry for tournament-type bracket--the one on
which "bracketology" is based. In fact, it's not even clear why this is
a "bracket". Is it because it resembles a giant "square brackets" (i.e.,
[ and ] )? Well, that's true, in part, in some representations, but it's
pretty weak. Indeed, I have no idea. Perhaps it's because it recursively
connects pairs of teams until there is only one left. This makes some
sense because one can have multiple (sub) brackets within a bracket--the
entire NCAA Tournament field is considered a bracket, but so is each
Regional tournament that determines one of the Final Four. In fact,
there are multiple related meanings--bracket could be the ultimate
outline of all pairings, irrespectively of outcome of the games, or it
could be a "filled bracket", e.g., someone's predictions of the outcomes
of all games, or simply a completed bracket with all the results
"penciled" in.

Also note bracket v. 2.

> 2. To couple or connect (two or more lines of writing, etc.) by means
> of a brace; /esp./ so to connect two or more names of equal merit in a
> class-list; hence /fig./ to mention two persons or things together so
> as to imply that they are equal or have something in common.

In soccer reporting, a goal is "bracketed" when it (or several) is
scored between two other goals by another player. Generally, it refers
to both of those goals scored by the same player, but I've seen
occasional reference to scores by two different players. (E.g., "A's
goal was bracketed by scores from B and C.")

There is a problem with the definition above, however. Although there is
a reference to a "brace" ("by means of a brace"), there is no indication
of what is meant by "brace"--no link, in fact. (Looks like both ends are
in a need of an update! Brace yourselves!) There are brace n.1, brace
n.2, and brace n.3. At least the middle one has multiple lemmas. So one
could be at a loss as to what is meant.

However, guess what a pair of goals is calls in soccer (football).
Indeed, it's a "brace"! So, a "brace" brackets other goals--if, in fact,
the two goals in a brace are separated by a third, which is decidedly
unnecessary to have scored a brace. Of course, this meaning of "brace"
is also missing from the OED.

I've always been puzzled by the origin of "brace" in football. Partridge
has brace as "Two 'noughts' in a match", with extensions, to mid-19th
century. I presume this is old cricket jargon. HDAS has "brace" (incl.
verb) and "brace game" for a swindle, but also "brace and bits" for
"tits"--again, a pair reference. There are also "braces" in dentistry,
but that seems to refer more to the support structure than to them
coming in pairs. "Braces" are also suspenders--here we do have a pair,
but there is also the support function. So "pair" seems to be associated
with "brace" although they are clearly not synonymous.

I had to run down to the very last "brace" entry in the AHD to get a
pair--and it's a good one:

> 15. /pl./ *brace* A pair of like things: /three brace of partridges./

MWOLD has nearly the same entry (#2)

On-line Collins also has an entry (as does Macmillan at #3):

> 5. a pair; two, esp of game birds -->"a brace of partridges"

Only Wiktionary has the relevant soccer entry.

The multiple mention of game birds is a revealing one. One would
normally carry a single game bird by holding it by some narrow part
(legs, neck) or strapping it to something else. But pairs could be tied
together and carried by the "brace" that connects them. I don't know if
this is still done--hunting is generally outside my comfort zone. But
that's one possibility for the derivation. Another is the influence of
the original etymology of "brace", that refers to "arms". As there are
two arms, there are two birds tied in a brace. (I presume this is also
related to "embrace"). But this is just speculation.

VS-)

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