was wotd|2006|August|27
English
wikipedia|Redshirt (character)
wikipedia|Redshirt (college sports)
Etymology
(Science fiction sense) From the tendency of red-shirted ensigns in the original w:Star Trek|Star Trek television series to die prematurely.
(collegiate sports sense) Derived from the red jersey commonly worn by a player meeting this definition in practice scrimmages against the regulars.
Pronunciation
audio|en-us-redshirt.ogg|Audio (US)
Noun
redshirt (plural: redshirts)
- In collegiate sports, an athlete who spends a year not participating in official athletic activities, but does not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years
- In the w:United States Navy|United States Navy, a person responsible for loading and unloading weapons, artillery, and equipment from aircraft.
- In fiction, an unimportant character introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril to the important characters; an expendable character.
#:Sensing danger, Captain Kirk decided to beam down to the surface with Spock, McCoy?, and a couple of redshirts.
Verb
en-verb
- In collegiate sports, to place an athlete in a status wherein the athlete will spend a year not participating in official athletic activities, but will not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years.
#:The university decided to redshirt the freshman linebacker to give him an extra year to build up his bulk.
- To hold a child out of kindergarten for one year in the hope that the child will do better academically and socially.
#:Parents who redshirt their 5-year-olds instead of enrolling them in kindergarten are a concern to some Nebraska educators who are trying to reverse the trend of holding children back until age 6 to start school. �"Some Educators Oppose Redshirting 5-Year-Olds," The Omaha World-Herald, March 1, 1985
See also
Wedge-type character
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