The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.

A team scrimmages on its own 10-yard line. The quarterback
throws a forward pass which a receiver catches on the 20-yard
line. The receiver is able to advance to the 38-yard line
before he's tackled to end the play.

Traditionally this would have been described as a passing
play gaining 28 yards, or more specifically as a pass-and-run
play for the 28 yards. But these days, with good reason, people
also speak of the 18 yards that the receiver was able to advance
after catching the ball -- a statistic logically called "yards
after catch", abbreviated YAC.

But in the last year or two, I've started hearing commentators
speaking yards after the catch as "YAC yards"!

Bonus ObAUE: The yard lines marked on the field are only every
5 yards, but everyone understands "38-yard line" as referring
to a location 38 yards from the nearest goalline. This usage
has been well established for a long time, I'd say.

You may now return to *your* favorite sport.
--
Mark Brader | At least, I *hope* it's a typo!
Toronto | --Steve Summit, regarding a promise
msb@vex.net | of action "with undue delay"

My text in this article is in the public domain.

On 30/09/23 15:06, Mark Brader wrote:

> But in the last year or two, I've started hearing commentators
> speaking yards after the catch as "YAC yards"!

Bring in the dog and put out the cat.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

On 2023-09-29 23:57, Peter Moylan wrote:
>
> Bring in the dog and put out the cat.

Don't talk back!

--
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to see it,
do the other trees make fun of it?
~ Steven Wright

On 2023-09-29 23:06, Mark Brader wrote:
> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>
> A team scrimmages on its own 10-yard line. The quarterback
> throws a forward pass which a receiver catches on the 20-yard
> line. The receiver is able to advance to the 38-yard line
> before he's tackled to end the play.
>
> Traditionally this would have been described as a passing
> play gaining 28 yards, or more specifically as a pass-and-run
> play for the 28 yards. But these days, with good reason, people
> also speak of the 18 yards that the receiver was able to advance
> after catching the ball -- a statistic logically called "yards
> after catch", abbreviated YAC.
>
> But in the last year or two, I've started hearing commentators
> speaking yards after the catch as "YAC yards"!

They do indeed, and it bugs me, but just a little.

The following concern Canadian football.

What bugs me even more are:

When the situation is 3rd and long, and the commentator says
"They are forced to punt."

Well, they are definitely not forced to punt, though there are
situations when it would be advisable to attempt to go for a first down.

They _could_ run, pass, take a knee, run to their own goal line and
score 6 for the opponents, run to the sideline, going out of bounds,
hand the ball to an opponent, etc. Granted, most of these actions would
be highly inadvisable, but in no way are they forced to punt. Ever.

"Hook slide". If a quarterback is running the ball, and is about to be
tackled, he can slide, usually feet first, at which time he is not to be
tackled. The ball is placed where he slid. This is to protect the
quarterback.

Commentators often call this a 'hook slide'. A hook slide is a baseball
term defined as follows (M-W)...

"a foot-first slide to a base in a baseball game in which the runner
with both legs extended throws the body to either side to avoid the
fielder covering the base and hooks the base with the inside foot"

a) Football is not baseball.
b) there are no bases.
c) the player never has to throw the body to one side in order to hook
anything.

> Bonus ObAUE: The yard lines marked on the field are only every
> 5 yards, but everyone understands "38-yard line" as referring
> to a location 38 yards from the nearest goalline. This usage
> has been well established for a long time, I'd say.

Yes, and since there are two of any given numbered lines, one on each
side of centre, they are usually referred to as "The <team name>'s nn
yard line"

> You may now return to *your* favorite sport.

--
Circumvent (n.), the opening in the front of boxer shorts.

El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:

> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.

I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es

On 30 Sep 2023, Peter Moylan wrote

> On 30/09/23 15:06, Mark Brader wrote:
>
>> But in the last year or two, I've started hearing commentators
>> speaking yards after the catch as "YAC yards"!
>
> Bring in the dog and put out the cat.

I didn't know that the cat was on fire.....

--
Cheers, Harvey

On Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000
msb@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:

> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>
> A team scrimmages on its own 10-yard line. The quarterback

I thought scrimmaging is what old sea salts did to whittle away the time
spent at sea. It's spelt scrummaging; it's a way to see which side can
bring it down without the referee (you do have those, don't you?) noticing
it was their fault. Another forgotten law is "putting the ball in
straight".

No quarters given, only fullbacks are valid.

