The Walt “Clyde” Frazier Dictionary
Only one basketball commentator demonstrates amazingly creative use of the English language. His name is Walt “Clyde” Frazier, and you can witness his magic on New York Knicks telecasts. I put together a dictionary of Walt’s more colorful phrases.
If you hear Clyde use any new phrases that you think should be on this list, please comment or send me an e-mail so that I can update this list.
I also have a list of Frazier’s famous rhymes beneath the dictionary.
A
adjacent - next to; adjoining
altruistic - showing unselfish concern for the welfare of others - A very altruistic Robinson here tonight - looking for his teammates.
aroused - to stir up, excite - And the crowd at Madison Square Garden is aroused!
auspicious - marked by success - Marbury off to an auspicious beginning here tonight.
B
baffling - to frustrate by confusing or perplexing; stymie - The Knicks defense is baffling the Hawks.
bedevil - to torment mercilessly, to plague - It’s the little things that bedevil losing teams.
blunder - A usually serious mistake typically caused by ignorance or confusion - Ratliff makes a blunder there by fouling Curry.
D
diminutive - extremely small in size - Nate Robinson is diminutive at 5′9″.
diligent - marked by painstaking effort - David Lee has been working diligently.
E
egregious - conspicuously bad or offensive as in “an egregious blunder”
I
impetus - stimulus, moving force
N
neophyte - a beginner or novice - Two points there for the young neophyte.
O
omnipotence - having unlimited power or authority
omnipresent - present in all places at the same time - There’s the omnipresent Lee with another rebound.
P
penchant - a strong inclination - The Knicks have a penchant for turning the ball over late in the game.
percolate- active, lively, spirited
precocious - characterized by early maturity - The precocious rookie is playing well tonight.
prodigious - impressively great in size, force or extent - Curry is off to a prodigious start.
prolific - producing abundant works or results - Marbury is off to a prolific start in the second half.
prudent - wise in handling practical matters - The Knicks are doing the prudent thing featuring Randolph in the early going.
Q
quantum - sudden and significant - Nate Robinson with a quantum leap to reject Yao!
R
rejuvenate - to restore to an original or new condition - A rejuvenated Marbury keeps the Knicks in the game.
riveting - to engross or hold - The Knicks are playing riveting defense.
S
serendipity - the faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident - The ball comes off of Robinson’s leg and goes right to Crawford for three - a little serendipity right there.
stupor - a state of mental numbness - The Knicks have a tendency to go into stupors.
T
tenacious - holding or tending to hold persistently to something - The Knicks are playing tenacious ‘d’.
tumultuous - noisy and disorderly - Nate Robinson has had a tumultuous night so far.
U
uncanny - peculiarly unsettling as if supernatural in nature - Jason Terry is an uncanny shooter from three.
Walt Frazier’s Rhyme Time
“Out-muscling and Out-hustling”
“Dishing and Swishing”
“Hustling and Bustling”
“Movin’ and Grovin’!”
“Slicing and Dicing to the hoop!”
“Swooping and Hooping”
“Bounding and Astounding”
“Wheeling and Dealing”
“Shaking and Baking”
“Dancing and Prancing”
“Posting and Toasting”
Add your favorite!
August 20, 2008 at 9:45 pm#
Forget the dictionary, explain Clyde’s suits.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
When he was a basketball player he bought all those flashy suits. They were fashionable back then. Something traumatic happened at a Men’s Wearhouse and he’s never been able to buy a new suit ever again.
[Reply]
August 20th, 2008 at 9:52 pm
Clyde with a quantum leap from the 70’s
[Reply]