Word of the day: Yips
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Today’s word of the day is: Yips meaning
Yips
Yips is a plural noun that refers to a state of nervousness that affects an athlete (such as a golfer) when they’re about to make an important move or play. It is almost always used in the phrase “the yips.”
Pronunciation: [YIPS]
When it comes to sports, yips happen. We’re not sure who coined yips; we also can’t say if this plural noun has anything to do with the singular yip, a word of imitative origin that refers to a dog’s sharp bark. What we do know is that the yips have sported their name since at least the 1930s, and that the term first appeared in golf-related contexts. Anxious for similar language? Perhaps you’re familiar with twisties, a term popularized in 2021 during the Tokyo Olympic games when gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles suffered from an affliction akin to the yips in which gymnasts experience a mental block causing loss of spatial orientation. Twisties doesn’t yet meet our criteria for entry, however, so we’ll have to bench it for now.
Example: Afflicted with a sudden case of the yips, Doug tensed up and pulled his putt too far to the left.
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