Buzz
For those unfamiliar with cricket, its terminology can be puzzling. A player might execute a 'googly' (a delivery that sharply turns to the left side for a right-handed batsman, in case that helps) or make a 'lolly' (an easy catch). 'Breaking one’s duck' means scoring the first run of an inning.
Is this confusing? Now picture how someone who's familiar with cricket but not American football feels when hearing players shout words like 'hut', 'hike', 'blue 42', and a whole range of other phrases that make a 'sticky wicket' sound straightforward in comparison. More specifically, why does a quarterback shout 'hut' right before a play begins?
The NFL was curious about this during their 2009-2010 season, so they asked linguist Ben Zimmer for insight. Zimmer explained that when quarterbacks yell 'hut' or variations like 'hut 1', 'hut 2', 'hut 3', they’re borrowing from military cadence. In the military, 'hut' often replaces a syllable in a word to make it clearer and more distinct. Think of a drill sergeant shouting 'atten-hut!' ('attention!') to cadets. This wordplay helps sharpen focus, which is essential when you're about to face a tough military drill or you're seconds away from being smashed by a 300-pound lineman.
The word 'hut' likely traces back to World War II, but it wasn’t until the 1950s that football players adopted it for their on-field version of a war game. Many players and coaches were veterans, making the word's evolution easy to track. Zimmer pointed out that 'hut' is a sharp, clear term that can be shouted over long distances, which is particularly helpful for quarterbacks who need to be heard.
So where did the military pick up 'hut' from? Animal herders. Words like 'hip', 'hup', and 'hep' have been around for centuries, with 'hup' appearing in the 18th century and 'hut' emerging in the 19th century. The military adopted various forms of these words in the early 20th century, eventually settling on 'hut'.
The other iconic football term, 'hike', has a much more straightforward history. It was coined by football legend John Heisman, who started shouting it while playing for the University of Pennsylvania during the 1890-1891 season. He used it to avoid being tricked. As the center responsible for snapping the ball, he often had his leg scratched as a signal. When an opposing player slyly touched his leg to make him flip the ball, it messed up the play. By shouting 'hike'—meaning to raise or pull suddenly—he removed the leg-rubbing trickery. (It’s worth noting that some sources claim Heisman’s 'hike' moment occurred later in his coaching career.)
Most players aren’t too concerned with the origins of 'hut', they just know it’s become a staple of the game. As Jason Kelce, a center for the Philadelphia Eagles, told The New York Times in 2018: “I have no idea why we say hut. I guess because it’s better than yelling, ‘Now,’ or ‘Go.’ Some people have used ‘Go’ and that’s awful. That doesn’t sound like football.”
Other phrases, like 'blue 18', are either signals to change up an offensive play or meant to confuse the opposing team in hopes of scoring. Or, in football terms, in the hopes of 'breaking one's duck'.
