''Chin music'' is a slang term with several different meanings.

Street slang

In American

slang A slang is a vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in everyday conversation but avoided in formal writing and speech. It also often refers to the language exclusively used by the members of pa ...

, ''chin music'' is a term for idle talk. In the US it dates back at least a century — "There's too much chin music an' too little fightin' in this war, anyhow" is a quote from Stephen Crane's 1895 novel '' The Red Badge of Courage'' — and is recorded in Australian newspapers from as early as 1836. It can alternatively be used as a euphemism for punching someone in the jaw.

Baseball

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

slang, it means a pitch that is thrown near the batter's face. The

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

's intent may be to cause the batter to move "back" such that it is more difficult to hit a future outside pitch, to frighten the batter into a poorer batting approach, to intimidate opposing batters, or to actually hit the batter with the pitch. If the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

suspects the pitcher of either of the latter two intentions, he may eject the pitcher immediately or warn both teams that any similar pitch will result in automatic ejection. The pitcher's manager may also be ejected or warned if the umpire believes the manager ordered the

beanball "Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head (or "bean" in old-fashioned slang). A pitcher who thro ...

. In the late 1800s, at baseball's inception, the phrase "chin music" was used to describe razzing or heckling from the fans. It began being used as a synonym for a

brushback pitch In baseball, a brushback pitch is a pitch (typically a fastball) thrown high and inside the strike zone to intimidate the batter away from the plate on subsequent pitches. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batte ...

around

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Cricket

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

, chin music is a term for a

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

strategy where bouncers are aimed at the batsman's throat or chin.Vaughan is ready to face West Indies' 'chin music'
Independent, Retrieved on 29 February 2024 Rising rapidly off the pitch, the ball is difficult to play unless the batsman has quick footwork. If fended rather than avoided, it may yield a ballooned return catch to the bowler or to close-in fielders. This is a difficult ball to bowl, since a few inches on either side would present the batsman with a short ball that can be easily put away on either side of the pitch. It is not illegal in cricket, but the number of short deliveries allowed in an over is usually restricted, and bowlers who exceed this may get a warning from the

or may lead to a no ball, often given a free hit.

References

{{reflist Terminology used in multiple sports Baseball terminology English-language slang