A Sporting Look at Wordwise Trivia Quiz

Answer: hole in one

In golf, a hole in one occurs when a player hits the ball directly from the teeing ground into the cup with a single stroke. While most commonly associated with golf, the term is also used in disc golf to describe hitting the target basket on the initial throw.

Answer: touchdown

In American and Canadian football, a touchdown is the primary method of scoring and it is worth six points. It occurs when a team advances the live ball across the opponent's goal line into their end zone. This can be done either by running the ball across, catching a pass while legally inside the end zone, or recovering a loose ball there.

Answer: split decision

In combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts, a split decision occurs when a fight goes the full distance without a knockout and two of the three official judges score the bout in favor of one competitor, while the third judge scores it for the other.

It is distinct from a majority decision (where two judges favor one fighter and the third scores a draw) and a unanimous decision (where all three judges agree on the same winner).

Answer: mixed doubles

In racquet sports, mixed doubles refers to a match format where each team consists of one male player and one female player competing against another co-ed pair. It is a prominent event format in sports such as tennis, badminton, table tennis, and pickleball.

Answer: quarterback

In American and Canadian football, the quarterback is the central offensive player who receives the snap from the center on virtually every play to direct the team's attack. The quarterback decides whether to hand the ball off to a running back, throw a pass to a receiver, or run with the ball themselves based on the defensive alignment.

Answer: ace

In tennis, an ace is a legal serve that lands inside the service box and goes completely untouched by the receiver, winning the point immediately for the server. Because the opponent's racquet never contacts the ball, it represents the cleanest possible way to win a point in a match.

Answer: force out

In baseball and softball, a force out occurs when a base runner is legally compelled to advance to the next base because the batter became a runner by hitting the ball into fair territory. Because two runners cannot occupy the same base, a defender only needs to tag the target base while holding the ball before the runner arrives.

Answer: long jump

In track and field, the long jump is an athletic event where competitors sprint down a runway to build maximum speed, take off from a designated foul line board, and leap as far as possible into a sand pit. The distance is then measured from the front edge of the takeoff board to the nearest point of contact made in the sand by any part of the athlete's body or clothing.

Answer: hitting below the belt

In combat sports like boxing and mixed martial arts, hitting below the belt refers to striking an opponent anywhere below the waistline or navel area. Because low blows risk serious injury and bypass legal target zones, doing so is a strict foul that results in an immediate warning, point deduction, or disqualification by the referee.

Answer: doubleheader

In sports, most notably baseball and softball, a doubleheader refers to two distinct games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same stadium crowd.