> throws a forward pass which a receiver catches on the 20-yard

Bzzt forward passes are illegal, *and* you put the lines in the wrong
places!
[]
>
> You may now return to *your* favorite sport.

I already did!
Haven't you noticed a RWC2023 thingy going on?

[]
--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On 30 Sep 2023 08:30:38 GMT
Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com> wrote:

> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:
>
> > The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>
> I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.
>
Same as music;
Both types, Country *and* Western. </Blues Brothers>

Village football is a quaint old-fashioned way of kicking the (sh.. ram may
be listening) out of your neighbours.

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

On 2023-09-30 08:30:38 +0000, Paul Carmichael said:

> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:
>
>> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>
> I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.

Of course. He has forgotten that he was once British. In addition to
the activities Canadians and Americans call "football", which consist
mainly of pauses to decide what to do next, there are Association
football (what the Americans call soccer), Rugby Union, Rugby League,
Australian Rules, and doubtless others that I've forgotten to mention.

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 36 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

On 2023-09-30 02:30, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:
>
>> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>
> I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.
>

In how many of those other flavours do commentators speak of YAC yards,
exactly?

-- Statisticians probably do it.

El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 08:18:06 -0600, lar3ryca escribió:

> On 2023-09-30 02:30, Paul Carmichael wrote:
>> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:
>>
>>> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>>
>> I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.
>>
>>
> In how many of those other flavours do commentators speak of YAC yards,
> exactly?

No idea. What are these "yards" of which you speak?

Oh, I remember, we used to have drinking contests based on a "yard of
ale". It was a long, thin glass with a bulbous base. Potentially very
messy. I doubt this is related to any ball sport.

Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
"garden". That'll be it then. I expect the stadium has a garden and the
"YAC" is some kind of plant.

There. Sorted.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es

On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
wrote:

>El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 08:18:06 -0600, lar3ryca escribió:
>
>> On 2023-09-30 02:30, Paul Carmichael wrote:
>>> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 05:06:16 +0000, Mark Brader escribió:
>>>
>>>> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.
>>>
>>> I think there may be more than just 2 flavours.
>>>
>>>
>> In how many of those other flavours do commentators speak of YAC yards,
>> exactly?
>
>No idea. What are these "yards" of which you speak?
>
>Oh, I remember, we used to have drinking contests based on a "yard of
>ale". It was a long, thin glass with a bulbous base. Potentially very
>messy. I doubt this is related to any ball sport.
>
>Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
>"garden".

Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.

> That'll be it then. I expect the stadium has a garden and the
>"YAC" is some kind of plant.
>
>There. Sorted.

El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:

> On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
> wrote:

>>Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
>>"garden".
>
>
> Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
> the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.

Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
other houses attached to it.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es

On Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 10:25:53 AM UTC-4, Paul Carmichael wrote:

> No idea. What are these "yards" of which you speak?
>
> Oh, I remember, we used to have drinking contests based on a "yard of
> ale". It was a long, thin glass with a bulbous base. Potentially very
> messy. I doubt this is related to any ball sport.

? A three-foot measure is a three-foot measure, whether it's grass or glass..
> Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
> "garden". That'll be it then. I expect the stadium has a garden and the
> "YAC" is some kind of plant.

You might have a garden in part of your back yard. A garden in a football
stadium seems unlikely.

On Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 10:52:10 AM UTC-4, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
> > On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibble...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:

> >>Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
> >>"garden".
> > Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
> > the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.

That's what we call a "whoosh."

> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> other houses attached to it.

How urban!

Except on very large lots, a house will likely have a front yard and a back
yard, and at the sides there might be driveways (one's own and one's
neighbor's), and perhaps with an alley (cf. "mews") between the streets
separating the back yards of houses on adjacent streets from each other.
In Chicago, that sort of alley is used for service calls and sanitation trucks
and for garage/parking space access.

On Friday, September 29, 2023 at 11:06:32 PM UTC-6, Mark Brader wrote:
> The context is football -- either kind, Canadian or American.

Well put.

> A team scrimmages on its own 10-yard line.

In /real/ real football, the 10-yard line can be the line of scrimmage, but
one doesn't scrimmage there.

> The quarterback
> throws a forward pass which a receiver catches on the 20-yard
> line. The receiver is able to advance to the 38-yard line
> before he's tackled to end the play.
>
> Traditionally this would have been described as a passing
> play gaining 28 yards, or more specifically as a pass-and-run
> play for the 28 yards. But these days, with good reason, people
> also speak of the 18 yards that the receiver was able to advance
> after catching the ball -- a statistic logically called "yards
> after catch", abbreviated YAC.
>
> But in the last year or two, I've started hearing commentators
> speaking yards after the catch as "YAC yards"!

