What is "punt"

Punt \Punt\, n. Act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc.

Punt \Punt\, n. [AS., fr. L. ponto punt, pontoon. See Pontoon.] (Naut.) A flat-bottomed boat with square ends. It is adapted for use in shallow waters.

Punt \Punt\, v. t.

1. To propel, as a boat in shallow water, by pushing with a pole against the bottom; to push or propel (anything) with exertion.
   --Livingstone.

2. (Football) To kick (the ball) before it touches the ground, when let fall from the hands.

Punt \Punt\, v. i. [F. ponter, or It. puntare, fr. L. punctum point. See Point.] To play at basset, baccara, faro. or omber; to gamble.

She heard . . . of his punting at gaming tables.
--Thackeray.

Punt \Punt\, v. i.

1. To boat or hunt in a punt.

2. To punt a football.

Punt \Punt\, n. (Football) The act of punting the ball.

"kick," 1845; see punt (v.).

"flat-bottomed river boat," late Old English punt, perhaps an ancient survival of British Latin ponto "flat-bottomed boat" (see OED), a kind of Gallic transport (Caesar), also "floating bridge" (Gellius), from Latin pontem (nominative pons) "bridge" (see pontoon). Or from or influenced by Old French cognate pont "large, flat boat."

"to kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground," 1845, first in a Rugby list of football rules, perhaps from dialectal punt "to push, strike," alteration of Midlands dialect bunt "to push, butt with the head," of unknown origin, perhaps echoic. Student slang meaning "give up, drop a course so as not to fail," 1970s, is because a U.S. football team punts when it cannot advance the ball. Related: Punted; punting.

Etymology 1 n. (context nautical English) A pontoon; a narrow shallow boat propelled by a pole. vb. (context nautical English) To propel a punt or similar craft by means of a pole. Etymology 2

n. (context rugby American football soccer English) A kick made by a player who drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. Contrast drop kick. vb. 1 (context rugby American football Australian Rules football Gaelic football soccer English) to kick a ball dropped from the hands before it hits the ground. This puts the ball farther from the goal across which the opposing team is attempting to score, so improves the chances of the team punting. 2 (context soccer English) To kick a bouncing ball far and high. Etymology 3

n. 1 A point in the game of faro. 2 The act of playing at basset, baccara, faro, etc. 3 A bet or wager. 4 An indentation in the base of a wine bottle. 5 (context glassblowing English) A thin glass rod which is temporarily attached to a larger piece in order to better manipulate the larger piece. vb. (context British chiefly Ireland English) To stake against the bank, to back a horse, to gamble or take a chance more generally Etymology 4

n. The Irish pound, used as the unit of currency of Ireland until it was replaced by the euro in 2002.

1. n. formerly the basic unit of money in Ireland; equal to 100 pence [syn: Irish pound, Irish punt, pound]

2. an open flat-bottomed boat used in shallow waters and propelled by a long pole

3. (football) a kick in which the football is dropped from the hands and kicked before it touches the ground; "the punt traveled 50 yards"; "punting is an important part of the game" [syn: punting]

4. v. kick the ball

5. propel with a pole; "pole barges on the river"; "We went punting in Cambridge" [syn: pole]

6. place a bet on; "Which horse are you backing?"; "I'm betting on the new horse" [syn: bet on, back, gage, stake, game]

Punt or punting may refer to:

Punt is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Anita Punt (born 1987), New Zealand field hockey player
• Harald Punt (born 1952), Dutch rower
• Jos Punt (born 1946), Dutch bishop
• Piet Punt (1909–1973), Dutch footballer
• Steve Punt (born 1962), British comedian, of Punt and Dennis
• Terry L. Punt (1949–2009), American (Pennsylvanian) politician

A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola, a shallow draft vessel that is structurally different, and which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole.

Punts were originally built as cargo boats or platforms for fowling and angling, but in modern times their use is almost exclusively confined to pleasure trips with passengers.

The term "punt" has also been used to indicate a smaller version of a regional type of long shore working boat, for example the Deal Galley Punt. This derives from the wide usage in coastal communities of the name "punt" for any small clinker-built open-stem general purpose boat.

In Canada, the term punt can also refer to any small flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, regardless of purpose, building material, or propulsion source.

In Australia, cable ferries are commonly referred to as punts.

The punt kick is a common style of kicking in football games. It is a kick where the ball is dropped from the players' hands and kicked before the ball hits the ground. It is used in many football codes. It is the primary means of moving the ball around in Australian rules football and is similar to punts used tactically in American and Canadian football.

There are different styles of kicking depending on how the ball is held in the hand.

The most common style of kicking seen in today's game, principally because of its superior accuracy, is the drop punt, where the ball is dropped from the hands down, almost to the ground, to be kicked so that the ball rotates in a reverse end over end motion as it travels through the air. Other commonly used kicks are the torpedo punt (also known as the spiral, barrel, or screw punt), where the ball is held flatter at an angle across the body, which makes the ball spin around its long axis in the air, resulting in extra distance (similar to the traditional motion of an American football punt), and the checkside punt or "banana", kicked across the ball on the outside of the foot is used to curve the ball (towards the right if kicked off the right foot) towards targets that are on an angle. There is also the "snap", which is almost the same as a checkside punt, except that it is kicked off the inside of the foot and curves in the opposite direction. It is also possible to kick the ball so that it bounces along the ground. This is known as a "grubber". Grubbers can bounce in a straight line, or curve to the left or right.

In American and Canadian football, a punt is a kick performed by dropping the ball from the hands and then kicking the ball before it hits the ground. The most common use of this tactic is to punt the ball downfield to the opposing team, usually on the final down, with the hope of giving the receiving team a field position that is more advantageous to the kicking team when possession changes. Alex Moffat invented the spiral punt, as opposed end-over-end.

In football, the offense has a limited number of downs, or plays, in which to move the ball at least ten yards. The team in possession of the ball will typically punt the ball to the opposing team when they are on their final down (fourth down in American football, third down in Canadian football), do not want to risk a turnover on downs by not gaining enough yardage to make a first down and are in such a field position that they do not believe they can successfully make a field goal. The purpose of the punt is for the team in possession, or "kicking team", to move the ball as far as possible towards the opponent's end zone; this maximizes the distance the receiving team must advance the ball in order to score a touchdown upon taking possession.

A punt play involves the kicking team lining up at the line of scrimmage with the kicker, or punter, lined up usually 15 yards behind the center (in American football this distance is shortened if the ball is on a spot such that the kicker's normal position is on or beyond the end line). The receiving team lines up with one or two players downfield to catch the ball. The center makes a long snap to the kicker who then drops the ball and kicks it before it hits the ground. The player who catches the ball is then entitled to attempt to advance the ball.

The result of a typical punt, barring any penalties or extraordinary circumstances, is a first down for the receiving team at the spot where:

• the receiver or subsequent receiving team ball carrier is downed or goes out of bounds;
• the ball crosses out of bounds, whether in flight or after touching the ground;
• there is "illegal touching", defined as when a player from the kicking team is the first player to touch the ball after it has been punted beyond the line of scrimmage; or
• a ball which is allowed to land comes to rest in-bounds without being touched.

Other possible results include the punt being blocked behind the line of scrimmage, and the ball being touched, but not caught or possessed, downfield by the receiving team. In both cases the ball is then "free" and "live" and will belong to whichever team recovers it.