7 Ice Hockey Idioms to Improve your Everyday English

~Introducing sport culture from around the world~

With ice hockey 冰球 bīng qiú returning to prominence because of the Winter Olympics, let's take a look at some of the common idiomatic English phrases we love to use in Canada and the United States for everyday life, business, and even in politics.

You see, ice hockey is one of the North's oldest sports and current favorite wintertime activity. Even though some say it's on the decline, it's still part of the culture!

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keep your stick on the ice

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To keep your stick on the ice has many obvious interpretations and can be defined as staying focused on the task at hand. What's more, it can also be used as a way to say that you should always be ready, no matter what opportunity may come your way. Lastly, it could also imply that you need to chill out and calm down, everything will take care of itself if you stay the course.

"On behalf of myself and Harold and the whole gang up here at Possum Lodge, keep your stick on the ice." – The Red Green Show, every episode.

Red Green, the legend himself.

H-E-double-hockey-sticks

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This is a very common euphemistic spelling of "hell" (not the most professional of words to say in certain contexts) and it refers to each L resembling a hockey stick in shape. Get it?

"Oh yeah!" said Tommy to the schoolyard bully. "Well, you can go to H-E-double-hockey-sticks!"

take off your gloves

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In ice hockey, you must be wearing gloves out on the ice rink. If you're not, you might be a bit cold and put your appendages at risk of getting sliced off by a skate. Anyways, when you see players "take off their gloves" or "drop their gloves" during a game, it can only mean one thing: a fight is about to go down!

It’s a declaration of intent, a signal that you want to fight. There’s nothing too deep here: it’s just people hitting the crap out of each other to make a point, commonly to inspire their team.

"Clinton vs. Sanders: Why the Gloves Are Coming Off in the Democratic Primary" – The Fiscal Times, October 2015.

This is why the gloves came off...

keep your head up

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In small town rinks, another common phrase you might hear is “keep your head up” and for good reason: if you’re looking down at the puck, instead of up at the play, you’re going to get blindsided eventually. You’ll probably even get hurt. There’s a lot going on at once on the ice, so it’s important to learn to handle the puck by feel so you can use your eyes to keep track of the other players on the ice – fail to do that and you’ll end up on your ass.

Tunnel vision is dangerous in any context: if you’re only paying attention to one thing you can bet some other thing is going to eventually sneak up on you. Keep your head up.

"Life can be hard at times, people will lie and stab you in the back, but always keep your head up and smile."

hat trick

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In both field hockey and ice hockey, a hat trick occurs when a player scores three goals in a single game. A hat trick, as it's known in its current form, culminates with fans throwing hats onto the ice from the stands. The tradition is said to have begun among fans in the NFL back in the 1950s. In English, this could also mean you did something good 3 times in a row.

"A hat trick? Why not? All of the first three stages of the race suit me and so I have to try and take advantage of that." – Paolo Battini

skate to where the puck is going to be

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This one’s just basic physics: both you and the puck are quickly moving around on the ice, so if you constantly skate toward where the puck is right now you’ll probably never be near it. Don’t skate to where the puck is: skate to where the puck is going to be.

There's a problem with this phrase, though. While focusing on your goals, don't forget the overall process of actually reaching them.

"I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been." - Wayne Gretzky

face off

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In ice hockey, a face off is the start or a restart of play, in which the referee drops the puck between two opposing players. In life, it would be more of a direct confrontation between two people or groups.

Oh, and there's a pretty awesome movie called Face/Off. It takes the expression a little too literally.

"Diane was eager to face off with her longtime rival, Susan, in the office bracket pool. Nobody likes Susan."

Learn all about these idioms and more in our next CultureClass! Join now...

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