spitball
pronunciation
How to pronounce spitball in British English:
UK ['spɪtbɔ:l]
How to pronounce spitball in American English:
US ['spɪtˌbɔl]
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- Noun:
- a projectile made by chewing a piece of paper and shaping it into a sphere
- an illegal pitch in which a foreign substance (spit or Vaseline) is applied to the ball by the pitcher before he throws it
Word Origin
- spitball (n.)
- 1846 in the schoolboy sense, "bit of paper chewed and rounded as a missile;" 1904 in the baseball sense, from spit (n.1) + ball (n.1).
Example
- 1. You 're turning me into a spitball .
- 2. It knows exactly which kid threw the spitball and which kid answered correctly .