Dictionary

alley oop en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /al.ɪˈuːp/ (UK)
• /ˌæl.iˈup/ (US)
• /ˌæl.iˈʊp/ (US)
• /al.ɪˈʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Meanings

1. (US, not-comparable) High and arcing.
   • The Oroville Tigers have adapted the San Francisco '49er football team's famed... play to their own use on the basketball court. 1959 January 21, “Oroville using ‘Alley Oop’ play”, in The Appeal–Democrat, page 6:
   • I decided to go for the Alley-Oop pass. I knew I had to lay it in the end zone, high, and I just rared back and threw as hard as I could. 1957 November 4, Y.A. Tittle, Reno Evening Gazette, page 14:
2. (US, not-comparable) Involving at least a 180-degree turn.
   • Do you know what an ollie to frontside 50/50 is? A stale-grab Madonna? A smith-grind to revert? An alley-oop lipslide?... They are all gravity- or death-defying tricks. 1989 November 29, The Guardian, Society, page 46:

Forms

alley oop en · ADV

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /al.ɪˈuːp/ (UK)
• /ˌæl.iˈup/ (US)
• /ˌæl.iˈʊp/ (US)
• /al.ɪˈʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Meanings

1. (not-comparable, rare) Synonym of up.
   • Down with the starched collars! Allez up with the soft! 1923 November 8, The Daily Herald, page 4:

Forms

Synonyms

up

alley oop en · INTJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /al.ɪˈuːp/ (UK)
• /ˌæl.iˈup/ (US)
• /ˌæl.iˈʊp/ (US)
• /al.ɪˈʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Meanings

1. Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap.
   • ‘Alley-oop,’ he said, and he lifted her out of her seat as easily as if she were a bag of laundry. 2003, Antoinette Stockenberg, A Month at the Shore, page 185:
   • He lifted her onto the verandah, crying “Allee-oops!” 1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 351:
   • I fortunately found a spark plug on the burn and got that repaired and alley oop! 1917 September 9, B.S. Walcott, letter printed in the 6 Feb. 1918 Princeton Alumni Weekly, p. 389
   • Allez--... --oop! Beautiful! Great flip Mike! 1985, Kevin Eastman & al., Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Vol. I, No. 4, page 2

Forms

Synonyms

come on! · go on! · get up!

Translations (8)

vi a-lê-hấp (interjection) · fr allez-hop (interjection) · ru алле-о́п (interjection) · de allez hopp (interjection) · el άλεϊ-ουπ (interjection) · ru аллей-у́п (interjection) · ru аллей-о́п (interjection) · ru алле-у́п (interjection)

alley oop en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /al.ɪˈuːp/ (UK)
• /ˌæl.iˈup/ (US)
• /ˌæl.iˈʊp/ (US)
• /al.ɪˈʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Meanings

1. An instance of saying "Alley oop!"
   • Rollie says... we should cut out our ‘alley-oop’. He says: ‘It's vulgar, that alley-oop. Every small-time acrobat says “alley-oop”.’ 1927, Wallace Smith, Are You Decent?, page 94:
2. (US) A high and arcing pass, catch, or move, especially (basketball) a shot made by a player as part of the same jump used to catch a pass.
   • Kobe Bryant–to–Shaquille O'Neal alley-oops are among the most iconic and lasting NBA images of the early 2000s. The duo's alley-oop in Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference finals stands above the rest, without a doubt. 2017, National Basketball Association, "Top Moments: Famous Alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq Caps Lakers' Comeback"
   • Owens helped beat the Chicago Bears with a catch he made in the end zone;... a week later he gathered in an Alley Oop from Tittle for a victory over Green Bay. 1965, Harold Rosenthal, The Big Play, page 71:
   • It was a mystery how he managed to ride at all with that set-up, let alone tweak alley-oops on this natural quarter pipe! 2006, Snowboard Journal, number 10, page 29:

Forms

Synonyms

lob jam (basketball: alley-oop play)

Translations (3)

ru аллей-уп (basketball: a play in which one player catches a pass while airborne and scores) · pt ponte aérea (basketball: a play in which one player catches a pass while airborne and scores) · cmn 空中接力 (basketball: a play in which one player catches a pass while airborne and scores)

alley oop en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /al.ɪˈuːp/ (UK)
• /ˌæl.iˈup/ (US)
• /ˌæl.iˈʊp/ (US)
• /al.ɪˈʊp/ (UK)

Etymology

Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.

Meanings

1. To lift or toss upward, or to be lifted or tossed upward.
   • When the ball came back to Tyson, he alley ooped the ball to Larry, who layed it in. 2011, Daylin Eaton, The Chronicles of Tyson Jenkins: The Witch Sisters, page 107:
   • K'Nine intentionally bounced the last shot off the edge of the rim, rebounded, dribbled between his legs for three seconds, then alley ooped to Darius. 2010, Mary B. Morrison, Somebody's Gotta Be On Top:

Forms