What I miss by not watching football!

> Bonus ObAUE: The yard lines marked on the field are only every
> 5 yards, but everyone understands "38-yard line" as referring
> to a location 38 yards from the nearest goalline. This usage
> has been well established for a long time, I'd say.
....

Heck, people even talk about the "one-foot line", or they used to.

--
Jerry Friedman

On 30 Sep 2023 14:52:05 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
wrote:

>El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
>
>> On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>
>>>Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
>>>"garden".
>>
>>
>> Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
>> the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.
>
>Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
>other houses attached to it.

Not my houses. But it doesn't matter; any attached houses are attached
only at the sides. There's still a front yard and usually a back yard.

On 2023-09-30 14:52:05 +0000, Paul Carmichael said:

> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
>
>> On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>
>>> Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
>>> "garden".
>>
>>
>> Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
>> the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.
>
> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> other houses attached to it.

True for me too.

--
Athel -- French and British, living in Marseilles for 36 years; mainly
in England until 1987.

On Saturday, September 30, 2023 at 8:52:10 AM UTC-6, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
>
> > On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibble...@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
>
> >>Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
> >>"garden".
> >
> >
> > Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
> > the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.
>
> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> other houses attached to it.

Well, you're from a tiny island nation with no room for a real house (and no
place to park in the whole country--I've been there and I checked). But that
place you rent out is attached to other houses? I must say I didn't imagine
that. It kind of looks that way in the pictures, though.
....

> https://paulc.es

--
Jerry Friedman

On 2023-09-30 08:52, Paul Carmichael wrote:
> El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
>
>> On 30 Sep 2023 14:25:47 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>
>>> Oh, hang on, something else springs to mind - "yard" is American for
>>> "garden".
>>
>>
>> Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
>> the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.
>
> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> other houses attached to it.

Interesting viewpoint. I have never owned a house that has had other
houses attached to it.

None of them would have been described as being posh.

--
If you sat on your voodoo doll, you wouldn't be able get back up.

Ken Blake wrote:

> On 30 Sep 2023 14:52:05 GMT, Paul Carmichael <wibbleypants@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > El Sat, 30 Sep 2023 07:44:29 -0700, Ken Blake escribió:
> >>
> >> Not exactly, at least not to me. As far as I'm concerned, a "yard" is
> >> the land surrounding a house. It may or may not be planted.
> >
> > Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has
> > had other houses attached to it.
>
> Not my houses. But it doesn't matter; any attached houses are attached
> only at the sides. There's still a front yard and usually a back yard.

Do you not have front gardens and back gardens?

A yard is what the local Council depot has!

Paul Carmichael wrote:

> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> other houses attached to it.

You're lucky. All my houses have had other houses attached to them on
all four sides.

--
Bertel, Denmark

On 2023-09-30 10:47, Bertel Lund Hansen wrote:
> Paul Carmichael wrote:
>
>> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
>> other houses attached to it.
>
> You're lucky. All my houses have had other houses attached to them on
> all four sides.

Are you speaking of an apartment (UK flat)?
We (Canadians) don't consider those to be houses. Homes, yes, but not
houses.

--
You will spend the rest of your life in the future.

lar3ryca wrote:

>>> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
>>> other houses attached to it.
>>
>> You're lucky. All my houses have had other houses attached to them on
>> all four sides.
>
> Are you speaking of an apartment (UK flat)?
> We (Canadians) don't consider those to be houses. Homes, yes, but not
> houses.

I was trying to be funny - Monty Python.

--
Bertel, Denmark

Le samedi 30 septembre 2023 à 19:22:28 UTC+2, Bertel Lund Hansen a écrit :
> lar3ryca wrote:
>
> >>> Surrounding the house? There's posh. Every house I've ever owned has had
> >>> other houses attached to it.
> >>
> >> You're lucky. All my houses have had other houses attached to them on
> >> all four sides.
> >
> > Are you speaking of an apartment (UK flat)?
> > We (Canadians) don't consider those to be houses. Homes, yes, but not
> > houses.
> I was trying to be funny - Monty Python.

Then, the "other houses" could be on all up to six sides, counting any adjacent
storeys.
>
> --
> Bertel, Denmark