red line

Thân thiện

The referee drops the puck on the red line to start the game.

Definition

Noun: 1. A line that is colored red and that bisects an ice hockey rink: In ice hockey, this is the central line dividing the rink into two equal halves. It is used for determining icing infractions and for face-offs at the start of periods or after goals.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The puck must completely cross the red line for an icing call to be made.
  • After the goal, the referee dropped the puck for a face-off at the red line.

Advanced Usage

• "to clear the red line": In hockey strategy, this refers to a team moving the puck out of their defensive zone and past the center red line, which is a key step in organizing an attack and avoiding an icing call.
  • The defenseman's primary job was to clear the red line and get the puck deep into the offensive zone.

Variants and Related Words

• Blue line (n): In ice hockey, either of the two lines that divide the rink into attacking, neutral, and defensive zones.
• Goal line (n): In ice hockey, the line over which the puck must completely cross to score a goal.

Synonyms

• Center line: A general term for a line dividing a playing area in half; used interchangeably with "red line" in hockey context.
• Mid-ice line: An informal synonym describing the line's location.

Related Phrases

• Two-line pass: A former rule (eliminated in 2005) that prohibited a pass from a player's defensive zone across both the blue line and the red line (the center line) to a teammate. The term is still used historically.
  • Under the old rules, that would have been an offside two-line pass.

Related Idioms

• "To cross the red line": While not a hockey idiom, this common geopolitical idiom meaning "to pass a critical limit or boundary, often provoking a serious response" is homonymous. It is crucial to distinguish it from the hockey term based on context.
  • The dictator's actions were seen as crossing a red line, prompting international sanctions. (This is the idiomatic usage, not related to hockey.)

Học thuật

Noun

1. a line that is colored red and that bisects an ice hockey rink