This is my first in a disorganised series of posts on new Czech words and phrases I discover. In fact, this has been a double discovery as the English original, “icing” has a number of meanings. Today’s usage is in relation to ice hockey, a sport of which I know next to nothing, but which, along with beer, is an obsession of the Czech Republic. As I have no ability in terms of ice skating, nor the desire to pad myself up and hurtle around a provincial ice rink chasing a piece of vulcanised rubber, I fell back onto the most beloved device of all modern armchair fans – the game console. So I have started playing ice hockey. I still have no idea what is going on. However, the incessant stoppages in the game now make more sense after a couple of minutes on Wikipedia.
“Icing” occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team’s goal line being the last, and the puck remains untouched. When icing occurs, a linesman stops play. Play is resumed with a faceoff in the defending zone of the team that committed the infraction.
So that’s clear then…
Recent Comments