October 5, (THEWILL) – The most recent edition of the Oxford English Dictionary now includes phrases related to football that were officially coined by Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho.
In advance of the 2022 World Cup, the OED has added Ferguson’s “squeaky bum time” and Mourinho’s “park the bus” to its list of football-related expressions in its most recent quarterly update. The two expressions, which are two of the dictionary’s 15 new entries, have each come to symbolise key concepts in the game throughout the 21st century.
Squeaky bum time is described as “A particularly tense period of time, esp. one leading up to the climax of a competition or event.” It was first used by Ferguson to describe the rivalry between Manchester United and Arsenal almost 20 years ago.
Meanwhile, “To play in a very defensive way, typically by having the majority of outfield players close to their own goal and showing little attacking intent,” is the definition of Mourinho’s “park the bus” strategy.
Following Mourinho’s ascent to fame in the Premier League, when he helped Chelsea win back-to-back championships with the blatantly pragmatic defensive style for which he is renowned, the concept of “parking the bus” shot to unprecedented levels of popularity.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
