[Ads-l] Request from sports writer for origin of a new sports term

[Rich Lowenthal]

"Piss missile" is a brand of golf ball dating from 2024. It may be the 
source of Brady's reference (he is an avid golfer), with the ball itself 
named for the phrase's earlier use.


------ Original Message ------
>From "dave at wilton.net" <dave at WILTON.NET>
To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Date 9/21/2026 8:20:13 PM
Subject Re: Request from sports writer for origin of a new sports term

>
>I got the the same email.
>
>This is what I responded to after conducting a quick search:
>
>I did a quick search and it appears to be slang for a hard hit shot/kick/throw, etc. It's used in a variety of sports, from baseball homers, to hockey slapshots, to football punts, to golf drives.
>
>I found uses on Twitter going back to 2014/15. I can't be sure all of these are in the above sense (like many Twitter/X posts they lack context). But the search results are here:
>[ https://x.com/search?q=%22piss%20missile%22%20until%3A2015-12-31&src=typed_query&f=live ]( https://x.com/search?q=%22piss%20missile%22%20until%3A2015-12-31&src=typed_query&f=live )
>
>Urbandictionary.com records it from 2018. (It's not the most authoritative source, I know, but it's useful to see if a term was in existence at a particular date.)
>[ https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=piss%20missile ]( https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=piss%20missile )
>
>And evidently Tom Brady has used it on the air before. This comment was posted to a Guardian article on 14 December 2025:
>[ https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2025/dec/14/patriots-v-bills-bengals-v-ravens-seahawks-v-colts-and-more-nfl-gw15-live?page=with%3Ablock-693f48a58f08b246d57a67fe#block-693f48a58f08b246d57a67fe ]( https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2025/dec/14/patriots-v-bills-bengals-v-ravens-seahawks-v-colts-and-more-nfl-gw15-live?page=with%3Ablock-693f48a58f08b246d57a67fe#block-693f48a58f08b246d57a67fe )
>
>As to the underlying metaphor, the "missile" is obvious enough, something flying hard and fast. My guess would be that "piss" is simply that word being used as an intensifier, as in "piss drunk" or "piss awful."
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: "Cohen, Gerald L." <gcohen at MST.EDU>
>Sent: Monday, September 21, 2026 7:13pm
>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: [ADS-L] Request from sports writer for origin of a new sports term
>
>
>
>Dear ADS-L members,
>
>Today I received a request from a sports writer
>for information about a new sports term.
>Would anyone on our listserv be able to
>shed any light on its origin?
>His email to me is reprinted below
>my signoff.
>
>Gerald Cohen
>
>[Email I received:]]
>
>Hi Dr. Cohen,
>This is Jeff Eisenberg with Yahoo Sports. I am
>reaching out because I was hoping you
>might be able to help me with a very unusual
>story idea. During the NFL game yesterday
>between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders, Tom Brady described a Dak
>Prescott throw as an absolute piss missile.<https://x.com/TopTierStateX/status/2101814002565173291>
>The ensuing social media conversation got
>me thinking: What is the origin of the phrase
>piss missile?
>How did that become an expression used to
>describe a long home run, a cannon-armed pass or a laser slap shot?
>Do you have any idea of how this term came to be? Or any suggestions on how I might go about investigating that? Totally understand if the answer is no, but I figured I would reach out to a handful of people to see if they might be able to point me in the right direction.
>
>Thanks very much for your help,
>
>Jeff Eisenberg
>Yahoo Sports
>Features Writer
>
>
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