phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

"alley oop"

Posted by Bob on April 17, 2006

In Reply to: "Alley oop" posted by ESC on April 17, 2006

: : where and how did "alley oop" originate

: There was a comic strip by that name. www.toonopedia.com/ oop.htm

: "Cartoonist Vincent T. Hamlin developed an interest in fossils while working on advertising layouts for a Texas oil company in the early 1930s. When he decided to try his hand at a comic strip, the prehistoric past suggested itself as a topic. He named his Stone Age hero after words used by French gymnasts and trapeze artists ("Allez Oup"), surrounded him with supporting characters (girlfriend Ooola, pal Foozy, antagonist King Guz, pet dinosaur Dinny, etc.), and started sending the whole menage out to syndicates..."

dictionary.com treats alley-oop as a word, defined:

al·ley-oop
n. Basketball
A play in which a pass is lobbed above the basket and a player jumps up and attempts to catch the ball and score before returning to the floor.
The pass made in such a play.

interj.
Used to signal the start of a strenuous activity, such as lifting.

[French allez-oop, cry of circus acrobat about to leap, from allez, pl. imperative of aller, to go, from Old French aler, to walk. See alley1.]

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Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Main Entry: alley-oop
Part of Speech: interjection
Definition: an exclamation of encouragement or to draw attention to a physical feat
Etymology: Fr. aller + Br. oop

Source: Webster's New MillenniumT Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
Copyright © 2003-2005 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

Main Entry: alley-oop
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: in basketball, a high pass caught by a jumping teammate who catches the pass above the hoop and tries to dunk the ball
Etymology: Fr. aller + Br. oop

Source: Webster's New MillenniumT Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.6)
Copyright © 2003-2005 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC

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