Sneaky & dirty?

Question

Could anyone tell me how to use "sneaky"? Is it positive or negative?  How about "dirty"? I heard people use them a lot when they play chess, etc. Thanks!

Fraserpan · Accepted Answer

Could anyone answer me that question?

MountainHiker · Answer

Sneaky can be used postively and negatively.

~~Sneaky~~

In sports, sneaky is a negative term. It implies that the person called sneaky has not played fair.

Joe Blow was very sneaky when he played baseball last night. He used a corked bat.

My girlfriend was very sneaky when she bought me a gift when we went to the mall last night. (Obviously we parted company for a while, and she bought a gift. Here sneaky is used as a friendly and positive term. She was clever and discreet.)

My girlfriend was unfaithful to me as she continue to sneak around behind my back and see her old boyfriends. (Here "sneak" is negative.)

~~Dirty~~

When something is dirty, it is improper. I can't think of an example where dirty is positive.

Joe Blow played a dirty game last night as he cheated when he used a corked bat in baseball.

It was a dirty game last night between Detroil and LA, as there were lots of fights and underhanded play.

It was a *** game last night as both sides were respectful and played fairly.

If someone played a dirty chess game, they might have cheated with regard to the time, taken a move back, disturbed the opponent by making loud noises, etc.

You can go [url="http://www.m-w.com/"]here[/url] and look up the words "sneak" and "dirty" in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. I would provide the defintions here for you, but I dislike copying the whole definition because of copyright issues.

I hope that helps.

Fraserpan · Answer

Thanks a lot!

Kynguyen · Answer

HI mountainhiker,
What is corked bat? I know what cork is but not this one. Is it like a bat stuffed with something or modified to hit better?

MountainHiker · Answer

kynguyen,

Have a look at [url="http://baseball.about.com/library/weekly/aa060503.htm"]Sosa Cork Incident[/url] and [url="http://www.bostonbaseball.com/whitesox/baseball_extras/physics.html"]Baseball Extras: Physics of Baseball[/url] and [url="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2003/06/03/sosa_ejected_ap/"]SI.com - Baseball - Sosa ejected for using a corked bat[/url]

There are various theories as to whether a corked bat is lighter and therefore it is easier to swing faster and hit the ball. Ohters claim that a corked bat actually hurts performance as less energy is transferred from the bat to the ball.

All I know is that it is illegal to use a corked bat where the end of bat is hollowed out and filled with cork.

Fraserpan · Answer

I see.

Fraserpan · Answer

Hi MountainHiker!

I just wonder how you make some words of what you said a link?
I have tried to add code stuff in my message but failed. Could you tell me that please?
Thanks!

MountainHiker · Answer

fraserpan, I discussed this topic in [url="http://www.EnglishForward.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=35996"]this thread[/url], so I hope you find that helpful.

Fraserpan · Answer

Thanks! It is helpful, but can those words display in a bigger size?

Sneaky & dirty?

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