Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2020 June 21

= June 21 =

Taking a knee
Within the past few days I have come across the phrase "take a knee", meaning "kneel down". Who first used it? It seems to have some connection to the "Black lives matter" movement. 92.8.216.60 (talk) 13:04, 21 June 2020 (UTC)
 * It was in use in American football long before BLM came along. It's a tactic used by the leading team to run down the clock or force the trailing team to take a timeout. See also Taking a knee. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 13:12, 21 June 2020 (UTC)


 * Has kneeling taken the place of falling on the ball (what I dimly recall as the usual practice when I used to watch)? — Doesn't a receiver also often kneel after a fair catch? —Tamfang (talk) 01:16, 24 June 2020 (UTC)