Definition

Noun: 1. (American football) A play in which the ball carrier attempts to run around the end of the opposing team's defensive line. 2. (figurative) A strategic maneuver to bypass an obstacle, opposition, or established procedure in order to achieve an objective indirectly.

Usage

• The term is most specific to the sport of American football.
• In its figurative sense, it describes an action taken to avoid direct confrontation or circumvent rules, often implying cleverness or deception.

Examples

• Noun (Literal - Football):
  • The quarterback handed the ball off for an end run, gaining 15 yards.
  • Their strategy relied heavily on successful end runs to control the game's pace.
• Noun (Figurative):
  • The lobbyist tried an end run around the committee by appealing directly to the senator.
  • Making a deal with a subsidiary company was just an end run to avoid the parent company's strict policies.

Advanced Usage

• "to make an end run around [someone/something]": This is the most common figurative construction. It explicitly states what obstacle or procedure is being circumvented.
  • He made an end run around the standard hiring process by getting a personal recommendation from the CEO.

Variants and Related Words

• End-run (verb, often hyphenated): To execute such a maneuver.
  • They attempted to end-run the regulations.

Synonyms

• (Figurative) Circumvention, bypass, workaround, flanking maneuver.

Related Idioms

• Run around the end: A less common phrasing for the same football play or figurative action.

Noun

1. (American football) an attempt to advance the ball by running around the end of the line