4-4-2

Noun

4-4-2 (plural 4-4-2s)

1. A popular football formation with 4 defenders, 4 midfielders and 2 strikers.
   • They fielded an imposing 4-4-2.
   • England's formation was a rigid 4-4-2 against a Norway side of surprisingly limited ambition and on one of the rare occasions James Milner got in the action he forced a save from Jarstein.2012 May 26, Phil McNulty, “Norway 0-1 England”, in BBC Sport
2. Under the Whyte notation system, a type of steam locomotive that has a two-axle leading truck, two powered driving axles and a one-axle trailing truck; any instance of that type.
   • Down the high iron sped a huffing 4-4-2.
   • While not, perhaps, the handsomest of 4-4-2 tanks, as they had a rather large proportion of their driving wheels exposed, they proved very useful locomotives, doing yeoman work on suburban trains around London and Birmingham, and later on numerous rural routes.1951 March, David R. Webb, “British 4-4-2 Tank Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 152

   Synonyms:

   Atlantic

3. A model of the former Oldsmobile make; any instance of that model.
   • Down the drag strip screamed a custom-tuned 4-4-2.