A dummy is also a slang of sorts, used in lots of high-level programming languages to denote a variable response that is not used. Unlike C and C++ and others like that, languages such as Visual Basic which often require interface with the Windows API use dummy variables a lot. Generally, they are used to return an error code, which Visual Basic Programmers are known to ignore.

Portishead's first album. More moody than their subsequent work, and with a more frequent use of sampling and electronic instruments. Mmm...theremin, this is truly (...incoming trite cliché...) timeless music, despite being created on state-of-the-art equipment - samples of Weather Report, Isaac Hayes and Lalo Schifrin abound, and the melodies are Morriconish enough to make Clint Eastwood do a volte-face and squint.

A very simple yet lethal move relatively common in football (soccer), especially in the professional and international arenas. It involves merely letting a pass go through your spread legs to another player on your team. It takes an immense amount of coordination and trust between teammates, especially if done without verbal communication because the player initiating the move will often not be able to see the player coming from behind. This may sound stupid, but I will provide you with some examples of why, and how this move proves so effective.

Say for example, you have player A from the "Blue" team making a run down the center of the field on your defensive half of the field, and you (as a "Red" player) have the honor of guarding him, but are still at least a few yards away. Player B from the Blue team is running down the sideline, and makes a pass to player A. Using the famous defensive maxim "Fast Approach, Slow Arrival" you sprint towards the player. He moves his foot out as if to trap the ball, and so you slow down to "jockey" him. (Jockeying is where you stand in front of a player and mimic his every movement so that he cannot get past you.) He moves his foot out just a little bit more, and while you are slowing down, the ball goes through his legs to...Player C from the Blue team who just appeared from the other sideline. Now you have completely decelerated and cannot catch player C. Even the Red player who was marking C was caught totally off guard even if he was in step with him, and so C makes his/her run to the net and possibly scores.

Another highly effective (and common) use of the move can occur anywhere on the field but is most often seen done at the top of the 18-yard box. Player A from the Blue team is standing at the top of the "18" and you (still playing for Red as your trade to Manchester United fell through) are once again marking him/her, only this time you are right on top of them. Player B from Blue makes a cross on the ground that is directed towards player A and you are between them and the goal waiting to prevent a turn and a shot. A turns his/her hips as if to shoot...and once again lets the ball roll through to player C who now cracks a shot straight at the unprepared goal keeper (who is set to block a shot up the middle, not from the side.) In a game often determined by 1 or 2 goals, this move can often be the difference between a win, loss, or draw.

Dum"my (?), a. [See Dumb.]

1.

Silent; mute; noiseless; as a dummy engine.

2.

Fictitious or sham; feigned; as, a dummy watch.

Dummy car. See under Car.

 

© Webster 1913.


Dum"my, n.; pl. Dummies ().

1.

One who is dumb.

H. Smith.

2.

A sham package in a shop, or one which does not contain what its exterior indicates.

3.

An imitation or copy of something, to be used as a substitute; a model; a lay figure; as, a figure on which clothing is exhibited in shop windows; a blank paper copy used to show the size of the future book, etc.

4. Drama

One who plays a merely nominal part in any action; a sham character.

5.

A thick-witted person; a dolt.

[Colloq.]

6. Railroad

A locomotive with condensing engines, and, hence, without the noise of escaping steam; also, a dummy car.

7. Card Playing

The fourth or exposed hand when three persons play at a four-handed game of cards.

8.

A floating barge connected with a pier.

Knight.

To play dummy, to play the exposed or dummy hand in cards. The partner of the dummy plays it.

 

© Webster 1913.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.