Word of the Day
SRO (Standing Room Only)
· Common clues: Hit sign; Boffo letters; "No seats," on B'way; Full house sign (abbr.)
· Crossword puzzle frequency: 8 times a year
· Frequency in English language: 35410/86800
Sporting events are described as standing room only when they are extremely well-attended; where all of the chairs around an arena are filled up with people only leaving flat spaces of pavement for other attendees to stand. Some venues specifically give out standing-room-only (or SRO) tickets for a reduced cost, since it can become very uncomfortable to stand through the course of a game. However, some fans actually prefer standing-room-only tickets, as the crowds that gather can be more active than people who are sitting down for much of the event. Such crowds can become dangerous, however, with riots and crushing movements occasionally occurring and resulting in death or injury.
Late arrivers to ball games in the late 19th century were cordoned off into standing room only areas in foul territory. Because the fans were herded like cattle, this area became known as the bullpen, a designation which was later transferred over to the relief pitchers who warmed up there.
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Standing room only" and the Wikipedia article "Bullpen".
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