yips

yips (yips)  n

Definition:
the apparent loss of certain fine motor skills seemingly without explanation in one of a number of different sports, esp golf

Origin:
[Golfer Tommy] Armour is believed to have coined the term "yips" to describe the nervous affliction that makes short putts treacherous for some golfers. He said of the yips, "Once you've had 'em, you've got 'em."


Sentence Examples:
• But during the playoffs, Ankiel got a case of the yips as he couldn't find the strike zone. In one inning, he walked four batters and threw five wild pitches — an event not witnessed since 1890 — before manager Tony La Russa mercifully removed him. - Time, 2009

• And he was far from alone; the yips often robs a golfer of the ability to sink even the most routine putts. - The Body Has a Mind of Its Own, Sandra Blakeslee, Matthew Blakeslee

• The yips afflict people performing a variety of professions, including musicians, stenographers, dentists, and surgeons. Thy are most likely to hit folks who overuse the muscles involved in guiding precision movements. So it's no surprise that as Mia's dad ups his time on the green, his likelihood of experiencing the yips increases as well. - Defending a Small Continent, Hugh White, Sian Beilock

Sources: Wikipediia, About.com

Word-E: A Word-A-Day

wamble

wam•ble (WOM-buhl) 

Definition:
verb intr.
1. to move unsteadily; to totter, waver, roll, etc
2. to feel nausea
3. (of a stomach) To rumble or growl

noun
1. an unsteady motion
2. a feeling of nausea

Origin:
14c; from Middle English wamelen "to feel nausea",  from Indo-European root wem- "to vomit"

Related:
Related Words: vomit, emetic

Sentence Examples:
• I fancy the waves begin to work, for my belly I'm sure begins to wamble. -Blackwood's magazine,1819

• I'll have to take you there. It's a cheery sensation, you know, to find a man who has some imagination, but who has been unspoiled by Interesting People, and take him to hear them wamble. They sit around and growl and rush the growler—I hope you know growler-rushing— and rejoice that they're free spirits. Being Free, of course, they're not allowed to go and play with nice people, for when a person is Free, you know, he is never free to be anything but Free. That may seem confusing, but they understand it at Olympia's. -Our Mr. Wrenn, Sinclair Lewis

• When the Galatian heard these things, and perceived the poison to wamble up and down and indispose his body, he ascended his chariot, hoping to be relieved by the jogging and shaking. -Plutarch's lives

Sources: Wordsmith

Word-E: A Word-A-Day