Meaning & use
daisy cutter
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformalsport
A ball that is hit, thrown or kicked so that it skims very low along the ground.
Grammar: Used in sports such as cricket, baseball and soccer: a daisy cutter along the grass.
Patterns
- a daisy cutter to someone
The batter hit a daisy cutter straight at the shortstop.
He drilled a daisy cutter across the penalty area.
The fielder scooped up the daisy cutter and threw to first base.
nouncountablemilitary
A very large bomb that explodes just above the ground so that its blast spreads over a wide area.
Grammar: Often used in news and military history, sometimes with a capital as a nickname for a specific bomb.
Patterns
- a daisy cutter bomb
The army used a daisy cutter to clear a landing zone in the jungle.
News reports described the daisy cutter as one of the largest conventional bombs ever used.
Word forms
| plural | daisy cutters |
|---|
Common combinations
- hit a daisy cutter
- She hit a daisy cutter past the diving fielder.
- low daisy cutter
- A low daisy cutter beat the goalkeeper's hand.
- daisy cutter bomb
- The film showed a daisy cutter bomb exploding over the field.
- field a daisy cutter
- He fielded the daisy cutter cleanly and threw home.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grounder
- Grounder is the standard baseball word for a ball hit along the ground, while daisy cutter stresses that it skims very low.
- grubber
- Grubber is an Australian rugby term for a low kick that rolls along the ground, a more specific and regional word.
- worm-burner
- Worm-burner is a humorous American term for a very low hit ball, and is even more informal.
- ground ball
- Ground ball is neutral and descriptive, with no colorful image of cutting daisies.
Opposites
Word family
- daisy noun
- a small flower with white petals and a yellow center
- cutter noun
- something or someone that cuts
- daisy chain noun
- a string of linked daisies, or a linked series of things
Practice
The batter hit a ___ that skimmed along the grass and slipped between two fielders.
Choose one answer.
A daisy cutter is a ball that travels very low along the ground. A pop fly and a lob go high in the air, and a bouncer is a short delivery that rises.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “daisy cutter”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.