[Ads-l] stacked

[Ben Zimmer]

On Sat, Jul 18, 2026 at 12:15 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> While this usage feels fairly common, the relevant sense of "stacked"
> isn't explicitly covered in any dictionary I checked. Wiktionary gets close
> with:
>
> ---
> https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/stacked
> 7. (sports, video games, of a team) Having many skilled players.
> ---
>
> It's plausible that "stacked" developed in sports as elliptical for
> "stacked with talent" and the like, and then got extended to entertainment.
> In the databases, I see other less elliptical variations like
> "well-stacked" (perhaps modeled on "well-stocked"), "star-stacked" (perhaps
> modeled on "star-studded"), and "talent-stacked."
>
> Early examples in sports:
>
> ---
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bayonne-herald-and-greenville-regist/201886735/
> Bayonne (NJ) Herald, Dec. 5, 1896, p. 3, col. 2
> The Alva A.C. were defeated by the well-stacked team of the Bergen Point
> A.C., on the New Jersey A.C. grounds, on Saturday last, by the score of 6
> to 0.
> ---
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-stacked-team/201886835/
> The Province (Vancouver, BC), Aug. 27, 1908, p. 11, col. 1
> They are bound to lose the to Vancouver's stacked team anyway.
> ---
>
[snip]

Sorry, that should read: "They are bound to lose the cup to Vancouver's
stacked team anyway."

--bgz

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org