mid-off:
(plural: ‘mid-offs‘)
(in cricket sport) a player placed in a position near the bowling side (near the bowler), but on the opposite side of ‘mid-on’, on the field during the game,
mid-off (R)
e.g.
The full form of ‘mid-off’, in cricket, is ‘middle wicket off’.
In cricket, mid-off, short-mid-off and mid-on are very important when the bowler is a medium-pacer. As they are placed opposite the batsman, they have a chance to catch the ball when the batsman tries to straight-drive a ball.
A ‘silly mid-off’ is not a silly player in mid-off position — ‘silly’ here means ‘very close’ to the batsman… the position looks so silly, rather so risky, that the position and the fielder in this position are called ‘silly mid-off’!
For an article that explains what a mid-off is, please click here, an article that explains when a mid-off becomes not a mid-off, please click here and (for an article that explains the fielding positions in cricket, please click here).
Note: There are occasions when we see this word as two words giving out a different meaning: for example, click here to read a sports article that shows us this usage.
