cynical

[Unregistered]

In football/soccer, I always hear the phrase "that was a cynical challenge/tackle" and I get confused with the meaning of cynical.

cynical according to the dictionary means
1.believing that people are only interested in themselves and are not sincere
2.describes the use of someone's feelings or emotions to your own advantage

Can anyone explain to me the phrase? how can a tackle be cynical? shouldn't be like sinister?

 

[BobK]

In football/soccer, I always hear the phrase "that was a cynical challenge/tackle" and I get confused with the meaning of cynical.

cynical according to the dictionary means
1.believing that people are only interested in themselves and are not sincere
2.describes the use of someone's feelings or emotions to your own advantage

Can anyone explain to me the phrase? how can a tackle be cynical? shouldn't be like sinister?

The meaning is 2., but the expression uses 'cynical' to refer to the intentions of the tackler, rather than the tackle itself. The word 'cynical' is often used with this kind of transference from the doer to the thing done. A confidence trickster might be said to have made 'a cynical attempt to defraud someone', bankers might be thought to have a 'cynical disregard for fair dealing'...

Incidentally, in this context you may often see the phrase 'professional foul'.

b

 

[billmcd]

Never used as such in the U.S.