World Cup Word of the Day: Edge past/out

Each day during the 2014 World Cup the languagecaster team is explaining a key word or phrase for learners of English in our World Cup Language posts. Today, we focus on the phrase ‘to edge past or to edge out‘. Why not try our World Cup Word Quiz, too, to see how well you know your football language!

World Cup Phrase – (to) Edge out/past

The verbal phrase ‘to edge out‘ is similar ‘to squeeze past’ in that one team has defeated another team by a small margin – but only just; it was a close affair. The word ‘edge‘ suggests something narrow and so we use this to describe a win that was not easy at all. To edge out is similar to edge past but when we use ‘out‘ it suggests that a team has not only been defeated but also been knocked out of a competition. In the 2014 World Cup second round game between hosts Brazil and dark horses Chile, the Brazilian side edged past Chile on penalties.

• Example: Brazil edged out Chile in their last sixteen match in Belo Horizonte.
• Example: The USA edged past Portugal in the group stages.