In this football language post we introduce the word ‘corker’ and explain how it is used in football.A We have hundreds more explanations of football language in our football glossary and we also have a page full of football cliches. If you have questions or comments about this or any other phrase then email us at: admin@languagecaster.com.
Football Language: Corker
You may hear someone say, ‘He scored a corker’ or ‘This should be a corker‘. What does the word corker mean? Well, corker originally meant a point in an argument that finishes the argument, a statement the wins the argument. The idea is so good that there is no more discussion – it is like putting a cork in a wine bottle; the drinking is over.
Over time, the meaning has changed slightly to mean fantastic, breath-taking, amazing. The nuance of finality can still be there, but mostly we want to say that something was great. So, in football you will hear this noun used often to describe amazing shots – shots that make you turn to your friend and go, ‘Wow!’. It is also used to talk about matches – ‘This should be a corker‘ means you think the game will be exciting. It can also be used, though less often, in the phrase ‘a corker of a match‘, ‘a corker of a tackle‘, ‘a corker of a save‘ etc.
Here are some examples:
‘Williana€™s corker from inside the box three minutes before the hour mark ultimately saw off a resilient Newcastle side at Stamford Bridge.’ (fanside.com, 2019)
‘City meant business, and were not just threatening, they were REALLY threatening. That is untilA Andy RobertsonA curled an absolute corker past the entire City defence and Salah stooped to conquer. (Thisisanfield.com, 2020) – in this example, corker refers to a pass.
Related Vocabulary
Check out our glossary of footballing phrases here. If you have any suggestions or questions, contact us at admin@languagecaster.com.