World Cup Word of the Day: Flick On

World Cup Word of the Day. It’s the seventh day of the World Cup and Languagecaster today focuses on the verb phrase ‘to flick on‘. Every day we plan to bring you a word or phrase that has been part of the World Cup 2014 story.

World Cup Word of the Day: Flick On

This phrase usually describes the action of heading the ball. To flick the ball on is to glance the ball forward, to hit the ball in the first touch towards the opposition goal. Often, a long cross from defence or the goalkeeper is flicked on by a midfielder or a striker in the hope that a team-mate will run on to the ball. To flick on can be with the feet, but is mostly used to describe a header. It can also be used as a noun, a flick-on.

• Example: (Uruguay’s) Muslera’s hopeful punt forward saw Suarez pounce on Gerrard’s inadvertent flick-on. (Goal.com)
• Example: “It didna€™t go our way with Steven [Gerrard] flicking the ball on, and you just hope that he [Suarez] mis-hits one, but he hit the target and they win the game. (thefa.com)