alley oop

Interjection

1. Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap.
   • 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
   • He lifted her onto the verandah, crying “Allee-oops!”1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 351

   Synonyms:

   get up!, go on!, come on!

Adverb

alley oop (not comparable)

1. (rare) Synonym of up.
   • Down with the starched collars! Allez up with the soft!1923 November 8, The Daily Herald, page 4

   Synonyms:

   up

Noun

alley oop (plural alley oops)

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.
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   lob jam

Adjective

alley oop (not comparable)

1. (US) High and arcing.
   • 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
   • 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
2. (US) 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

Verb

alley oop (third-person singular simple present alley oops, present participle alley ooping, simple past and past participle alley ooped)

1. To lift or toss upward, or to be lifted or tossed upward.
   • 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
   • 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