By James Howard.

Boxing is often credited with providing an opportunity for youngsters whose chances elsewhere have been limited, but is also party to more negative feedback in the form of the anti-boxing brigade. There is another significant element of our lives that has been a beneficiary of boxing, which is simply the language and phrases that we use frequently. Almost every aspect of the sport has provided everyday metaphors that are used and reused, often without consideration of their origin.

At a very basic level even the weight divisions have been repackaged to describe someone of importance (heavyweight) or someone who is less important or more informally, is not capable of drinking much alcohol (a lightweight). Indeed ib for ib logic is now applied across a multitude of situations, many far removed from sporting endeavours.

But how many people workout?

Workout's earliest reference is in boxing and is credited to have occurred in 1927 and was defined as practising boxing (as opposed to the actual event of the bout) - what we would typically call sparring today. The wider population caught up two years later when the term began its expansion to the generic term for almost any type of exercise. Indeed sparring too has gone on to describe two people who regularly and perhaps even enjoy arguing, although boxing probably borrowed the word from cockfighting.

To throw your hat into the ring would today indicate the person in question was running for political office, which was of course is the old school way of presenting a challenge to the boxer in the ring. The pugilistic art would use the word as early as 1900. When did the world catch up? A whopping 28 years later, in 1928.

When the fighters enter the ring, they would square off in their respective fighting stance in the square ring. This is an example of another term recycled for the Joe Public's vocabulary, the slightly amended version meaning ready for battle. Use of the word can be traced to as early as 1873 but the records credit it to "physical fighting" rather than the specifically to the sweet science.

We also have the ringside judge and ringside seat which are commonly used outside of boxing to describe those who follow a situation closely, and those who are privileged with a good view respectively.

The bout commences. Since 1923 making the first decisive move has been described in boxing as beating your opponent to the punch, the public adopted the metaphor from 1965. Boxers have rolled with the punch since 1941, which is to say they have avoided the force of the blow by moving while the public have been rolling with punch since much later, from 1956.

If one is in a difficult situation because two negative things have happened, it is sometimes referred to as a one-two punch which in boxing is to deliver or receive two punches, one after another. The noble arts proprietorship of the phrase began in 1811, well over a century before the wider audience took it up from 1948. And while on the subject there is also the phrase of pulling one's punches, meaning to hit less hard than one can or more recently, to not use all the resources at one’s disposal.

End of the round – round went on to describe a phase or segment of endeavour or contest, or one might go 12 rounds with a lawyer for example. Boxers traipse back to their respective side where they will find someone in their corner, as one who helps out during a time of trouble may be described (used in boxing as early as 1812 and in more generic public use by 1846).

The fight resumes in conjunction with the blow by blow account provided by the commentators. This phrase has been used in boxing since 1933 and was refined for the masses, defined as a detailed verbal or written account.

The fighters immediately come out swinging. When one lands a big shot, the other is expected to take it on the chin, accept it as part of the mission and move on (1928) or later in the real world, to accept bad news well.

Below the belt describes the naughty low blows outlawed from boxing, but can equally describe hurting someone unnecessarily. Indeed the phrase low blow is said to originate from the same offence.

Infighting, since its 1812 inception, has been used to describe boxing in close quarters but has since grown to include conflict between members of the same team, company or other group. The first non-physical meaning to the word did not emerge until 1960.

Then, out of nowhere, a sucker punch - dating back to 1947 and describing an unexpected blow. Also is the Sunday punch which is a basically a knockout blow (1929) but is not traced directly to boxing.

A boxer is on the ropes. Boxing has used the phrase since 1958 and it was welcomed into public consumption a mere 12 years later, in 1970.

One of the sobering phrases extracted from the noble art is when one is said to be punch drunk. Unfortunately this describes being exhausted or disoriented and one immediately thinks of the warhorse/journeyman type boxer who doesn’t protect himself from the dangers we all know and accept exists. As history has cruelly shown, permanent brain damage can be caused from repeated blows to the head but even non boxers can become punch-drunk when exhausted or hit by mental blows such as very bad news. Slap-happy is a synonym for punch-drunk, but can also refer to dizzy with happiness or carefree - the evolution of which appears to have been more influenced by "happy" than "slap".

If one were to speak bluntly without thought or consideration for others it could be described as taking the gloves off (boxing since 1922, public since 1928). Even in ancient times, boxers would protect their knuckles by wrapping strips of leather around their hands. Removing this 'fist-cushion' can make the fight nastier - and bloodier.

As the fight nears it conclusion, a number of potential endings have been written into our language.

Of course sometimes we are used to seeing fighters holding on, trying desperately to make the end of the fight and then the moment arrives, and they are saved by the bell. Another phrase taken from boxing and which can now describe any kind of close call.

To go the distance has meant to fight through the scheduled rounds since 1934, but it has been more generically defined today as carrying through a course of action to completion.

From the more immoral aspect of the sports history we can take a dive. Since 1952 boxing has used the word to describe boxers who would pretend to be knocked out to lose a fixed fight. The phrase is more commonly defined today as to pretend or feign, with intent to deceive (from 1982).

A person in a bad situation and in need of help can be described as being down (or out) for the count. The traditional meaning in boxing is to be counted out by the official

The fighter’s manager might opt to terminate the bout by throwing in the towel, today’s literal meaning being to give up and not pursue an objective. The boxing use of the term dates back to 1860 with the more general use of the term credited to a 1916 book by C.J. Dennis.

Probably the most popular way to terminate the bout for a frenzied crowd, the K.O., dates back to 1923 but by 1939 one could K.O. an idea meaning the idea was rejected.

I’m sure there are more idioms I have missed, I have heard rumours that the term “whip” originates from the gentleman who would surround the ring lashing out at the crowd who came too close in the early days of boxing, although I couldn’t verify that particular fact. However, boxing’s long contribution to the language we use today is significant, undeniable and it clearly demonstrates the heritage of the sport.

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Date of origin sourced from The Oxford English Dictionary.